Davit for 26 foot Sailboat

[YourMomma]

Has anyone ever used this particular davit on a sailboat? It says you can use it on a sailboat but I'd like to hear from real buyers before I purchase this.

https://keys.craigslist.org/bpo/d/bradenton-dinghy-sling-davit-for-boats/7096303854.html

[Sailmonkey]

The fact that the word “Davit” is being used with this thing is an affront to davits.

I can’t imagine that having a 6’ dinghy mashed to the 4’ wide transom of a 27’ boat is going to work well.

[YourMomma]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

The fact that the word “Davit” is being used with this thing is an affront to davits.

I can’t imagine that having a 6’ dinghy mashed to the 4’ wide transom of a 27’ boat is going to work well.

We plan on getting an inflatable dinghy but we are debating on how/where to store it. Any suggestions?

[Cheechako]

There are many variants of the swim step dingy storage device for power boats and they work pretty well for those. But I don't see how that works on the small transom of a sailboat...?
Yeah, a 27 ft sailboat or even bigger is always a problem for dingy storage under way.
You can make a bridle and lift it on deck forward of the mast upside down with a halyard.
You can buy a roll-up dingy and deal with rolling it up and stowing it. AIrfloor or slatted floor.
You can buy a FolBoat and stow it on the lifelines.

There are no superb solutions.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by YourMomma

We plan on getting an inflatable dinghy but we are debating on how/where to store it. Any suggestions?

We have a 32’ ketch, so share some of the same problems.

For short hops in protected waters we tow.

For short hops in rougher waters we strap the dink upside down on the fordeck.

For longer trips the dinghy deflated and stows nicely on the coach roof between the mast and dodger.

Nights at anchor the dunk is lifted flat with the mizzen staysail halyard and tied to the aft quarter a few feet out of the water.

We use a 5hp outboard, but I’ve seriously considered going back to a 2hp to make life easy.

[malcolmwmax]

Cannot recommend a Davit on a sailboat under 40 feet.
Too much weight aft. With the lowered aft end the water was coming up the rudder post into the bilge on my Catalina 38 a few years ago.
Max, SAMS Accredited Marine Surveyor, Mexico

[SVHarmonie]

Originally Posted by YourMomma

We plan on getting an inflatable dinghy but we are debating on how/where to store it. Any suggestions?

The thing about inflatable dinghies, is that they are DE-flatable. They then roll up in a small(ish) package. You need a small, inflatable-floor dinghy. Store it in a bag on deck, or in a cockpit locker.

However, it is a bit silly to offer any advice about dinghy selection when I have no idea how you will use your boat. Are you going to cross oceans? cruise a coast? Stay in a bay? Just you? Two people? Two people and a dog? Lots of variables.

But... NO davits.

[jen1722terry]

We have a Cape Dory 31 with stern davits. Yeah, it's not much boat for davits but we love them. One of us has lifting issues and the davits save injuries and are really convenient. We can get the dink hoisted and secured in under 10 minutes.

The boat came with the davits and we saw them as a selling point for us, though not for most folks. They also had a small (130W) solar panel on top of the davits which is very handy for keeping the batteries topped and allowing us to run our little fridge.

We make the davits work by using the smallest hypalon dink we could find and Honda's light 2.3, which makes the rig under 75 lbs. When we upgraded the ground tackle with chain, the boat stayed level on her waterline.

In rough seas, the dink on the davits does fine. If we were in a bad storm, we'd put the motor on the pushpit mount and stow the deflated dink in a locker (it will just fit).

Is the lovely Cape Dory less so with the davits? Yup. But we live aboard all summer and we're willing to trade some beauty for benefits.

Happy boating to all or you this summer!

[cat34shamrock]

I have one that looks identical to what's shown. Didn't work on my Catalina 34 with small inflatable, when sailed and healed the tube would drag in the water. I just didn't care for it there. I have it on my dock and dock box, works good there. I easily pull the dinghy out of the water, and easy to launch. Look at
www.HarbormenMarine.com
FWIW sells for $275 new

[Apollo366]

On my Hunter 37 it came with a set of brackets that the dink would ride on at the stern up against the transom, because it extended out over the hull it caught on every dock & piling and broke the brackets.

When I got an arch for the solar panels, 300W ea, it is now used as a davits for the dink, will never go back, but I think a 37 ft boat is the smallest that davits will work on.

A roll-up and very small light motor, like the Honda 2.3 would be my choice if I had an under 30 ft boat.

[thinwater]

I cruised with a 27' catamaran and no davits. Each night there were three options:
* stay on the boat
* pull the nose into shore
* marina


Marinas add up, but if you consider the $1000-2000 you save not having a dinghy and not having to fool with it, what the heck.


My 34' cat had davits. Very nice. They work for cats at much smaller sizes in part because the transom is wide and in part because they are between the hulls.


Now I have a 24' trimaran and take a kayak or two, but my side decks are wide.


24' mono? I might take an inflatable kayak for solo trips and use marinas for the others. Lots of people do not have dinghies.

[zemurray]

We have a 28’ boat and use a foldable 8’ Porta Bote for a dinghy. If we are sailing in open water or a longer trip we usually just fold it and store it against the stanchions on the side deck. If we are in bays and the ICW hopping around daily we might tow it some. Just depends.

[ahumbug1]

I own a Catalina 34’. I am in my 70’s and found it very difficult to get my Achilles 8’6” AH aluminum dink on the foredeck and it only weighs 85lbs. I bought the 4spar Davits and easily installed them myself. It is easy to raise and lower my dinghy. Cost was only 1,500.00. I am pleased with the results!

[Don C L]

If you are always going to be sailing in calm seas and light airs then towing or mounting a fully inflated dinghy, of adequate size, anywhere on a boat of your size will probably be, at best, just ok. But in any kind of wind or seas it could be a disaster. Again I think the best option is a dinghy with no hard edges that gets fully deflated and rolled up either on the foredeck, not on the hatch, with strong fittings for tie-downs, or on the cockpit floor if there is room and then plan on walking around on top of it (not something I'd necessarily recommend, but better than leaving it inflated.) If you have room under the boom on the cabin top, and it's not in the way of the vang, then great, that too. In strong winds and seas, a fully inflated dinghy becomes a dangerous hazard to deal with. As it gets windier and the need to rein it in is more urgent, it becomes far more likely something really bad can happen. I've been there. I have a friend who keeps his dinghy inflated upside down on the cabin top of his Catalina 27 and it seems to work for him, but I believe you don't have that much space, and he doesn't use his vang as a result and his companionway hatch only opens a little.