Dinghy/Davit Questions

[montenido]

Hi all,

I just finished installing my new arch, which comes with davits which may be mounted anywhere along the top tubes. So my question is this, are wider spaced davit arms better? Do you want them directly above the lift points on the dinghy, or is it okay to be slightly inside or outside of vertical? Since I will be changing dinghies, where I choose to mount the davits now may not be exactly right for the new dink.

My second question has to do with dinghy size. I currently have a WM lite RIB that is about 10' long. The problem is it is made of PVC, so I will be replacing it with a Hypalon one soon. For schlepping around 3+ people and supplies, etc, is 10' enough? Will 9.5 do? Is bigger always better? First time for me having davits, so weight might be a big an issue as before.

I currently have a Yamaha 9.9 2 stroke OB, but might go larger with this also.

I know your answers will be based on personal preferences, but I would still love to hear what works for you and what doesn't.

Thanks as always and Cheers, Bill

[belizesailor]

If you plan to replace the dink soon then I would do that and then finish the davit install so you can tweak it to that dink.

A little out of vertical alignment wont hurt anything.

Also, how do you plan to secure the dink in rough water? For example a couple of smaller sets of tackle at the near the bow and stern of the dink to snug it up tight to the davit arms.

[Jim Cate]

Bill, after cruising full time for 27 years, I believe that one should have the biggest RIB that you can afford and handle physically (both aboard and ashore). If you are cruising, the dink is your auto, pickup, sports car, grocery wagon and entertainment vehicle. And yes, bigger is really better: holds more, goes faster and is dryer, especially the latter. I have found that the admiral gets crotchety when her neatly washed and folded laundry gets a sea water rinse on the way back to the boat!

For us, this meant a series of dinks over the years: a Mk II (old) Hypalon Zodiac (about 12 feet OAL), a 3.8 M DSB, and now a 3.5M Gemini Aluminum RIB. I don't personally like davits, so we would deflate the soft dinks and stow below, and with the RIB we deflate and carry inverted on the foredeck when at sea.

Good luck with your decision...

Jim

[jeremiason]

If you are planning to go fulltime cruising I would say get a 15 hp outboard and a nice 10'5" RIB.

It is not often that speed is a factor, but the times you have to go a couple of miles from the anchorage to shore, the bigger motor will be blessing. 4-Stroke outboards are heavier, but consume about 30-40% less fuel than a 2-Stroke engines.

We have an Achilles 315, which is 10'5" long with a double floor and a Yamaha 15hp 4-Stroke. These have held up well and Yamaha parts can be found worldwide.

[MarkJ]

As the others have said get the biggest dink your davits can hold and a 15 hp donk.

I have a 9.9 on a 9.5 foot AB and with my two girlfriends on for the last few weeks (!!!!!) we haven't been able to plane... The fuel goes up significantly. Now with just one girly on board (dunno what happened to the other but she did mumble something about Captain Bligh...) the dink flies. But I really need the 15 hp even though I put her on a diet.

Remember the dinghy is like your car. It's used every day multiple times, sometimes for quite long distances. Many anchorages are a nm from the dinghy dock and the planing speed makes a huge difference. Mine planing flat out does about 15 knots, but with two barge asses does about 4 knots. So the engine is running flat out four times as long. That's a lot of fuel for the same distance.



Mark
PS all politically incorrect jokes in this post are just jokes and I will start to feed the remaining crew member in a few days.