Have davits, still mount the outboard on the rail?

[a64pilot]

You keep saying Cats, but I don't see in particular the difference? My dinghy is higher than one on a Lagoon 380, way higher, does two hulls somehow make much difference in this?
I do agree with a little motor, why bother, but a 100 lb, $3,000 motor is different, in my book anyway. I have a crane for this, I'd assume anyone with a bigger motor would?

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You keep saying Cats, but I don't see in particular the difference? My dinghy is higher than one on a Lagoon 380, way higher, does two hulls somehow make much difference in this?
I do agree with a little motor, why bother, but a 100 lb, $3,000 motor is different, in my book anyway. I have a crane for this, I'd assume anyone with a bigger motor would?

Pilot,
The potential angle of heel on a mono on a broad/beam reach in lumpy seas versus that of a cat is the difference between an anchovy and an aardvark. Not that there's anything wrong with an aardvark! Good luck and safe sailing.

[JOHNMARDALL]

Originally Posted by GILow

The OP does not mention the size of his engine.

As for "hang em high"... that 'aint high at all. :^)

Have you considered hauling the dinghy, with engine, to the top of the mast?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Pilot,
The potential angle of heel on a mono on a broad/beam reach in lumpy seas versus that of a cat is the difference between an anchovy and an aardvark. Not that there's anything wrong with an aardvark! Good luck and safe sailing.

Yes, but the heel doesn't really bring the dinghy down much, and I have felt / heard the water boom on the bottom of a Cat so not being directly behind a hull may off set the heel?

Look at my Avatar, that is about all the Heel you get out of an IP, she is above 7 kts, she will heel more, but won't go much if any faster, she is right at about where I would begin to reef.
So of course heeling is variable in a mono depending on the boat, just as I am sure bridge slamming is on a Cat, I assume its just not an issue on many

[Sailsarefull]

My dinghy is only about 65lbs. My 6.5hp motor is only about 58lbs. So, neither weights much. My davits can certainly hold it. But, I store both on davits if short sail or smooth seas. If some open water, or expecting something other than smooth sailing, I put motor on rails, not davits. Just don't want the extra weight on the davits. Personal preference. If going on multi-day trip, will store dinghy on foredeck and motor on rails. Again, personal preference. Just don't want dinghy on stern for long periods. With the light weight of both, no big deal to bring on board.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by GILow

On the rail for ours, even though it is a tiny little 3.5 HP.

You never know what seastate is around the corner waiting to shake things up.


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I have had a davit fail in merely five-foot seas. We were motoring, even, as we were coming in. If you think a Zodiac filled with broken davits, falls and oars is messy, especially with a moving prop, imagine the extra weight of an outboard in that mix. Possibly an inverted outboard.

We never leave the outboard on, and now we no longer have davits. It's lashed on the foredeck for us.

[Cheechako]

On the rail if moving. On the davits just overnight and not moving.
The force lever of a lot of weight on the davit could be huge in some seas.

[Dave22q]

My Tohatsu 2.5 is light but I still put it on the rail when going offshore. Less swing load on the davits and no reason not to. Motor is safer on the rail than on the dinghy and it's light so easy to move.

[thinwater]

I think you need need to sail on some cats with strong davits and see. The waves don't come near them and they don't move. Some of it has to do with having a hull to windward and farther aft; the corner of the boat lifts before the wave gets there. It isn't just a difference in heel; the motion of the boat is very different, much quicker to respond to waves, because there is no keel and there is more beam. I'm not saying it is better all around--the quick motion of a cat can be VERY uncomfortable--but it does keep the cockpit and dinghy away from the waves. Think of how many cats there are out there with wide open, low cockpits. I'm not saying it's a great idea, but the fact is they do NOT get pooped. They move differently. In my case, when waves are coming from the quarter, they encounter and lift the windward transom more than 4' before they get to the dingy. In the case of a monohull the wave gets to the dinghy 5-6 feet before it reaches the transom, and there is a keel holding it down. That's nearly 10 feet, as though your davits were in the cockpit.

Apples to hand grenades. They look the same, but are not.

• Davits that swing. I'm talking about strong davits built for the use. Too many aftermarket davits (even oem) are rubbish. I wouldn't give a second through to walking on mine. They are short and braced back to a main beam.
• Swaying. That's just unacceptable. Trice the dinghy properly and it is not a part of the conversation.

If the davits are weak or the dingy cannot be well secured, that is a different matter.

[GILow]

KE = 1/2 m v* v

The laws of physics apply to monos and multis.

This has nothing to do with how strong or dry your davits are.


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[Bulawayo]

Our dinghy goes on the aft platform complete with its 25hp. The platform is rated for a little over 800lb whilst we obviously do not load it to anything like capacity.

[daletournier]

99% of the time towing a dinghy or the dinghy with motor on davits is fine,but sometimes things just go wrong and its just one more potential worry added to the mix. I've been caught out one or twice and wished at the time I had sorted the dinghy better prior to leaving, fortunately all ended well ,but it was another worry.

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[Akapeterc]

When going offshore I always put our 15 hp 4stroke on the rear rail to take away the weight from the davits. And extra 56 kg swinging on the tender doesn't look good. For the short trips I keep a two&half horsepower in the deep locker which he can hand on easily.

[Pelagic]

I also remove my 15hp on an offshore multi day trip, but more because it is my complementary life boat and the engine is a liability if trying to launch in an emergency sea state condition.

The rest of the time it remains on the tender since it is high enough.

I had no concerns about the engineering strength of my davits, bolted on to large stainless doubler plates on my steel Hull.

However, I did make a few improvements to stabilize the system and make it more multi functional and rigid in a seaway.

This may give others some ideas:

Originally the davits could swing out, which I guess was to accommodate Med mooring, but I saw those removable pins as a weak point. First photo.

I decided to lock them with an aft removable bar and also welded a new aft main traveler as you can see in the 2nd photo to clear the aft area .

This then gave me the feature of being able to use my swim ladder as a stern gangway as the 3rd photo shows

Lastly I modified the lower underwater extension part of the swim ladder to act as a chock that swings up and clamps to the keel and aft tube of the Rib to carry the weight at sea, thus lowering and relieving the stress from the lifting blocks and hull slings which normally wish to sway slightly in a lively sea.

I think I could actually suffer a rollover and the tender would still be there.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by JOHNMARDALL

Have you considered hauling the dinghy, with engine, to the top of the mast?

Tempting. About half way there already.