What do you use to lift a dinghy with davits?

[sailingabe41ds]

Keep it simple. I have a 10ft RIB, and Yamaha 9.9 ...total wt with fuel about 220lbs. I have 1:6 mechanical advantage and though I have electric winches, I do not use them.
Abe

[Simi 60]

Trailer winches on a 2:1 lift our 700lb tender out of the water with relative ease.
Considered electric but not worth the effort or cable run

[Carole ann]

I bought a Dean Cat that had a wonderful set up for lifting a dinghy. There was a tube inside my main boom that had a line coming from the mast that I could winch that tube both directions. There was a pulley on the outboard end of the tube So you take the main Halyard and extend it over the pulley and let it hang down to lifting ropes attached to the dinghy. Using only the winches that are on the mast already I could crank the tube out , or in after raising the dinghy. One time I even set one on top of the other. Almost no cost for this set up, just a rope and a pulley and a little thinking. JB

[Redline452]

I used a 6:1 (triple blocks) tackle on each side of the solar arch to lift our Zodiac YL310 RIB (10' RIB) with 15HP 2-stroke outboard. Quite doable but also a lot of line to coil up.



My arch has a fold-out crane on the starboard side which I use to transfer the motor between the dinghy and the pulpit bracket (usually only once a year), and enough extra line that once the big boat is hauled and on its cradle, I can lower the outboard back to the ground for winter storage.



Last year I added an ATV winch very similar to what Bill / Denali Rose did - rather loud when running but it does make the job a lot easier.

[j.g.evans]

Lifting the dinghy is not the main problem. I used 4:! block and tackle to lift JUST THE DINGHY. The main problem is stopping the dinghy from swaying while under way. I tried ropes and straps and could not stop just enough motion to wear the dinghy where it touched anything rigid such as the arch. My solution was AL bracing attached to the dinghy and the arch that held the dinghy off and kept it from swaying. Keeping the motor on the dinghy makes the problem worse. I made a crane as part of the arch using another 4:1 to hoist the motor and swing it to place the motor on the rail. This took only a few minutes.
I made the arch high enough so I could keep the dinghy from scooping water while sailing healed over. On the Intra Coastal I had it low to see over it.

Sometime at night at anchor I would raise the dinghy with motor to the low position to make it hard to steal.

[Redline452]

One tip for anyone using a multipart tackle: check the Harken website for the correct way to reeve the line through a 6:1 triple block arrangement - the blocks end up a right angle to each other, which may seem odd at first but really minimizes rope-on-rope friction.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by j.g.evans

Lifting the dinghy is not the main problem. I used 4:! block and tackle to lift JUST THE DINGHY. The main problem is stopping the dinghy from swaying while under way. I tried ropes and straps and could not stop just enough motion to wear the dinghy where it touched anything rigid such as the arch. My solution was AL bracing attached to the dinghy and the arch that held the dinghy off and kept it from swaying. Keeping the motor on the dinghy makes the problem worse. I made a crane as part of the arch using another 4:1 to hoist the motor and swing it to place the motor on the rail. This took only a few minutes.
I made the arch high enough so I could keep the dinghy from scooping water while sailing healed over. On the Intra Coastal I had it low to see over it.

Sometime at night at anchor I would raise the dinghy with motor to the low position to make it hard to steal.

Once up, I pull the tender tight up to the back of the boat and lower it onto two arms that the tender then sits on, this way the dynamic loads are shared by the arms and the winch lines. Also the tender is captive and won't sway. It works well.

I can load and board the tender while it's up and it's reasonably stable.

[jhulmer]

Pictures! Ladies and Gentlemen! Pictures please!

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

We're getting a RIB this week. We have a sturdy solar arch that will stand in for davits. Now I'm trying to figure the best way to lift the bloody thing.

When at anchor I'll lift the dinghy with engine and fuel tank in place. In this configuration the weight distribution will be 120 lb. fwd. and 210 lb. aft. I considered getting triple block sets with cam cleats. This arrangement gives a 6:1 mechanical advantage, less friction. But cost adds up quickly! I've considered trailer winches but that gets ugly very quickly. What seems to make the most sense from a cost and packaging standpoint is power strap winches. These are most often used to lift snow plow blades!
What do you use to lift your dinghy in davits? Thank you for your input.

Our davits have a triple block set with cam cleats as you describe and pulling the dinghy up is still a PIA. Ours is lighter than yours, @180lbs including engine (135 lb dinghy w/Torqeedo).

A PO installed an electric winch with remote on the mizzen mast with a block at the end of the mizzen boom mounted on an extension that was for lifting a dinghy onto a platform that we removed when we purchased our boat as it was damaged. I use this for lifting the dinghy up before securing it in the davits.

I've seen this kind of electric winch on other davits as well, typically larger boats ("yachts") and since it is designed for 4 wheel drive vehicles and other outdoor applications, it holds up really well.

Ours has a 3 sided SS housing fabricated for it that hides it completely. See photo attached.

The electric winch itself is cheap and easy to replace. Should be easy to get a welder to fabricate a mount on your solar arch.

[jt11791]

Originally Posted by Redline452

One tip for anyone using a multipart tackle: check the Harken website for the correct way to reeve the line through a 6:1 triple block arrangement - the blocks end up a right angle to each other, which may seem odd at first but really minimizes rope-on-rope friction.

Yes! This makes a real difference and I rarely see it done correctly.

[chasfgr]

Use sheet winches, the davit ropes being led through as few (mainly cheek) blocks as possible.


Only drawback is lifting the dinghy and sailing off anchor at the same time.
Being single-handed, I've learnt to plan ahead

[svbravo]

We also use our primary winches. We happen to have electric primaries, which makes it very easy. But if we had manual winches it wouldn't be hard to do at all. And as others have said, you could always use a drill motor or e-wincher if you had it for other purposes besides dinghy hoisting.

Chafe of the RIB against the davits is a problem. We use ratchet straps, one run off each davit to diagonally brace the dink. Even so, I glue some sacrificial dinghy material to the tubes where they rub, just to be safe.

And for anyone using a crane to lift an outboard....the use of a ratchet block in the multi purchase rig makes hoisting SO much more relaxed!!!!!

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

We're getting a RIB this week. We have a sturdy solar arch that will stand in for davits. Now I'm trying to figure the best way to lift the bloody thing.

Either an electric winch such as the "Warrior" brand, or a worm-gear hand cranked one. Use synthetic rope. Worm-gear winch is easier to control and you can let go of the handle without dropping the load. I suggest that you attach short lines bow and stern, proportioned so that you are lifting from above the CoG

[Gerrycooper56]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

We're getting a RIB this week. We have a sturdy solar arch that will stand in for davits. Now I'm trying to figure the best way to lift the bloody thing.

When at anchor I'll lift the dinghy with engine and fuel tank in place. In this configuration the weight distribution will be 120 lb. fwd. and 210 lb. aft.

I considered getting triple block sets with cam cleats. This arrangement gives a 6:1 mechanical advantage, less friction. But cost adds up quickly!

I've considered trailer winches but that gets ugly very quickly.

What seems to make the most sense from a cost and packaging standpoint is power strap winches. These are most often used to lift snow plow blades!

What do you use to lift your dinghy in davits? Thank you for your input.

We use triple blocks with cam cleats for a similar weight (but only at anchor). I would go with the proper bearing equipped blocks and oversize the sheaves.

[merrydolphin]

I used Gaurhaur 3 part and then ran the lines one to each primary winch in the cockpit. I uses snatch blocks to route for proper winch angle. Then I use electric wincher via Milwaukee 20V angle drill or if you have electric primaries, better yet. Or you can just grind. But with that weight, you should be able to just pull it up. Especially the lighter end. Works great. With two people it comes up fast and effortless, with one, you just have to go back and forth a couple of times.