Who has davits?

[SkiprJohn]

Jon D,
Got to admit with a 47 I would think that a dinghy hanging on the stern wouldn't matter too much but with a lighter shorter boat there might be some concern. Just a thought. With my old Mariner 35 I would stow my 35# CQR and other heavy gear below before doing a long passage. It helped quite a bit. It only had a 27 foot water line and the anchor up on the bowsprit made it hobby horse a lot.
Regards,
JohnL

[ssullivan]

Yes, weight is relative, I think. On my 45', 26,000lbs boat, the dinghy and genset are positioned aft. I have 200' of 3/8 chain and 80lbs of anchors at the bow. The dinghy and motor weigh about 300 lbs, and the genset another 200lbs. We sit correctly in the water, since I'm careful about keeping things inside the boat just foreward of the keel and in the bilges. Sits the boat just right. She doesen't seem to hobbyhorse much more than without those items, but as a liveaboard, I have not had the opportunity to sail her without all that crap.

We even put 1/2 cord of wood right in the cockpit during the winter months while at the dock. She squats, but only about 1-2" at most. It probably has a lot to do with boat size as well as the cross section of the stern area. If she's bouyant in the stern, it might be less of an issue?

Just some thoughts and personal observations. No idea what the right answer is there.

[northerncat]

my targa only weighs 40kilos

[Boracay]

Does anyone use the boom to lift the tender from the water?

[swagman]

We run a HP floor 3.4 Zodiac and for two years towed it for short hops. Last year added the Simpson Lawrance quick fit davits which look good and are easy to remove. They've proved ideal for the dink plus 8 hp Yamaha and gives us another knot of boat speed for the shorter hops.

We still deflate the dink and stow it below for longer trips.

Cheers
JOHN

[jean1146]

Question? you are on a cat in breaking sea with your dinghy on the davits.you decide that you have to slow the boat and you want to use a drogue.what's the plan? JC.

[vonnwonder]

We have a island Packet 37 and a 9 foot dink and we keep it but not our 15 horse outboard on davits.

[SkiprJohn]

Hi Chris,
I don't currently use the boom to get my dinghy aboard but will be once I start cruising again. I have some extra booms that I could rig up and use as well. That's the way we used to get the Marco Polo's dinghy aboard. It is Herreshoff designed 55 foot schooner and the dinghy was a twelve foot wood one so weighed quite a bit.
There is another option which I like too and that is port or starboard mounted swinging davits. You can attach them when needed in port and stow them when underway. I don't care for stern davits because of the windvane interference, my stern is narrow and the added weight extending over the stern slows the boat.
JohnL

[Boracay]

SkiprJohn
It looks like all I have to do is put a bracket on the boom with a block on it with the line going to a winch, and then just swing the boom out.
I may have to move the running backstay on that side.
The only problem that I can see is that it might be difficult to get the dinghy high enough. Maybe some sort of custom spreader arrangement on the dinghy.

[SkiprJohn]

Hi Chris,
If you have a topping lift on your boom you can raise the aft end of your boom quite high. If not then you can loosen your lifeline and take out one stanchion (if it is easy enough) and swing your dinghy. The running backstay might have to be moved but it might be another means of lifting the boom if it has a block and tackle arrangement.
JohnL

[Boracay]

I need to have a topping lift installed forthe Dutchman System (another discussion) so yes, I could probably use it to lift the dinghy out of the water, specially since it has to be led to a winch anyway.
Do you have experience with such a system on a largish boat (44' steel or similar)?.

[Glenn Soderstrom]

OK, but who makes a davit, you can order and install yourself

Glenn

[Vasco]

Ocean Marine Ocean Marine Systems - Davits, Rails, Lifts, and Platforms

I got a set from them for my CS36 Merlin and was very happy. The owner will walk you through the installation if you need. Excellent support and a very informative site.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Chris,
Yes, on the experience part. Works good. Once you have the dinghy out of the water and high enough to swing over your lifelines you also need a means by which to bring the dinghy closer to the mast and over your dinghy chocks, either sliding track on the bottom of the boom or another tackle to pull the dinghy into position.
Back in the old days we used to muscle things into position. Now I give it more thought and less muscle.
Will your dinghy be on cabin top or foredeck?
Regards, JohnL

[Boracay]

SkiprJohn
I am planning to have the dinghy on top of the cabin forward of the traveller. The picture that I have attached should give you some idea of what I am looking at.