Davit Question

I'm looking at having some davits made . I have a 10' dinghy with a 54" beam . I have transom door to work around on the starboard side . The dinghy has factory installed 3 pt lift system on 60 " centers . Because of the transom door I can only install the davits on about 40" centers to keep everything centered on transom. Should I use a spreader bar with shackles at 60 " centers on the bottom and 40" centers with two 4 to 1 purchase blocks to the davits ?Or do I even need the spreader bar ? Total weight with OB on will be close to 180lbs. Or should I find a good way to carry and load the dink on the roof top?

Why don't you add a boarding platform

Have you thought about adding a boarding platform.
This would allow for easy boarding from your dingy and you to use weaver snap davits to mount your dingy on the transom. This is the best system I've used.

A dink in davits is great as it is only seconds to launch.

Most davits are inshore only as a wave filling the dink would probably rip the davits off.You need both a way to carry inshore as well as transport it in blue water.

I vote with Scary on this one. A platform is a very useful thing on a boat. Weaver Snap Davits work very well.

Looking at your boat (I assume that is yours in the Avatar) I would consider a pipe davit. Take a look at these at Pipe Davits.

A lot depends on how you use them. If you are living on the hook and in and out of your dinghy daily and want it out of the water at night, then I might consider a swim platform and Weaver davits. See my avatar for how that looks. But that is going to cost many thousands of bucks.

If you just occasionally launch your dinghy or tow it behind for extended periods, the hoisting it up and storing it on top won't be a big deal. And aside from a mild concern about more weight up high, the top is by far the safest place.

David

I'm with FF on this one - good davits are worth it. They make stowing and deploying a decent size dinghy a snap.

On first sight I thought the big custom davits - the PO's pride and joy - were expensive overkill, but after 2 years of heavy use I'm very happy having an easily launched big dinghy (or rather, pinnace).

Thanks everyone . Good ideas here . I thought this would be a cut and dry but it's turned out to be quite the challenge .

I like stowing the dinghy up top Pack Mule. How about a mast boom lifting rig ? A little wood working you can turn it into a do it yourself project.
Bill

HiDHo said:

I like stowing the dinghy up top Pack Mule. How about a mast boom lifting rig ? A little wood working you can turn it into a do it yourself project.
Bill

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That's a good idea. I'm not sure I could engineer a mast/boom that would work out of wood.I would also like to keep it low enough to get into slip .I have about 6 ft clearance frome roof top to bracing on slip . I could build it if someone could design it. It would be nice to be able to off load it while in the covered slip also.

Pack Mule said:

That's a good idea. I'm not sure I could engineer a mast/boom that would work out of wood.I would also like to keep it low enough to get into slip .I have about 6 ft clearance frome roof top to bracing on slip . I could build it if someone could design it. It would be nice to be able to off load it while in the covered slip also.

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How about a removable ramp with rollers from your transom to hard top...buy a $59 badlands ATV winch from harbor freight to make it easier.

I have seen it done for other boars, trucks with campers and RVs...no reason a couple reinforced 2x6s with rollers and guides to keep her on track couldn't be fabricated and stored alongside the dingy once up...

Just thinking outside the box....

psneeld said:

How about a removable ramp with rollers from your transom to hard top...buy a $59 badlands ATV winch from harbor freight to make it easier.

I have seen it done for other boars, trucks with campers and RVs...no reason a couple reinforced 2x6s with rollers and guides to keep her on track couldn't be fabricated and stored alongside the dingy once up...

Just thinking outside the box....

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I like it . I saw something the other day on the net . It was a dinghy on a roof top and I can't seem to find it now. I think that it was all together in a track and it hinged down once the track got so far back . The dinghy set on it on chocks when stored on top .

Check the RV suppliers, there are racks that pivot the dinghy (car topper) from the upright position on the ground (water) to upside down on the top of a camper or trailer.
Ted

This is pretty cool. Rhino rack. Could work on a boat I assume if you have wide side decks?

http://youtu.be/nlPyVSIsgAc

http://www.backcountryracks.com/rhi...=41883306999&gclid=CIqg0u_M5sECFS2ZMgodBGgAOw

Or, maybe mount something like this across the house roof so the tender loads and unloads from the stern/swim platform?

Similarly I thought of putting rollers on the aft end of the rooftop and on the transom edge (center) and may work easily w a canoe. The conoe being long enough to span the distance from rooftop to transom and transom to water. I've consistently launched a 10' dinghy stern first off the side of the roof and w/o shipping water in the dink.

This is most likely an overly heavy solution with regards to your boat, but this is what the couple we often boat with designed and had fabricated for their custom lobsterboat. They did not want a swimstep/boarding platform. Prior to this they towed their dinghy. The davits were febricated from aluminum.

The Portland Pudgy web sight is where I saw the roof top launching rack. I'm not sure how to post it here. It was on a C-Dory . Check it out .

Marin, Who built the lobster boat?

HopCar said:

Marin, Who built the lobster boat?

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Thanks Marin,
Is that Carey here on the forum? I have talked with him about his davits . I like those and I think they would work fine if I can get around my transom door and floor hatch to mount them.

I think davits are best if you can afford the extended moorage. A dink on davits would bump my moorage $100 to $150 a month.

Careys boat is a BHM 36. No longer made. Very nice Down east boats.

manyboats said:

I think davits are best if you can afford the extended moorage. A dink on davits would bump my moorage $100 to $150 a month.

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I agree. I think I would use the dink more with the davits than I would if it was on the
roof. It won't jack up my mooring cost and I can drop the dink while at the covered slip and row around the marina when bored .

HopCar said:

Marin, Who built the lobster boat?

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The hull is a commercial hull from Maine. I believe he told me it is a Duffy but I could be mistaken. The house and interior were done here in Washington.

Its not a Duffy. BHM ( Fly point Marine) built the hull, but I don't think they did the build out.

FF said:

Most davits are inshore only as a wave filling the dink would probably rip the davits off.

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The likelihood of that happening is very slim. There are lots of boats running offshore with tenders on transom mounted davits. And the dink getting pooped is almost unheard of.