looking for a recommendation for a davit for tender

I have a small 7'7" Zoom Zodiac inflatable with a light 2.3hp honda. I want to use as a tender.

The platform on my 34 Mainship is small in depth, only about 3ft.

If you have a tender setup can you recommend a davit system to hold the inflatable.

Hello fellow Mainship guy


I will tell you that having a 10' inflatable with no davit system and a 10hp outboard is NOT the setup you want. Wish I could give you better advice


The Mainship swim platform is not the best place to store a dinghy. That swim ladder gets in the way. I think I want to downsize to what you have in mind. Everyone keeps telling me that the 2hp outboards are not good at all. I'm dead set on proving them wrong. My back pain says that the 2hp wins hands down!

Not sure which 34 Mainship that you have. There are three different models of a 34. But look at my avatar to the left. The dinghy, about 9' is supported on the bottom with Weaver Davits. There is a block and tackle attached to the back of the hard top which pulls the dinghy up against the transom. The outboard is mounted on a bracket to the stbd side of the transom.

The Weaver Davits work great and also secure the dinghy to the swim platform when you are attaching the OB or loading it.

I think that this system will work with all 34 models.

Our previous boat was a 2006 Mainship 34T. We used flat nylon straps attached through the slots in the swim platform to pull up the dinghy by hand (not that bad with two people, one can do it in a pinch) and tie it off to the top above. This was just as secure as the Weaver Davits as the straps held it nicely at the swim platform and against the transom.

This method also should work with all three models. The following is a bigger pic of my avatar:

David

I second Weaver swim platform davits, holds it nice and steady getting on and off as well.

+3 on the Weaver davit system. We used it for 9 years to carry a Zodiac Zoom 9' dingy on the swim step of our 270 Sea Ray. In addition to being convenient it also held the Zodiac stable while we mounted the outboard and loaded into it. I simply had a line tied to the outboard Zodiac handle that I would pull up to bring the dingy to the vertical position and a pair of Weaver standoffs to hold it in place.


When coming into a dock I would unsnap the standoffs and let the dingy line out a little so the Admiral could step off the swimstep and onto the dock. The dingy in this position also provided a margin of safety (sort of a safety net) for the Admiral in case she slipped on the swimstep.


Once we were all aboard the dingy we would lean outboard and unsnap the davits from the dingy. Returning to the Sea Ray we would come along side the swimstep, lean outboard and snap the dingy back to the Weaver davits. This system also allows you to launch the dingy in some fairly rough water.

djmarchand said:

The Weaver Davits work great and also secure the dinghy to the swim platform when you are attaching the OB or loading it.

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Marlinmike said:

I second Weaver swim platform davits, holds it nice and steady getting on and off as well.

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Budds Outlet said:

+3 on the Weaver davit system.

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This is exactly how I'll be setting up my boat for the coming season...

I used the same set of Weaver davits with an 8'6 Zodiac on two previous boats and they worked just fine. Also been using the same Honda 2hp for 12 years now with no problems. Just make sure not to use gas with ethanol and run the carb dry.

I have the weaver davit system as well on my swim platform, see avatar. I have a 3.5 merc 2 cycle which is easy to carry, but so unreliable that I don't use it. I added a weaver lever system so I can handle my much more reliable 8 HP Johnson 2 cycle.

Dingy / Davits

SO mush of what is "best" depends on your use...
We only use the dingy when we are on an extended cruise (1-2x / season for 3-4+ wks) out of our normal area

We are a 34 HT Trawler and have a similar sized Dingy using Weaver snap davits on the platform. We are 14' beam and mounting it to Port allows use of our door (on stbd). I use a 3.3 Merc and agree w/ small / light is better.
I plan to add standoffs this spring ( to keep the dingy vertical vs against the stern rail) and an "L" bracket on the platform to store the motor.



Don
'08 MS 34 HT Trawler
"Bacchus"

Will a Weaver Lever hold a 15hp Johnson 2 stroke? It weighs 75 lbs. They are rated for 15hp allegedly.

cardude01 said:

Will a Weaver Lever hold a 15hp Johnson 2 stroke? It weighs 75 lbs. They are rated for 15hp allegedly.

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I think so, but check their web site - that would be near the max weight.

jann said:

I have a small 7'7" Zoom Zodiac inflatable with a light 2.3hp honda. I want to use as a tender.

The platform on my 34 Mainship is small in depth, only about 3ft.

If you have a tender setup can you recommend a davit system to hold the inflatable.

Click to expand...

We currently use a Jatco Trillogy mount... but our RIB and outboard combo is much heavier than your components.

Another way to skin the cat, which we did on our first boat, an original-series 34' Mainship: carry the tender rolled up, genset plus AC air pump. We could inflate our first tender in about 5 minutes flat, including top-off with the manual foot-pump.

-Chris

cardude01 said:

Will a Weaver Lever hold a 15hp Johnson 2 stroke? It weighs 75 lbs. They are rated for 15hp allegedly.

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We use Weaver Snap Davits and a Weaver Lever to store a 10ft RIB with a Mercury 9.9 outboard. We raise the dinghy using a block and tackle attached to our mast.
I believe the Weaver Lever is rated at 100 lbs. Our outboard weighs between 90 and 100. This set up works well for us.

Doug said:

We use Weaver Snap Davits and a Weaver Lever to store a 10ft RIB with a Mercury 9.9 outboard. We raise the dinghy using a block and tackle attached to our mast.
I believe the Weaver Lever is rated at 100 lbs. Our outboard weighs between 90 and 100. This set up works well for us.

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Did you install the davits yourself? I have an integrated swim platform that is hollow, but I have no access panels to the inside so not sure how I would bolt up the davits.

cardude01 said:

Did you install the davits yourself? I have an integrated swim platform that is hollow, but I have no access panels to the inside so not sure how I would bolt up the davits.

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Yes we installed them however attaching them was easy as we have a teak swim platform. Just bolted through with plates underneath for strain relief. Not sure how I would do it on a hollow platform.

Just saw this on the Weaver site. Maybe these toggle bolts are the answer?

On Craigslist I found a set of Weaver davits, the adjustable standoff rods, the Weaver lever for the outboard plus the manual weaver winch and various other parts to make it all work for $600. Thought that sounded like a deal-- just the engine lever is over $600 new.

$600 is not a bad price. I think we paid $about 400 for ours a few years ago. It was used as well and didn't include the Weaver winch.
Be sure the used davits fit your application. They are made in several lengths and shapes. Depending on the height of your swim platform relative to the gunwale of your dinghy you may need davits that are different from the ones on Craig's List.