Best hard dinghy with weaver snap davits?

I am pondering replacing our 9' avon rib. *Good little boat but I think I'd really prefer to have a solid dinghy...plastic or fiberglass. *We are using weaver snap davits on the swim platform. *I'd also like to get a rotating engine mount so that I can leave the engine on the dinghy. *Weight seems to be the biggest issue. *Right now I am just swinging the rib up on the davits by hand with a long rope tied on the outermost tube of the rib and pulling it up. *I don't have my boom attached to my mast as I have to lower my mast to get under the roof of out home berth due to roof height issues. *So, I'd like to find a set up that would not be too heavy to rotate up on the snap davits by hand. *I suppose I could also mount a small pulley under the handrail @ the transom to make it easier to rotate.

So- what's your favorite 100% hard dinghy that weighs as close to 100 lbs as possible? *The 9' livingston looks pretty good and stable but it weighs closer to 150lbs I believe.

Woodsong wrote:


So- what's your favorite 100% hard dinghy that weighs as close to 100 lbs as possible? *The 9' livingston looks pretty good and stable but it weighs closer to 150lbs I believe.

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TonyI rather doubt you will find a hard dinghy worth having that would be less than 150lbs. I am willing to be wrong, so good luck.
One thing I would recommend, is to not buy a Duroboat (5052 alloy aluminum). We had one suspended upright from our davits, and the bottom was eventually eaten through, by a combination of diesel exhaust with salt water. Basically acid rain. The damage occurred in less than 200 hrs of running time.

*

Carey.** Wow was the dinghy bare aluminum or painted?

200hrs is that one year?


That takes aluminum off my short list.


JohnP

JohnP wrote:

Carey.** Wow was the dinghy bare aluminum or painted?

200hrs is that one year?

That takes aluminum off my short list.

JohnP

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JohnThe bottom was bare, with painted sides. I fought with the manufacturer for six months or more before he finally agreed to replace the bottom. I then sold the boat instantly. Had it not been for the fact that their advertising promoted the boat as a yacht dinghy, I would not have had a leg to stand on.


I wouldn't necessarily take aluminum boats off your list, but just make sure it's not built with 5052 alloy, which is the most commonly used alloy for small aluminum boats.


I currently have an aluminum bottomed boat, using a different alloy, and have had no issues. I've had it for about five years and several hundred hours underway.


That 200 hours was spread over a year and a half.

*



-- Edited by Carey on Sunday 6th of March 2011 12:23:38 PM

Carey,* Thanks I learn more each day.**Glad they made good on that boat for you.

JohnP

We have a 9' Livingston (approximately 25 years old) with a stated weight of 105#. Great dinghy, although a bit light on freeboard - the catamaran hull gives it great stability.But we are currently using a 7'8" Portland Pudgy that has more stability and actually more useable room than the Livingston. Weight is 128# bare, although with the sail rig etc. it comes in closer to 160#. Max hp is 2. Same weight capacity as the Livingston - ~ 550#.
We pull ours up in similar fashion (we have weaver davits also) to you, although we're contemplating putting a block & tackle arrangement in place as we have a hard cockpit cover that would facilitate that.
No thoughts on the swinging o/b mount though.

Here is what we did with ours when we switched to the Livingston....
http://tinyurl.com/25hec9m
Chuck

We have Boatex 10' that is not made any more but verysimiilar to the Bauer 10 made by Bauteck Marine in St Augustine and the Bauer weighs about 110 lbs. Also made in FL is the Trinka which weighs about the same. both will take a small motor and have sailing rigs available too if you want. we love rowing and sailing our little around the harbor and anchorages. These work fine with the weaver savoys but use different hardware than the rubber boats.

-- Edited by Avista on Sunday 6th of March 2011 01:09:22 PM

Sorry, two typos: the Boatex weighs 110lbs but the Bauer is about 130. Of course I meant to type "davits" not "savoys" I have no idea how that happened.

For a non-planing dinghy I don't see how a finer boat could be found.
The Trinka. Our dinghy (the yellow one on the cabin roof) is faster and lighter but dos'nt row well. For those of us that don't feel the need to roar around at 20 knots preferring to power about at 5 knots or row beautifully this Trinka looks really wonderful.

http://www.trinka.com/trinka10.htm

The 10' is $3750. and 135lbs.
The 8'** is $2750. and 85lbs.

nomadwilly wrote:

For a non-planing dinghy I don't see how a finer boat could be found.
The Trinka. Our dinghy (the yellow one on the cabin roof) is faster and lighter but dos'nt row well. For those of us that don't feel the need to roar around at 20 knots preferring to power about at 5 knots or row beautifully this Trinka looks really wonderful.

http://www.trinka.com/trinka10.htm

The 10' is $3750. and 135lbs.
The 8'** is $2750. and 85lbs.

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Hey Eric...are you saying that the Trinka doesn't tow well?

*

Conrad,Where'd you get that idea? They said it towed well on their site.


Here's another dinghy manufacturer and this one's in the PNW. The Dinghy Co.
I've purchased two boats from Earl. He makes an inexpensive quality product but
slightly heavier. And no he dos'nt use a chopper gun.


http://www.dinghyco.com/#gold


The web site is'nt that good. I had the larger Camden and I still have a 10' Discovery Bay. It's a good 10 ' rowboat if a 10' rowboat can be good but lacks the necessary volume and carrying capacity for a good Dinghy. Very excellent rowboat though. I'd recommend the Seattle Tender 9' for an excellent all around dinghy. Call Earl for what you can't get off the site.

Eric,

What kind of skiff is the yellow one?

Larry,
That darn boat attracts more positive attention than Willy.
It's actually a sail boat. Holiday I think. Made in Calif.
I've FG over the CB slot and put oar locks on it but need to
cut out the CB trunk and a few other things to complete the
conversion. Directional stability while rowing is poor but a good
rower can fairly easily control it if their mind's partly on
the rowing. However it makes up for that in spades under
power. We run it around 8 knots w a 6 to 8hp 2 stroke twin
cyl OB at very low noise levels and it's dry and fairly stable.
It's very light (80lbs) so chris and I can easily carry it up the
beach. The yellow is paint.

On a previous boat I had an 8' Livingston with a 2 HP Honda 4 stroke. It was mounted to the swim platform with Weaver davits. I built a swivel for the engine using a fishing seat swivel so I could fold it up once the dinghy was in the travel position. Currently I have an 11.5 foot inflatable with a 25 HP. I miss the Livingston. It was very stable for the 2 of us and was a great boat for taking the dog to shore, also light enough that we could pull it up on the beach so we could walk around without worrying about the tide claiming it.

nomadwilly wrote:

For a non-planing dinghy I don't see how a finer boat could be found.
The Trinka. Our dinghy (the yellow one on the cabin roof) is faster and lighter but dos'nt row well. For those of us that don't feel the need to roar around at 20 knots preferring to power about at 5 knots or row beautifully this Trinka looks really wonderful.

http://www.trinka.com/trinka10.htm

The 10' is $3750. and 135lbs.
The 8'** is $2750. and 85lbs.

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Hi Eric...I completely misunderstood your note; I though you were saying that your dinghy (which doesn't row well) *was a Trinka (which...rows beautifully..."). *Now I understand!

Thank's Conrad.

DCBD,
My problem w the Livingston is the catamaran bit. The Livingston would carry much more weight and be lighter and more stable if it's bottom was just flat. The whole center is sorta wasted. Also there'd be much better leg/floor room.

How about a little 9'or 11' whaler?
I just picked up a 11' whaler to use as a tender.

boston whaler would be too much weight. I also should have stated that I don't want to spend several thousand.
What I need to do is find an old beat up fiberglass skiff and refinish her to look pretty. The livingston really looks about what I am looking for I think.

nomadwilly wrote:

DCBD,
My problem w the Livingston is the catamaran bit. The Livingston would carry much more weight and be lighter and more stable if it's bottom was just flat. The whole center is sorta wasted. Also there'd be much better leg/floor room.

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Eric,

I'm probably wrong (usually are), but I always thought that it was the catamaran hull that gave it it's stability. I*can say*I had it in some pretty rough water and was never concerned*about it upsetting. I agree, it is a bit cramped, but with my legs to one side and my wifes to the other with the dog up front hunting floatsum, it was a good fit for us.*For the money, I think it's a good choice.*Too many dinghys, so little time. If I was in the market for a new dinghy today, I would probably get a Pudgy c/w canopy and sail.

*

I carry a 10 ft Livingston on Weaver davits. The ten footer is a real boat. With 8hp it will plane with just one person onboard, giving speeds to 15 knots. Blasts thru chop and wakes with ease. I have gotten air and the landing is relatively smooth. At rest I can stand up in either hull with fine stability. The hull will handle a 15hp motor if you have remote steering. That would really be a rocket! This boat fulfills my 'need for speed' while the trawler provides the comfort.

Larry-
Do you do anything special to tilt the boat up on the snap davits? Can you tilt it up manually or do you use your boom? Any pictures of how it sits in the snap davits and how do you keep it standing off from the transom?
The 10' livingston definitely seems appealing...rigid so I don't have to worry about it deflating/punctured by the dog or the kids, more space, etc.

Here is a photo when I bought the boat.* The 9.9 Suzuki has been replaced with a 8hp Johnson 2-stroke.* The motor is mounted on a swinging bracket.* I will have to find the info on the brand.* I use a Lewmar two speed sailboat winch mounted on the transom to pull the dink up.* The pulling line is attached to the motor bracket.* I have more pics, but I will have to locate and post them online to view here.* The 10ft Livingston is really just a little large for the transom of my 37ft Puget Trawler.* A 9 ft would fit better, but so far the 10 is OK and I would feel safe going many miles in this boat.

OK, found the name of the davit system.* Here is a link:* http://www.davitsystem.com/

I only have the motor tilt bracket.* My transom clips are Weaver and I used a sailboat winch to tilt up. Weaver also makes a motor tilt bracket called a Weaver Lever.

The complete system from Sea Wise is real Yacht quality and costs like it.

"That takes aluminum off my short list."

Aluminum crap should not be on any list , However,

Our Grumman Aluminum is about 30-40 hard years old , carries 5 in a 9ft boat and sails, as well as rows with 1 or 2 oarspersons .

About 75 lbs .

Hard to find and not cheap when you do, for a reason.

I am using a Watertender rigid dingy with Weaver davits. I have had it for a few years and have been pleased with it. The only issue I have had with it is that when resting on its side, it formed a slight bow to the plastic. I added two aluminum angles to the gunnels and now everythings fine.

Capn Chuck, I like the looks of your Livingsrton/Weaver arrangement. Do you leave the dink on the snap davits during a crossing or store the boat on deck? By crossing I mean something like FL to Isla Mujeres.

DCBD,
It's the beam of the Livingston that gives it it's stability not the "catamaran" part. It's a marketing gimick. Everyone knows a cat is very stable so make the thing look like a cat and stability being the #1 thing people want (oh charles anything but tippy) and people will want to buy it. People did. But the cat aspect of the boat did cost a lot of carrying capacity and make the boat heavier. But they did do the right thing marketing wise. It's a boxey little thing and would be even more boxy built as I propose as a flat bottomed boat. But I think it would be a more useful boat that way. As it is , however it's a good dinghy as built and I'd prefer it hand's down to the rubber ducky. I bought a ducky as a temporary measure cuse we can use it right now as it's only 50lbs. I should have got the non-transom type (35lbs).
Anyway my crittism of the Livingston is only for what it could have been** ..not so much what it is.

I have a Gig Harbor 12' (Point Defiance), which I used as a dinghy on our Monk 36. I had it laid up in kevlar instead of fiberglas to save weight, and also make it stiffer. It's a great dinghy - it has two rowing stations, mast and sails, and eletric trolling motor that bolts on to the rudder. Laid up in kevlar, it weighs about 130 lb. I had davits on the stern of the Monk, so we kept it horizontal and it was very easy to lift with a 2 part tackle. It is also stiff enough in kevlar to use as a tilt up.

Tomas wrote:

Capn Chuck, I like the looks of your Livingsrton/Weaver arrangement. Do you leave the dink on the snap davits during a crossing or store the boat on deck? By crossing I mean something like FL to Isla Mujeres.

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Tomas, Since we have done the crossing from Florida is Isla, I would not leave this on the swim platform for that crossing since the weather and seas can change suddenly and get very large. Crossing to the Bahamas, etc. I would not hesitate to leave them on the swim platform. It rides there for most any other cruising we might do. Chuck