Dinghy lifts

We just purchased a 1990 Aquarius 45 motor yacht. It has a hard top over the sundeck, however there is no way of lifting a dinghy aboard. Looking for ideas on lift and where we could buy one
We will be located in Ft Myers Fl

Thank you
Henry

Nick Jackson is one supplier makes a line of dinghy cranes which have a good reputation. NickJackson Co. - Davits, Boat Lifts ~WELCOME!! ~

Bought mine on the recommendation of another Krogen owner and have loved it.

Bay Pelican said:

Nick Jackson is one supplier makes a line of dinghy cranes which have a good reputation. NickJackson Co. - Davits, Boat Lifts ~WELCOME!! ~

Bought mine on the recommendation of another Krogen owner and have loved it.

Click to expand...

+1

Very happy with mine!



Even handles the extreme loads of heavier watercraft.



Ted

Anyone here using one of Nick Jackson's transom lifts? I've wondered why there aren't more of them in use.

Since the OP is on the east coast, and in Florida, I'd take a look at UMT, Quick Lift, Marquip and Nautical Structures, all located there. We had a Marquip on our Hatteras and were very happy with their customer service. I've known people with the other makes, and have talked to each when we were shopping for a higher capacity unit.

You want a company that can evaluate your boat and your needs.

We have Nautical Structures but have heard good things too about Marquipt. Haven't been around Quick Lift but one thing I noticed is their smallest is a 2000 lb unit. The others have developed lower capacity or mini units. While oversizing some is smart, for instance a 1000 lb for a 700 lb load or 1500 lb for a 1000-1200 lb load, you do have the weight of the davit to consider so bigger isn't always better. For instance a NS mini will weigh about 172 lbs for davit system and standpipe. Their smallest in their HMC series will weigh 420 lbs.

You need to get someone to estimate the load bearing capacity of your deck, etc. as well as what the weight will do to ride and stability. Now, this might sound silly but you can find weight in various forms to use and test that aspect a bit.

I just found a photo of the boat you have with something on the hardtop but don't see a davit. I'd have two issue-first the load bearing capacity and second the difficulty accessing that area from the bridge. I'd look at some of the transom lifts. You might actually come through to the east and have Nautical Structures and/or Marquipt look at it. Pipewelders might also have some ideas.

Actually I think if you call Quick lift they may well make smaller. For instance we were talking with them about a 1600# unit. I saw them do an installation on a neighboring boat and was impressed. These smaller companies do not always have the most complete or sophisticated web sites.

Henry: Have you considered a davit for the foredeck instead of the hardtop? If you drive from the flybridge it may not effect your visibility and will keep the weight lower.

Have you climbed up on the hardtop and see how it feels just from a psychological perspective to be that high off the water? Your up pretty high with no railings or hand holds.

We had a Sea Wise davit on a 46' trawler we used to own. Loved it. Easy DIY install. We could get the boat into the water in under 2 minutes. It took about 3 or 4 minutes to recover the dinghy. With the latch system similar to, but much stronger than, Weaver snap davits the boat was held up next to the swim platform so boarding the dinghy was easy. The motor stores upright over the swim platform and does not need to be removed. With the dinghy on the swim platform the weight is kept lower and does not effect the center of gravity like it would up on the hardtop. Also, I don't like standing up on the hardtop even when there isn't wave action. When the boat is moving around we would never launch the dinghy if it was on the hardtop. If you are in a marina with the davit on the hardtop, you can't launch if you are tied up on that side. The downside of using the swim platform is very limited access on the motor side of the dinghy.

Thank you, I will look them up