Tender Service on a Davit??

[FIRE]

Of course not...but I am close to a big boat purchase with a 12' tender and 4 stroke engine. I have serviced many outboards over my boat owning life but am stumped on how to do this (let's say winterization) while docked at a marina. In the days of old I had a trailer and used my driveway...or had it pulled and blocked in my driveway. What happens when you have no trailer, no blocks and no driveway but possess the skills desire and tools to DIY?

Has anyone accomplished this on the flybridge? What other methods does this well informed group employ?

Thanks in advance for your response - it is always appreciated!

 

[smitty477]

When we were on the north shore of Long Island NY and had our 12.5 RIB with 4 stroke on the boat deck we usually took it home for service/storage.
For the two years we left it on the boat over winter we serviced it right there on the boat deck one season at RYB in Kingston NY and the other at Mattituck NY.
Engine was reasonable accessible, and we used muffs on the boat deck to run the engine when in Mattituck - in Kingston we just ran it in the local fresh water before shutdown.

 

[Sealife]

I've done oil changes, prop changes, etc. All while cruising. I hang the boat over the side and swing the stern in and lower boat onto some towels on the rail, tie off bow. This allows the motor to be in the down position in the cockpit.

 

[FIRE]

I hang the boat over the side and swing the stern in and lower boat onto some towels on the rail, tie off bow

I was wondering if that was a ludicrous proposition. And based on your website that is a pretty big tender to hang off the side as you suggest.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I like my 2 hp outboard dinghy motor. Nice and light. I had a 7.5 hp merc (two stroke) which I could barely lift. So I take the motor home when it needs work. A four stroke would probably be too heavy for me.

I have always been at fairly liberal marinas, guess you could say "blue collar". You can generally do anything to your boat or dinghy which doesn't make a mess or inconvenience other boaters. Anything you do should be pretty much done by the end of the day. Except Springtime fitting out, there pretty much anything goes.

On vacation a couple years ago I walked the docks of Marina del Ray, A boater was pretty much doing an overhaul on his Harley. Buts that's California where pretty much anything goes.

pete

 

[ranger58sb]

I have serviced many outboards over my boat owning life but am stumped on how to do this (let's say winterization) while docked at a marina.

Has anyone accomplished this on the flybridge? What other methods does this well informed group employ?

Might depend on what you mean by "service" but for winterizing I can flush our outboard with freshwater, SaltAway, antifreeze, etc. while it lives on it's rest on the swim platform. Our new boat neighbor at the marina has flushed his -- up on his boat deck -- similarly. All via hose from dockside water to muffs and/or a flushing port on the engine.

-Chris

 

[koliver]

My 40 Honda hangs vertically over the water at the transom of my boat, where the davits are. To service the outboard, I have docked so that the outboard is next to the dock, then floated a garbage bag on some life jackets, so that when (not if) I drop anything, I can recover it. This works for engine work, to change lower unit oil and to change the prop.

 

[RickyD]

I plan to service my Honda 40 on the bow where it stows once I get the crane fixed. I can lift the boat, put 2x4s under to support it, then drop the bottom end.

 

[guy with a boat]

Our RIB tender is stored on the foredeck on our boat, but same idea as a conventional boat deck. I remove the rear tie downs and lift the stern of the tender a few inches with the davit/crane so I can get the outboard to be vertical. The bow tie down stays on to stabilize the RIB, which is resting on the forward supports. I have done full service on the outboard more than once right there on the boat deck with no problems. I learned to be careful with drop cloths in the work area since any oil drips that escape are hard to get out of the non-skid.

 

[rslifkin]

Depending on what I need to do, I turn the dinghy around in the davits and adjust height to get the outboard next to the dock. Then either work on it in place, or pull the outboard off the dinghy and work on it off the boat. Ours is only a 6hp 4 stroke, so ~57 lbs and not too bad to hoist off the dinghy by hand. But we have winter here, so most service can be planned to happen during the off-season, at which point I just take the outboard home and do it there.

 

[Shrew]

Your signature says Long Island. Are you gong to haul the big boat for the winter? If so, then have them haul the dinghy and block it beside the big boat, then do all the service on land.

We have a trailer, so we haul it with the trailer.

 

[mijmoto]

Hey Fire,

I serviced my 13' AB aluminum dinghy on the boat deck this fall. Hooked up the crane, raised the dinghy high enough to lower the motor so that the skeg would not hit the deck. Removed the prop for safety then did all of the stuff from an oil change in the engine and lower unit to anodes, flushing and fogging. I tied the four corners of the dinghy to the boat deck railing. I have a 40 HP Yamaha that has a fairly extensive list of things to do for winterizing. It was a typical boat maintenance project. Using the crane was the easy solution when no trailer or other option is available. We were at Regatta Point in Deltaville, VA.

 

[GoneDiving]

I've got a trailer for my tender but if I need to I can also lower my swim platform below the tender and divit.

 

[grahamdouglass]

I have a similar problem

I have a Walker bay Genesis 310, with a Tohatsu 4 cycle and it's on a Seawise davit. I had a mechanic come and work on the motor while it was on the boat. He removed the carburetor and took it to his shop for cleaning. I watched him very carefully, took a couple of photos. Next time I should be able to do it myself. I'll call it a $700 education on outboard maintenance. There are lots of youtube videos on carburetor cleaning out there but the actual removal of the carburetor and the movement of the pull rope starting assembly, to the side, to remove the carburetor, with out everything springing apart is the tricky part.

To take the outboard motor off of the back of the tender is kind of tricky because you have to get the shift assembly disconnected, the steering assembly disconnected and then you have to lift the motor up with a winch and onto a motor cradle.

 

[Comodave]

I have a Walker bay Genesis 310, with a Tohatsu 4 cycle and it's on a Seawise davit. I had a mechanic come and work on the motor while it was on the boat. He removed the carburetor and took it to his shop for cleaning. I watched him very carefully, took a couple of photos. Next time I should be able to do it myself. I'll call it a $700 education on outboard maintenance. There are lots of youtube videos on carburetor cleaning out there but the actual removal of the carburetor and the movement of the pull rope starting assembly, to the side, to remove the carburetor, with out everything springing apart is the tricky part.

To take the outboard motor off of the back of the tender is kind of tricky because you have to get the shift assembly disconnected, the steering assembly disconnected and then you have to lift the motor up with a winch and onto a motor cradle.

We put a SeaWise davit on a previous boat. I made a bag out of Sunbrella that I could put around the bottom of the outboard when it was over the swim platform so I could stick a garden hose in the bag and run the outboard to flush the saltwater out of the outboard. Worked great. Another boat on the same dock got a SeaWise and had a bag made for him outboard. Worked great until he put the outboard in gear with the bag in place…

 

[Circumnavigator]

We put a SeaWise davit on a previous boat. I made a bag out of Sunbrella that I could put around the bottom of the outboard when it was over the swim platform so I could stick a garden hose in the bag and run the outboard to flush the saltwater out of the outboard. Worked great. Another boat on the same dock got a SeaWise and had a bag made for him outboard. Worked great until he put the outboard in gear with the bag in place…

I have always flushed outboards using what I call earmuffs -- a hose attached to two rubber cups on a u bracket that goes over the outboard's water intake, see https://www.defender.com/search.html?q=outboard+flush


The only advantage I could see with putting a bag of water around the water intake is that you could see if the water pump had failed. With the hose supplying pressure, you can't see that with earmuffs. But aside from that, it seems to me that earmuffs are a much simpler way to do it.


Am I missing something?



Jim

 

[Comodave]

The outboard we had required the prop be removed to put a flushing adapter on it so the bag was a lot easier.

 

[Circumnavigator]

The outboard we had required the prop be removed to put a flushing adapter on it so the bag was a lot easier.

Aha. Thank you. Might be a good reason to avoid that brand. Next time I buy an outboard, I'll make sure I check that.


Jim

 

[Darlin]

My 11 ft whaler hangs on a davit at the back of my boat. The 15 hp motor hangs on the transom. Muffs work for the flush, otherwise I run the skiff to the shop for maintenance

 

[SteveK]

dropped the dingy onto the dock using the davit off the CB level, gave it a bath, then raised it up and lowered the OB into a bucket of fresh water. started and ran long enough to clear out the salt

 

[JDCAVE]

dropped the dingy onto the dock using the davit off the CB level, gave it a bath, then raised it up and lowered the OB into a bucket of fresh water. started and ran long enough to clear out the salt

We do our dinghy service on the dock, raised up on blocks “borrowed” from the boat yard. Our dinghy is small enough to do this. It works well. Blocks returned after use.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Can you say "bloop" as in the noise a nut or wrench makes when it hits the water.

pete

 

[Stickman]

Lift off cradle with crane enough to get engine perpendicular; secure bow and stern with lines to railings to halt swinging; change all fluids and filters every season. Easy.