Dinghy Davits on Mainship 40

[Peter Areson]

I have a Mainship 40 trawler, with 2 dinghy rails supported by the swimstep. Unfortunately, this precludes use of the swimstep for anything else.
I would like to add a davits system, or other arrangement to clear the swimstep.
It could be supported by the radar mast, the two aft supports for the flybridge deck, or by the transom itself. Anyone have any ideas about the best/easiest/least expensive option?
Thanks for your help!

 

[DavidM]

Carrying a dinghy, particularly on the transom, and having use of the swim platform is a tough undertaking.

Straightforward lifting davits like St Croix's will still block the swim platform. Rotating davits like Weaver and Sea Wise will block the swim platform when the dinghy is folded back to the transom, but when you lower it into the water, the swim platform is accessible but you will probably only be able to use the sides for getting into the water.

Another way is to lift the dinghy up onto the boat deck above the cockpit. This will take a pipe davit or similar. Nick Jackson makes some lighter models that would work with a 10' RIB with 10 hp O/B.

I lived with the blocked access and used Weaver davits on my Mainship 34T. It wasn't easy to get back on board from the sides of the swim platform though, particularly at 73 YO. On that boat at least there wasn't room to move the folding ladder to the side. Maybe on yours it would work.

David

 

[Peter Areson]

Mainship 40 dinghy

David,
Thanks for your speedy response!
I may need to chase someone down at Mainship to inquire about the strength of the upper deck supports and the radar mast.
Peter

 

[Bacchus]

David,
Thanks for your speedy response!
I may need to chase someone down at Mainship to inquire about the strength of the upper deck supports and the radar mast.
Peter

Peter
Welcome aboard TF
You won't be able to contact anyone at Maindhip as they don't exist as anymore.
Marlow bought the MS name but have no interest in serving MS owner's. I have emailed twice and no response.
You may find a current / prior MS owner that have been creative. A good yard may be of some help.

 

[Todd U]

On this topic, can anyone share with me how much weight is acceptable on the Mainship 400s transom for a Sea Doo jet ski? They average from 8-900 lbs

 

[jleonard]

Peter, do a google search for "Stella Blue".
He had a 40 and did lots of mods including davits and wrote a lot of info.
Good info as he was a technical guy.
You may find some answers.

 

[Comodave]

Look at Seawise davits. They do mount on the swim platform but you can still use the platform. We put them on a previous boat and loved them. You don’t have to remove the motor and launch and recovery is fast and easy. No affiliation.