mounting dinghy to cabin top

[cd30ketch]

I would like to store a hard dinghy on the deck above the aft cabin on our Defever *40 trawler. *Please give me suggestions on how to make brackets to mount it. Will I need to drill through the cabin top/ deck? Or could I epoxy some brackets on? I want it to be sturdy but dont want to invite leaks into the boat.

 

[Anode]

I would fabricate a cradle to match the dinghy bottom (or top if carry upside down) and use pad eyes to secure.
The cradle could be epoxied down but the pad eyes (separate from the cradle) should be thru-bolted to the cabin top/deck. Use the same technique as bedding hardware by sealing off any cored areas in the cabin top/deck where the thru-bolts penetrate.

 

[magicbus]

I think a lot depends on the dinghy hull. If it is fiberglass and has some weight I would through-bolt. At the back a 40 foot trawler there isn't much movement while underway, but rolling forces would worry me. As Chip said you should use the same bedding techniques you would use for deck work. I recently noticed a couple of access panels on my cockpit ceiling to access the underside of the aft ends of the brackets I see none inside the salon which leads me to believe that they either used a toggle bolt or used a sounder and located solid wood.

Dave

 

[Nomad Willy]

Kevin,

I have done what Anode talks about. I use pipe insulation as padding for both dinghy and cabin top. Pad eyes hold the cradle/bunk. Note the white nylon lines. One holds the cradle in position on the cabin top and the other holds the dinghy in place. Need better padding as the pipe insulation foam is already coming apart. If I had a bigger boat I'd go w a crane.