Bag or davitts ? a tender question

[Sixpence]

Thanks to the generosity of a fellow forumite ( very much appreciated W ) I am now the proud owner of a rather nice inflatable tender

Now as I'm putting Trevera through a complete refit I'm in a prime position to fit out either storage space for it in a bag , or alternatively , fit her out with davitts so I can avoid having to inflate and deflate every time I use it .

Any opinions on which is the best and any hints as to what to watch out for , or be careful about ?

 

[capnsensible]

We had a dinghy on davits for a couple of years and frankly found it more hassle than it was worth. At sea there was always the problem of securing it. The slightest wobble leads to chafe and in a following sea you get the idea Neptune wants to use it as a paddling pool. Stunning how much weight of water can get in them. This happens in harbour too, despite a cover. This incidently took 3 times longer to rig than deflating the thing and still let rain in. Even when tilted stern down. Also you will find a lot of sharp marina operators charge you extra for the overhang when they spot it.
Apart from that...........!

 

[Kawasaki]

Inflate when needed is the best policy.
C Sensible has a point.
So just inflate when needed.
Excersize will help You too.
Apparently! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[JKay]

Dave

put a small bathing platform on the back and mount( /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif) the

dingy there,upright on its side when in use

long term stored in the garage until required for the summer

I use a Steel cable Bike anti theft to lock it on

cheers Joe

 

[Sixpence]

Good points , I'd forgotten about the increased LOA completely , maybe I could chuck it on the coach roof when I'm in a marina , but I'm surprised water still got in through a cover

 

[Sixpence]

Excercise is going great good buddy , another hour down the gym tonight /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Sixpence]

Problem there is that I'm fitting a boarding ladder as part of the works and with an outdrive leg it doesn't leave a lot of room for a bathing platform , and I don't think I could fit one around the leg or it wouldn't lift

 

[capnsensible]

A lot of marinas charge for the overhang of the davits whether the dinghy is on or not. Personal comments witheld!
Getting a seal arond the hoist rope/wire is nigh on impossible and over a period of time can let a lot of water in, despite the transom drain. Don't half wobble in a bit of breeze too.

 

[Sixpence]

Thanks , it's good to speak to people that have actually done it . I wasn't aware of the extra charge for davitts themselves , does the same apply if it's in some way retractable ? I could maybe hinge the whole thing so it swings up to the cockpit roof ( hard top ) . Did you try a velcro seal ?

 

[capnsensible]

Had fixed davits on a yacht and a motorboat. You just get to wonder, really, if all the extra work gives any benefits.
Tried every seal apart from one that could balance a ball on its nose. Rainwater will always find a way. It has to be something easy to undo or it defeats the point. We live on the yacht and always had work to do in prolonged rainfall. Finally left the davits in a car park in Gib. Gone in seconds!!

 

[Sixpence]

Maybe I can pick some up the same way lol , but it does seem to be a lot of work for little benefit . Do you have a hard roof so you could try storing upside down ?

 

[hlb]

Mine sits on the davits all year round, engine on and ready to go. I always have the bung out and drop the back end if theres a chance of rain, or when leaving the boat. Depends on the boat and the davits. Mine are big S/S steel things. But yes, you will pay more for the extra length. We anchor or stay on buoys quite alot. So the dinghy might be up and down the davits, three or four times a day.

 

[tcm]

hm good question. I it depends what sort of trip you are doping,and storage varies accordingly. In bag if on passage, or some strap them upside down on foredeck. Davits are ok for coastal pottling along, and give a bit of security at anchor against nighttime vanishing dinghy if that's a concern. Davits is a quicker liftout overnight and in many areas if you leave dinghy floating out ovrnight for long periods it will go barnacley. In terms of useage, putting it in a bag mean you won't use it evry day - you'l find anything else instead for lift qashore. It's not the bagging it - it's the prospect f bagging and unbagging that is just more flippin work. One thing i saw quite good were the "sponson grabbers" tho dunno what exactly called - mounted lowlevel on transo, they attach beam-on the dinghy and then grab it, then another part of the mechanism allowed whiole dinghy to be simply leaned up against transom. No good with engine on tho, but key is it has to be quick else you won't use the dinghy. With engine, davits (or garage, or btahing platform) is only option...

 

[Sixpence]

All year round Haydn ? , I didn't think that was good for them ? obviously willing to be proved wrong because it does sound like a better option than blow suck blow suck all the time

 

[Sixpence]

Good to see you back safely Matt

For me in Trevera it'll be coast hopping with hopefully a full speed legit quick over to France , then more coastal . I'm hoping to limit marina charges , specially if they add more just because the metalwork sticks out a bit , so I'm thinking along the lines of anchoring and a quick way to get moving seems like a good idea to me

 

[davedpc]

Have you considered snapdavits? If fitted with stand off stays you may be able to cross behind if you have a b/platform. I drop mine down when on board on the mooring as it doubles as a rear safety net. Also you could drop it down to recover someone in a m.o.b. situation. You can also fit them to the transom of boats not fitted with a b/platform.

 

[mjf]

Mine sits on two teak chocks - these tilt to allow launch and recovery. Good system for sub 3.0m jobs with lightish O/B.

Extra length can be an issue here as is 'rubbing' the pontoon as you sometimes have to moor close enough to walk ashore astern if the finger is on the wrong side to my cockpit door.

 

[Whitelighter]

I would second Snap Davits. It is possible to get the dingy to lean out a bit making boarding easy, but you can pull it right in if you need to. Easy to attach and launch also

 

[jhr]

[ QUOTE ]
it does sound like a better option than blow suck blow suck all the time


[/ QUOTE ] Suck blow suck blow can be avoided by investing seventy quid in an LVM inflator. Blows the dinghy up in a couple of minutes (which is just as well with a 25 amp drain on yer batteries) and can also be used to deflate it to the smallest possible size for stowage.

 

[benjenbav]

I've got snap davits but I don't use them for a tender because (a) I haven't got one at the moment and (b) if I put a dinghy on them it will make it much more difficult to get on board (current arrangement is a swim platform with a step to the cockpit which would be blocked by a dinghy).

The last tender I had (different boat) spent almost all of its life in a bag in a locker and was only blown up twice, mostly because we always end up in a marina but partly because I generally couldn't be bothered.

I am thinking about putting a dinghy on the bit of the deck which, in the brochures, is where the models sunbathe. Strangely it doesn't get used on my boat for this purpose.