Davits or Snap Davits

Sultans_Kapitein

Sultans_Kapitein

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Excuse me for for this question but I need advise please. I am in the process of having my boat repaired/refitted what ever you want to call it and now that they have started cutting away the rot I have suddenly had a thought (one of many) As the photo should show (if you can see the photo)

Sultan is fitted with rather large fixed davits, where the davits are attached to aft deck there is a lot of corrosion. So I have arranged to have the aft deck repaired and the davits refitted. The thing is this, at the moment I do not have a tender, I will have to get one. I had orginally thaought of a 10ft Pram, but the guys at the yard reckoned an inflatable would be better in lots of ways, more stable, less heavy, easier to handle. So if I go for an inflatable, lets say a 3 meter, should I get rid of the davits, fit snap davits and a single swiveling davit for loading/unloading. Sorry if this question seems daft/obvious but although I have owned Sultan since August 2004 I have yet to sample the delights of using her, she is still in the yard, and I am slowy getting more frustated. But I do want your advice please.
Thanks Mal
try this

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g37/MalFogg/Picture21.jpg
Finally, any way please let me have the benefit of your knowledge, experience, thoughts. Thanks
 
Well god loves a trier. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Stick to the normal davits, your boat looks quite big.

Snap davits are made for little boats. You cant leave the outboard on. Rubber dinghies are far better. THe choice is yours. From ribs to air decks or flat floors.
 
Thanks for you input, she is 48ft not counting the bathing platform. So my thought that the snap davits were a good way of ensuring that the inflatable didn't fill with rain and rubbish is not a good one then?
 
Real davits: leave outboard on. Snaps, take it off. Then becomes an issue over which is the biggest pain to do, plus, unless you have electric motors involved, how butch you are at pulling ropes and/or lifting motors.

FWIW I dangle a 2.8m rib with 10HP off the back of a 27' boat and haul that up handraulically. I could put the motor onto a bracket but that's a bit of a fag to do single handed.
 
Mal, I agree with hlb. Manhandling a 3m RIB with snap davits will be difficult because of its weight and then, possibly, your bathing platform might not be strong enough for snap davits to be fitted. Then you have the problem of the engine. Typically a 3m RIB will have a 8-15hp engine which will have to be removed every time you stow the RIB and such an engine might weigh 30-40kg. How are you going to handle that and where are you going to store it?
Unless you go for a smaller tender, probably an inflatable with a soft floor, and a small engine, say 2-4hp, snap davits are going to be a problem
IMHO, proper davits are a better solution allowing a heavier dinghy to be handled and the engine to be left attached but do you know the lifting capacity of your existing davits? Typically, a 3m RIB with engine might weigh 60-100kg depending on model/engine and davit manufacturers reckon you should size each davit for the total weight of the tender. Are your davits rated to 100kg each?
If weight is an issue then look at RIBS with single skin floors like Valiant. Their Dynamic 300 might fit the bill
 
Depends how often you plan to use the dinghy. If you hardly ever plan to use it, then it may be worth considering deflating it and storing in the boat so you have a nice open bathing platform without davit arms to duck under.

If you plan to use it regularly then fixed davits are much better. The advantage, as others have said, is that the engine stays on, so you can just drop it in the water and go. Trying to put even a small outboard on a dinghy in anything but the calmest water is a pain.

If you're not trying to get to waterskiing speeds, then the type of lightweight RIB that Deleted User suggests is definitely the one to go for, with a nice light 6-10hp outboard. It will be fast and stable in the water, but easy to drag up the beach. Avon and Bombard also make them, and probably others.
 
I prefer snap davits as davits look unsightly and get in the way of the bathing platform. I have a 2.8 mtr air deck and my 14 year old son has no problem attaching it and pulling it up and can be easily done in less than a minute. As hlb says you have to take the engine off so more hassle there.

If you leave the engine on then Davits. If you take it off, snap davits.
 
Isn't it a virtue of snap davits that you can get in and out of the dinghy whilst it is still "locked" onto the bathing platform. This also makes putting a small engine onto the dinghy rather easier than if the dinghy was just tied to the stern.
I'm just about to fit our dinghy with snap davit "hooks" but admit that with a larger boat and bigger dinghy I'd go for proper davits.
 
Depends on the sea state. In a choppy anchorage with the boat pitching up and down, its best not to leave the davits attached when you get in as the movement puts a huge strain on the davits and the glued fixings to the tubes. The other problem we found with anyone being in the dinghy was that as you leaned over to attach the davits to the dinghy, the tube sunk into the water a bit so that the fixing points were difficult to attach
 
I was not convinced about the snap davits installed by the previous owner.... particularly when I discovered a repair receipt showing that the outboard had been dropped overboard! However, having a clear and unencumbered bathing platform is not to be underestimated. Once the tender is launched there is nothing in the way to bump your head on and the area is much more useable without davits in the way. This has to be balanced against the inconvienience of lifting the motor on and off (9.8 Tohatsu in my case), and a certain degree of strength is needed to pull up a 3.1m rib (Avon Lite). In an ideal world I would go for a neat folding crane in the corner of the bathing platform and a rib with a permanent motor attached. The 42 isnt really big enough to make this practical, and then there is the cost.... which SWMBO vetoed anyway!

DSC_0035.sized.jpg


(Yes... I did tell them to get their lifejackets on straight after taking the pic!)
DSC_0510.sized.jpg
 
Try looking at the Weaver web-site. You have not been given the full picture here.
1) Weaver make an outboard attachment that allows your motor to stay vertical on the transom when stowed. You therefore do not have to remove the o/b whilst docked or underway
2) They also make snap-davits especially for hard sided (grp or wooden) dinghies.

I fitted them and think they are a terrific option. Keeps the LOA down, too = lower marina fees....
 
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Those Hurley davits look great - was just about to fit snap davits on my Targa 34 but seeing them has made me re-think - anyone got these experience of these?


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They look a bit unsightly and I wonder how often you're going to stub your toes on them.
 
Yep, on reflection you're right, stubbed toes all round with one of them Hurley thingys. I've decided to go with Weaver snap davits, and just ordered all the bits and pieces from Polymarine.
 
The outboard attachment is only rated for a max weight of 85lb (39kg) so that means a max outboard power of 6-8hp which is not really powerful enough for the 3m RIB size originally mooted
 
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