Dinghy Snap Davits for sailing boat

[SteveGorst]

I am currently pondering over a system for stowing the dinghy while sailing that provides easy launching when I reach the anchorage. I think I've got two choices. Crane style Davits for lifting the dinghy straight out the water horizontally and I guess this way I may be able to leave the engine on. Or a swivelling snap davit attached to the bow and swing it up vertically. The boat isn't quite wide enough for a snap davit attached to the side of the dinghy and I feel that if I healed over the tender would enter the water and be ripped away. With the crane style Davits I'm not sure how they would fare if the wind got up above 30 knots. I can imagine the dinghy swinging around even when pulled up tight to the Davit. There have been occasions when we have sailed quite happily in 30 knots well reefed etc but a dinghy on the back would be a complication that I wouldn't like to sort out if it went pear shaped. I want to choose the option which would give me the best performance if I get caught out in a blow. I am leaning towards the snap davit attached to the bow of the dinghy but am interested in other peoples thoughts and what they would attach the dinghy to when it is upright. Also just a thought do you have to have a bathing platform to use a snap davit or can it be used with a flush transom like I have.

 

[prv]

What size dinghy are we talking about?

I'm not convinced it's really practical to have any reasonable-sized dinghy on the transom of a 33-foot boat in other than calm conditions. I know I wouldn't attempt it in my 34'. The only way I carry the tender around inflated is upside-down on the foredeck, with the transom tight against the mast step and several good lashings to the toe-rail. If I was expecting a blow, though, I'd take the time to deflate it and stow it in the locker. It's undeniably a ball-ache but I don't see any way round it.

Pete

 

[RupertW]

What size dinghy are we talking about?

I'm not convinced it's really practical to have any reasonable-sized dinghy on the transom of a 33-foot boat in other than calm conditions. I know I wouldn't attempt it in my 34'. The only way I carry the tender around inflated is upside-down on the foredeck, with the transom tight against the mast step and several good lashings to the toe-rail. If I was expecting a blow, though, I'd take the time to deflate it and stow it in the locker. It's undeniably a ball-ache but I don't see any way round it.

Pete

We have no option but to leave it on the foredeck with our 3m (and now thankfully 2.6m) rib and find that even beating into a horrible sea for days on end it stays completely in position with very short line to the foredeck at the bow, and two lines down to the stays. It seems like a good position and I think helps divert the worst of the spray over the bow.

 

[SteveGorst]

Fair comment, its a Seago 2.4m When I put it on the foredeck as you describe I have trouble getting around it as It fills up the whole foredeck. It's too big to go in the locker so we deflate it and put it in the anchor well most of the time. What if we scale the wind down to a brisk breeze say 20 knots. Would it be feasible? If we get down to 10 I would be motoring....

 

[RupertW]

Fair comment, its a Seago 2.4m When I put it on the foredeck as you describe I have trouble getting around it as It fills up the whole foredeck. It's too big to go in the locker so we deflate it and put it in the anchor well most of the time. What if we scale the wind down to a brisk breeze say 20 knots. Would it be feasible? If we get down to 10 I would be motoring....

I think that's the key difference to a foredeck working for you or not. On our 42 foot boat the side decks are easily big enough so it doesn't impede - but also we only really go to the foredeck to anchor or occasionally hoist the asymmetric - neither of which are done in big waves. Davits at the back would work on our boat, but would be completely wrong for the sort of cruising we do - always moor stern-to and use the stern a lot for swimming off too.

 

[dunedin]

Provided the boat is big enough, I would definitely go with proper crane style davits - the Plastimo ones are great value and very effective (though may need to reinforce under decks to take strain).
30+ knots wind would not worry me with dinghy on the davits. As well as the two main lift ropes, we have ropes crossing to each side which are fixed length and simply snap clip on. When leaving boat unattended have a hold down rope to stop lifting upwards.
For major deep water crossings beyond a reliable forecast tend to take off dinghy and deflate, just in case get caught in gale plus seriously major seas. Never had any salt water in dinghy on davits when sailing to date, but just being double cautious.

Certainly would not be happy with dinghy lifted up lengthways in any wind. Looks to be huge windage.

PS. Unlike the above we tend to preferanchoring or Baltic style bows to mooring - for privacy and to protect the rudder. Hence dinghy on davits fine for us.

 

[prv]

Provided the boat is big enough, I would definitely go with proper crane style davits

If the other option is strapping it vertically to the transom then I agree - but it does depend on boat size and I'm not convinced that a Moody 33 is wide enough at the stern unless the tender is tiny. Tiny tenders don't get used because nobody wants to spend the evening in the pub with a wet arse, so the whole exercise becomes pointless

Pete

 

[SteveGorst]

Cheers thanks for that. The plastimo ones had indeed caught my eye. There is no stern too mooring going on here. So would you say as long as the stern is 2.4m wide to match the tender that would be big enough. I'll have to get my tape measure out as that is a close call. In fact I don't think its going to be close so it looks like its going to have to be the foredeck.

 

[RupertW]

Cheers thanks for that. The plastimo ones had indeed caught my eye. There is no stern too mooring going on here. So would you say as long as the stern is 2.4m wide to match the tender that would be big enough. I'll have to get my tape measure out as that is a close call. In fact I don't think its going to be close so it looks like its going to have to be the foredeck.

Personally I don't think the stern needs to be as wide as the dinghy is long - the key question is how far apart are the best mounting points for the davit - quarter to half a meter outside the davits on each side would be structurally fine for a 2.5-3.5m dinghy. But push it past that and you'd have some potential parking issues and most importantly could get the dinghy dragging with a lot of force if heeled a long way over for a moment.

 

[Quandary]

Our boat is a Moody S31, the dinghy (Avon Redcrest) lives across the transom secured to the pushpit by a bow rope from the
rubber cleat inside the tube at the bow.and from another at the stern secured to the rear seat supports. It has to be kept quite high to avoid dragging when beating but it just overlaps the pushpit vertically and very slightly horizontally. It has not caused any problem and is very quick to launch and board, undo 2 knots and splash! (we used to have a dog who wanted to pee as soon as the anchor went down) It also serves as neat stowage for our bigger fenders. The downside was that the outboard is kept on the pushpit but the upside of that is that it is usually close enough to row without the faff of transferring it. We have been doing this since 1996, first in a Sigma 38, then in a Finngulf 33 now in the wee Moody. I keep getting people coming to talk to me to ask has the dinghy been modified in some way, but a caution, Avons are much more strongly put together than your average.

Another downside is the need to carry a spare stern lamp but it never gets dark up here in summer.

 

[dunedin]

Cheers thanks for that. The plastimo ones had indeed caught my eye. There is no stern too mooring going on here. So would you say as long as the stern is 2.4m wide to match the tender that would be big enough. I'll have to get my tape measure out as that is a close call. In fact I don't think its going to be close so it looks like its going to have to be the foredeck.

Our davits are much narrower than 2.4m and have a 2.7m boat on them. The davit points in the dinghy on our case are eye bolts inside the transom (to avoid fouling the outboard) and D rings glued inside onto the side tubes about 20cm back from the inside of the bow. Hence, including the tube width at the fron, the attachments are probably a metre or so less than the boat length.

 

[SteveGorst]

Thanks guys you have given me a lot to think about and I will get down to the boat with my tape measure now to make sure the width of the transom isn't ridiculously less than the length of the dinghy. I would guess its about 1.8m. Which sounds like it would be fine for local journeys.

 

[Graham376]

Friend of ours hangs a fairly fat fender horizontally across the transom and lashes the dinghy vertically to the taffrail with its transom sitting on the fender, seems to work OK in reasonable conditions. Not sure how long the rather lightweight fabric on a Seago would last if all weight was resting on snap-davit on bow tube.

 

[dunedin]

Friend of ours hangs a fairly fat fender horizontally across the transom and lashes the dinghy vertically to the taffrail with its transom sitting on the fender, seems to work OK in reasonable conditions. Not sure how long the rather lightweight fabric on a Seago would last if all weight was resting on snap-davit on bow tube.

Lashed sideways across the stern tends to work quite well with the old style round stern tenders (Avon Redcrest etc) but a tender with transom and tubes extending both sides tends to drag a corner in the water when sailing fast and heeled, unless a very short tender or fat/ high stern.