The drain valve is left open nearly all the time and it’s quite high out of the water which mitigates the risk but I take your point. I did consider deflating it but the cockpit locker is full and I’d need to add a bracket to put the outboard on. There’s no spare room…!
That would be another solution. The blocks work well and are automatic so to speak.
The advantage of proper davits over snap davits is that you don’t need to remove the outboard every time you stow the dinghy. Our Westerly is 39’ long by the way so very comparable.
Indeed... Had to add a crane when we got the 6hp 4stroke..
Proper Davits would be the ultimate, as you say to save taking the Outboard off everetime, however I’m sure cost would be massive, but might be worth enquiring.
You are 100% correct, just don't get the Cadet Alu! The hard floor and keel really help with carrying load and motoring in any kind of chop or wash, they're a bugger to put together and exceptionally tight when new and dry (hint, lube them or at least get them wet!). The modern Cadet Alu has been designed for looks above all else and seems to be designed to stay inflated on the stern of motor boats where it will rarely be used and if it is it'll always be motored. Look for something with modern locking inflate valves as a bare minimum, but I'd also recommend a bung based drain (or even better no drain at all), tubes that aren't white, and whatever you buy check the build quality immediately and return if bits are falling off. We bought during Covid so I never even really complained about the alu strut ends not being secure and accept responsibility for that one. If possible, get a demo and try rowing - in my experience my old Waveco with the crappy looking metal screw rowlocks with a hole through the oar were really good to row with and the oars didn't move.
Our marina policy is that anything able to be removed quickly without tools doesn't count. On modernish but not too modern AWBs the davits won't overhang a lot and will often line up almost to the sugar scoop. folding or extending davits will solve this issue entirely but read the Ts&Cs.
Our davits are by Whittall but their company/name was bought by Simpson Davits | Cooney Marine
In all the marinas we’ve been in between UK and Caribbean the only one to measure our boat length and charge extra for davits was Rubicon in Lanzarote.
It is permanent berths where measuring overall length from tip of bowsprit/anchor/pulpit to davits and dinghy/transom hung rudder/windvane etc is now common. Our club measures area - measured length * maximum beam for charges. Penalised for the Bavaria because of beam. Perversely berths also have have a minimum as well as a maximum length so my Golden Hind, nominally 31'6 is actually over 10m on the club measurement system so could stay in the same berth but at a lower rate because it is 2' narrower You win some lose sum and really won this time because the berth was made extra wide for me when I got the Bavaria and can't be changed because there is one of the main piles between me and the next boat.
If I had a blank canvas I’d certainly look at a large stern arch with davits built in plus room for solar on top. Some boats we see can come stern to and drop the dinghy on the dock to allow access. Others have the dinghy so high you can walk underneath it. If we get a stern to med style berth we have to drop the dinghy and tie it to the bow just before reversing into position.
And they often manage to get in the way whether you are picking up a lazy line or dropping your anchor...