Inflatable in davits - will this idea work?

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Carduelis

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I have a smallish (Seago 3 person) soft floor inflatable and I'd like to start using it in conjunction with some davits which were on the boat when I bought it but have never used. I don't yet have any 'falls' for the davits, or any fittings on the dinghy.

I obviously want to be able to lift the dinghy clear of the water, but I'd then like to turn it sideways to stop it filling with water and to reduce the overall length.

Now my idea is to get two webbing strap loops made, each joined with a metal triangle. I can drive the dinghy into these loops and then attach to the davit falls to the metal triangles. Once it has been lifted a little, the dinghy would then be turned within the strap loops until it was side on and vertical. Other lines could then be used to pull the dinghy hard to the stern of the boat.

I have seen 'belly bands' used, but these aren't quite the same as they seem to be used to hold a dinghy horizontally in davits. Also the only website I can see them on says they shouldn't be used for lifting, so no good to me.

Can anyone see why this idea won't work?
 
The belly bands were not designed for lifting, only as a method of securing after lifting as the way the rope is sewn on to the webbing is not the strongest method. We can pretty much make whatever you want.
 
The problem you'll have is underway; it's ready to catch a wave and put a big shock load on the davits. For a marina where you're worried about overall length it would be fine.
 
I have a similar Seago, but not the desire to lift it in slings. However, I DO have several 55mm webbing slings with sewn loops at each end - rated 1500kg - which were used for one-time slinging off bundles of copper plumbing pipes at builders' merchants. They then became scrap, until I scrounged 'em.

They're probably a little short for your purpose, but are worth exploring, as you wouldn't need to have any made up until/unless you had 'proof of concept' and measurements. I wouldn't use metal triangles, prefering large snaplinks. Pound Shops have some 'very cheap'.....

If you'd care to send a PM with a pic of your boat's back end and some crucial measurements, I may be able to help further.
 
We lift it on the davit falls to get it out of the water. One clips into a hook in the centre of the transom. The other into a rope loop between the two front towing eyes. Once clear of the water, the boat hooks used to grab the life line rope on the furthest away tube to haul the dinghy vertical. The uppermost tube is then lifted over the davit arms and the dinghy sits on the davits. I wedge an old t-shirt under the tube to prevent chafing.

5592265585_9078461fb0_z.jpg


This keeps the overall length down to about 2" longer then the davits. The dinghy cannot fill with water. It can be deployed quite quickly, but you do have to take the engine off.

Zoom in on this one to see a side profile. https://www.flickr.com/photos/54758027@N00/9676244932/in/set-72157633818702667
(Different boat, same dingy!)

It might not work for you, but something to think about.
 
Thanks for the advice Guys. I'm glad that nobody thinks it is totally daft!

The set up shown by Alpha22 is pretty much what I'm hoping to achieve, albeit with the end of the davits above, and with the straps around the hull of the dinghy.

I suppose I'm concerned about the difficulty of rotating the dinghy in the slings due to the friction against the straps and also the practicality of 'driving' into the slings in the lowered position. Will this work when there are several people on board?

I think that I will (also as suggested) Knock up a proof of concept to get the measurements right.

Oldbilbo, you have a PM.
 
Here's a couple of pics of the webbing straps I have, courtesy of Travis Perkins plc.


IMG_3986.jpg



IMG_3987.jpg



These are 225cm laid flat, and their rated strength/SWL is rather less than I remembered, at about 640kg depending on arrangement. That should still be plenty strong enough for a Seago.

I imagine that rigging a pair of similar straps with lower ends secured around the bases of the davits, and the outer/upper ends clipped to the davits' existing 'falls', then once this is lowered to water level you ought to be able to slip the Seago in. Then raise the whole dinghy up and clear, rotating it from horizontal to near-vertical as it is raised.

There may be sufficient room between the tops of the davit 'falls', under the davit arms, and the lower legs/base where the straps are attached ( looped over? ) for the dinghy to fit snug..... If not, then a couple of deck eyes fitted lower through your transom should do the trick.

Hope that helps.:)
 
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I wouldn't try to 'rotate' whilst in slings. Put the slings round with the winch point where you want it to be when lifted and just lift it up. A rubber dink will not swamp if lifted from one side. I would probably try to loop the strop around under the dingy and fasten with a buckle on top, so it slightly squeezes the tubes to get a 'grip'.
 
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