Inflatable lifting rings.

[Teddy]

I have an old, but rarely used, Maestral 5 inflatable I wish to modify for lifting on davits. The transom end is no problem, but advice needed on the forward lifting points, of which none are fitted. Should I stick purpose lifting rings (inside or out), or would fixing ss eyes into a reinforced floor be okay? Thanks.

 

[claymore]

Manufacturers always stick them on the inside around midway from the top of the tube on the forward quartersbow. This helps to get the dinghy to sit high in the davits and makes a simple job of attaching the line to hoist it. You'd need some hefty patches to stick the rings on with but I think it would be better than trying to use the floor - it might tend to try to pull out of the dinghy whilst its all hanging there. You could also do to measure the distance between your davits to get the rings stuck in the correct position
regards
JS

 

[rich]

my bombard 320 hung on davits for 10 years with reinforced floor,untill i sold it and now have a wetline 265 cheers rich

 

[colin_jones]

One of the smaller RIB builders will certainly put you on some patches and rings about half way up the tube. If you go DIY make sure that you get their best adhesive and a very big support patch. When we used rings in the floor, it was difficult to get the dinghy high enough in the davits because the falls were badly situated.