Sailing with dinghy on davits

depends how big the yacht is and how big the dinghy is. But everything should be ok until the weather gets a bit rough. Filling the dinghy with water is not a good idea, this has happend to a few I ve seen. The mountings for the davits need to be very strong to cope with a dinghy full of water. Also another little matter often overlooked - is the stern light visible from astern with the dinghy hanging?
 
I fitted davits some years ago and have not had any reason to regret it ! Only points I would make are that.. a) The boat must be of a size that the davits do not spoil her looks, and b) That its not going to increase your mooring fees !

If either of the above apply then maybe (assuming you are using them on an inflatable dinghy) those 'snap davit' clips that have a corresponding 'hook and catch' on the side of the inflatable and the transom of the boat, might be worth considering ?

Its great being able to lift the dinghy and o/board out of the water and keep it safely out of the way, I hate dinghies on deck almost as much as I hate towing them. I also have found that the davits are handy for stowing kayaks and such like, I tie mine down 'crossways' on the top of the bars.

I had to make some provision for my windvane self steering as davits and windvanes, ( to saw nothing of mizzen booms !) are not really compatable.

Regds Nick
 
Marsupial said:
depends how big the yacht is and how big the dinghy is. But everything should be ok until the weather gets a bit rough. Filling the dinghy with water is not a good idea, this has happend to a few I ve seen. The mountings for the davits need to be very strong to cope with a dinghy full of water. Also another little matter often overlooked - is the stern light visible from astern with the dinghy hanging?
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That is 2 good points, certainly my stern light is obscurred by the dinghy, but to be honest I think I must get a battery powered LED unit to hang on the aft most bit. I always try to remember to take the bung out of the dinghy to let out rainwater (I sometimes even remember to put it back in again before use)..In the event that I was pooped by anything large enough to get into the dinghy i suspect I would have other things on my mind and the dinghy would just collapse I suspect.

Regds Nick
 
If the boat is big enough to take it, then davits are the way to go. Such a great convenience compared to stowing on deck.
Never had a problem sailing with the dinghy in davits, but I once lost a load of snorkling gear that had been stowed carelessly in the dinghy when the davit sling on one side gave way.
 
castaway said:
That is 2 good points, certainly my stern light is obscurred by the dinghy, but to be honest I think I must get a battery powered LED unit to hang on the aft most bit. I always try to remember to take the bung out of the dinghy to let out rainwater (I sometimes even remember to put it back in again before use)..In the event that I was pooped by anything large enough to get into the dinghy i suspect I would have other things on my mind and the dinghy would just collapse I suspect.

Regds Nick
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Its not getting pooped thats the problem, its falling off a wave close hauled, that wave that rolls down the coachroof and over the spray hood will end up in the dinghy, again it depends on how big the boat is, but a dinghy full of water hanging astern really upsets your day!
 
Thank you for responding so quickly. My boat is 40 feet and 4 metres wide. Do you have any particular recommendations concerning make or design? Best regards, Eystein (Norway)
 
Salty John said:
If the boat is big enough to take it, then davits are the way to go.
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I once skippered an Ocean 60 when the owner upgraded the boats tender to an Avon rib with a 50 h.p. on the back. On passage from Antigua to Guadeloupe happened to glance over the stern to see the whole transom flexing like mad with the weight !! It required some major reinforcement to take the extra weight. But when it was done it was brilliant and I agree with Salty John. Definitely the way to go.

Chris
 
We have a 40foot boat which we fitted Davits to about 4 years ago, they have been brilliant, Would agree that extensive re-inforcing is required for the stern, we will be re-inforcing some more this spring. We carry our 3.1metre dinghy on the back whilst cruising but would agree that for longish open water passages it is probably best to roll the dinghy up.

The Davits we have are removable with just a stub remaining fixed to the boat with the legs in the cockpit locker so when we are not cruisng we don't have any Davits out. The Davits are French and are VERY expensive but the convenience of removing the leg is great.

They are available at Bigship and Accastillage Diffusion in France and are made by MPI Girofix.

http://www.bigship.com/catalogue/vie-a-bord-1/cockpit/bossoires-et-mats-de-charge/support-girofix

We are also building a cover for the dinghy to keep as much water out as possible.

Our stern light is obscured and we are looking at relocating it above the dinghy.

But yes we use the dinghy much more with the Davits or Bossoirs(Fr). and it is so much less hassle
 
Well, mine has davits, although it's a mobo, and all previous cruisers have had them. To be fair, I fitted them to all previous cruisers. I never leave the outboard on, but clamp it to the taffrail, and my dinghy has a cover. The thing about getting pooped is not in my personal experience so much about water getting in as coming up and lifting the dinghy bodily, destroying any clamps that stop it swinging about, lifting the davits the opposite way to the way they are designed to work, and causing someone to have to faff about, usually in foul weather, trying to get lashings on the thing before it stoves itself in against your transom. All my dinghys bar one many years ago are GRP, 8 to 8'6" long.

My stern light is mounted below the bottom line of the dinghy so it is visible astern of it, although I agree that mounted higher up on a short mast would be preferable. In my case my taffrail has a central door, the kedge mounted to starboard of that, and the o/board to port and even with a 9-10ft transom it would be a bit difficult to find somewhere not obstructed.
 
Boat davits is just like a a crane that projects over the side of a ship or a hatchway and is used especially for boats, anchors, or cargo..Nice to see some content on this topic,thanks for the lovely sharing..!!
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custom boat davits
 
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