Dinghy Davits for a 38-200?

Hi,

My wife and I have a 1988 38-200. We currently have an Avon dinghy that we generally keep deflated and stowed in the cockpit locker. This keeps the dinghy clean and out of the way.<O

I would like to replace the Avon with a Walker Bay dinghy with an inflatable floor. Deflated it's a little bulkier than the Avon and heavier. <O
My thought was to maybe mount it on davits.

Has anybody done this or seen it done on an Ericson? <O
Do you have recommendations on which davits I might use?<O

Thanks!
Bob

Bob,
Nice DIY article in the new issue of Good Old Boat about a guy that made his own from wood laminate. Quite pretty, seemed strong enough, and it might be a bit less obnoxious than shiny SS sticking out from the stern of a boat.

Just my .02 worth...

Loren

I have considered davits on my E38 but the reverse stern will make them a bit more cumbersome to use maybe? While the concept is great, nothing ruins the lines of a boat quicker than davits. Currently we tow or flip the dink over on the fordeck. RT

You are right on the money with your comment about ruining a boat's lines with davits. Certainly a flipped-over dink on the foredeck is a better option. Keep the weight out of the back, too.
Morgan Stinemetz

Here is where a designer could help out, but my take on the 38 is that her stern doesn't have enough reserve buoyancy to be able to handle the weight of a dinghy in davits without squatting. I used to berth next to an older Ericson 35 with dinghy davits, and her skipper regretted installing them because of how much his boat squatted. I would sure hate to go through that much effort and expense just to be disappointed with the result.

u079721 said:

...but my take on the 38 is that her stern doesn't have enough reserve buoyancy to be able to handle the weight of a dinghy in davits without squatting....

Click to expand...

That would be my take as well. Most Ericsons don't have the fat rear ends that most "modern" boats have.

I disagree about davits ruining the looks. Perhaps the dinghy being white helps. Its very easy to put the boat and motor in the water. It doesn't cause any drag under power or sail. The boat, motor, fuel, and davits together weight less than 200 lbs. We didn't like the other alternatives which would involve slinging a 5hp motor onto a dinghy. My wife can raise it by herself. We don't get dinghy bump in the night. Lots of reasons for it. The reverse transon does affect raising and lowering, depending on the width of dinghy. Depending on whether the stern ladder is up or down, you may have to nudge the boat out a bit when raising or lowering. Just make sure that the long arm of the davit is horizontal vs vertical. The Aquapro 8' 6" RIB that we have works well with a nudge being optional. We have the Martek 250lb davits with the 4:1 purchase and stabilizer bar. Definitely go with a stabilizer bar to prevent swinging. Their rail fitting is really slick. Simple to mount. I don't have a picture from the side but can take one next weekend it you'd like.
Cheers

Thanks for the input.

I agree with everybody. I may end up waiting to make the decision on the new dinghy.

Erich, thanks for the offer of additional pictures. I would really like to see them if you get time.

Thanks,
Bob

I'm actually considering a second dink, much smaller than my 10+ft Achilles with an inflatable floor so it can easily be deflated and stowed. I met a cruiser last year that was a serious retired ocean racer. He did this religiously and was against stowing on deck, towing and especially davits. His main concern was weather and its tendency to get very bad, very quickly and at the worst time. After seeing him break down his dink, etc. it is pretty quick. That and he used a nice electric pump to inflate/deflate...... RT

Pics

Lots of pics of boats with davits at http://www.katomarine.com/saildavits-boats.htm. Including an E32 and E38.

davits

I installed Kato davits on my E380 last year. The convenience was the major factor for doing this. Even though my Avon R280 is relatively lightweight, I prefer not to have to either deflate it or hoist it every Sunday night before heading home - - there's already enough to do to pack up and clean up at the end of the weekend. I like Kato's stuff - - also have their hoist for my 8hp O/B - - all good quality, reasonably priced, and they're local to me in Annapolis. One other thing - the davit also serves as a great platform for my Magna charcoal grill. Previously mounted it on the stern rail and always worried about damage to the transom which extended aft of the stern rail. Having said this, things like davits, radar posts, towers, etc offend my sense of esthetics, especially with this boat's lines.

Vince Benn
Wild Blue
E-380 #22

Thanks for all of the really good input,

I think I'm going to wait on the davits, for now.

There have been a couple of boats in our marina that had their sterns and stern rail damaged during storms due to their dinghy being on their davits during the storm.

I would like to get a new dinghy and also move some of the wieght from the starboard side of the boat (I store our existing dinghy in the starboard locker), but I think I'll focus on other projects for now.

I'm also perfectly comfortable avoiding the new dinghy and davit expense.

Thanks again,
Bob