I am considering installing davits on my Hunter 40.5 Any advise from owners who had them installed. How do you like them? Who did you get them from? I am in St Petersburg Florida.
Henry
Henry
Davits
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Henry
I have the Ocean Marine davits on our 40.5 and have nothing with which to compare them as they are the only ones with which I have experience. Therefore, I can't comment on relative merit other than to say these work well, are structurally sound enough for me to hold both my 10 ft. inflatable and occasionally the outboard as well.
Regardless of which you choose, make sure they are designed or include diagonal braces such that the davits cannot rotate laterally. Also be conscious of the position they hold the dinghy as it can block the aft running light located on the transom if not held high enough - below the light is too low.
http://www.oceanmarinesystems.com/tocnew.html
ps it's a long way from Long Beach to St Pete.
I have the Ocean Marine davits on our 40.5 and have nothing with which to compare them as they are the only ones with which I have experience. Therefore, I can't comment on relative merit other than to say these work well, are structurally sound enough for me to hold both my 10 ft. inflatable and occasionally the outboard as well.
Regardless of which you choose, make sure they are designed or include diagonal braces such that the davits cannot rotate laterally. Also be conscious of the position they hold the dinghy as it can block the aft running light located on the transom if not held high enough - below the light is too low.
http://www.oceanmarinesystems.com/tocnew.html
ps it's a long way from Long Beach to St Pete.
ON MY 387 Catalina
I have Kato Davits. They have 6:1 reduction ratio on them. I am able to hoist with minimal effort an 80 to 100 pound dink and a 4 horse 4 stroke engine with them. They are good quality stainless steel, the blocks are Harken, and they have an approximate 600 pound capacity, at least that is what we were told they were rated for.
I had then installed at a boat yard and the total including the install was $2600 four years ago.
I have Kato Davits. They have 6:1 reduction ratio on them. I am able to hoist with minimal effort an 80 to 100 pound dink and a 4 horse 4 stroke engine with them. They are good quality stainless steel, the blocks are Harken, and they have an approximate 600 pound capacity, at least that is what we were told they were rated for.
I had then installed at a boat yard and the total including the install was $2600 four years ago.
I had a custom set made for the boat from a guy named Tea at House of Stainless. The guy did fantastic work, and I figured out that the price he charged was about the same as a set from any manufacturer. Best part is the guy was small enough to fit inside the compartments on the stern to do the backing plate. I then used a set of 6:1 blocks from Garhaurer for the lift. The blocks sure make it easy to lift with little strain.
House of Stainless is located in Gardena. I just looked and thought you were in Long Beach. You must have moved. Either way, if you have a dingy, davits are the way to go. Certainly makes using the dingy easier.
www.houseofstainless.com
House of Stainless is located in Gardena. I just looked and thought you were in Long Beach. You must have moved. Either way, if you have a dingy, davits are the way to go. Certainly makes using the dingy easier.
www.houseofstainless.com
Garhauer 1.25" Davit Installation
Henry-
I am a DIYer. My choice for quality and value was Garhauser Marine and I installed their 1.25" HD davits. The installation took me and one friend a total of one day to install. I spent another eight hours measuring the stern and planning the installation. If I had known exactly how to install and exactly where to drill, we could have done the job in half the time. I always measure three times and cut/drill once.
The people at Garhauer were excellent to deal with and their delivery was right on time this past Spring.
The attached pictures show some of the installation details.
Several important points:
First, measure vertically from the base mounting location on the stern to the upper curved stern rail on both sides. I found that on my 40.5 these two measurements were not equal between the port and starboard sides. In my case they were one inch different. If this is also the case for you, you then have a decision to make. You can cut the davit arms so that the distance from the top of the stern rail to the curve of the davit arm is equal on port and stbd, OR you can simply cut both davit arms to an equal length and then one davit arm will appear to be higher than the other relative to the stern rail. This was my choice.
Second, when installing the base and it's backing plate on the port side, remove the propane locker. This comes out easily by cutting the silicone sealant and removing four screws (I think I remember there were four screws, maybe not). It is not possible to install the backing plate with proper sealant any other way unless you are 2'6" tall and can fit into the stern lazarette. Don't even try.
Third, if your dinghy is under 10' 6" (mine is 9' 3"), I recommend making a modification to Garhauser's original design. Their original design calls for two straight tube braces connected between the davit arms using Tee-fittings. These will hold the davit arms perfectly parallel and prevent any movement.
However, due to the limited choice of base mounting, this fixes the distance between the davit arms to be too far apart for a short dinghy. You really must have the arms (at the end with the block & tackle) inside the dinghy so that the tackle lines run outward to the bow and stern fastening points in the dinghy. Failure to achieve this configuration will mean that the tackle will interfer with the dinghy engine and will also rub against the dinghy bow tubes. Both interference points will cause damage to the dinghy or engine.
To solve this problem, you need to buy a few extra parts from Garhauser. These are standard parts that they already have in stock. You need to buy eight 1.25" end caps with stainless hardware to connect them in pairs, two of the rail clamps (1.25" to 1") and a two-foot piece of 1" stainless tube. You will cut four short pieces (4-5" each) from the two long brace tubes that they send. Be sure to cut two pieces from each brace so that you don't end up with one brace that is too short to use later. Connect the end caps with the short tubes as shown in the picture, and then tip the davit ends toward each other. You want the ends of the davits about 12-18" less than the total distance between the dinghy stern and bow hoisting points. Measure for the length of the inner and outer davit arm brace and cut them from the remaining tubes. Be sure to allow for the length of the brace tube inserted into the end caps.
Lastly, with the braces assembled, move the davits until they are centered on the stern. Now using the extra rail clamps, attach the 2-foot piece of 1" tube across the davit arm braces. When all fasteners are tightened, the entire davit system will become completely rigid. You may want to cut the 1" cross tube to length and cap it with a couple of plastic caps for metal chairs. See your favorite hardware store for these caps.
I realize that these instructions may seem lengthy and difficult, but they are really straight-forward. Email me if you have any questions.
Total price for all parts and shipping to the east coast was about $1200 this past Spring.
Henry-
I am a DIYer. My choice for quality and value was Garhauser Marine and I installed their 1.25" HD davits. The installation took me and one friend a total of one day to install. I spent another eight hours measuring the stern and planning the installation. If I had known exactly how to install and exactly where to drill, we could have done the job in half the time. I always measure three times and cut/drill once.
The people at Garhauer were excellent to deal with and their delivery was right on time this past Spring.
The attached pictures show some of the installation details.
Several important points:
First, measure vertically from the base mounting location on the stern to the upper curved stern rail on both sides. I found that on my 40.5 these two measurements were not equal between the port and starboard sides. In my case they were one inch different. If this is also the case for you, you then have a decision to make. You can cut the davit arms so that the distance from the top of the stern rail to the curve of the davit arm is equal on port and stbd, OR you can simply cut both davit arms to an equal length and then one davit arm will appear to be higher than the other relative to the stern rail. This was my choice.
Second, when installing the base and it's backing plate on the port side, remove the propane locker. This comes out easily by cutting the silicone sealant and removing four screws (I think I remember there were four screws, maybe not). It is not possible to install the backing plate with proper sealant any other way unless you are 2'6" tall and can fit into the stern lazarette. Don't even try.
Third, if your dinghy is under 10' 6" (mine is 9' 3"), I recommend making a modification to Garhauser's original design. Their original design calls for two straight tube braces connected between the davit arms using Tee-fittings. These will hold the davit arms perfectly parallel and prevent any movement.
However, due to the limited choice of base mounting, this fixes the distance between the davit arms to be too far apart for a short dinghy. You really must have the arms (at the end with the block & tackle) inside the dinghy so that the tackle lines run outward to the bow and stern fastening points in the dinghy. Failure to achieve this configuration will mean that the tackle will interfer with the dinghy engine and will also rub against the dinghy bow tubes. Both interference points will cause damage to the dinghy or engine.
To solve this problem, you need to buy a few extra parts from Garhauser. These are standard parts that they already have in stock. You need to buy eight 1.25" end caps with stainless hardware to connect them in pairs, two of the rail clamps (1.25" to 1") and a two-foot piece of 1" stainless tube. You will cut four short pieces (4-5" each) from the two long brace tubes that they send. Be sure to cut two pieces from each brace so that you don't end up with one brace that is too short to use later. Connect the end caps with the short tubes as shown in the picture, and then tip the davit ends toward each other. You want the ends of the davits about 12-18" less than the total distance between the dinghy stern and bow hoisting points. Measure for the length of the inner and outer davit arm brace and cut them from the remaining tubes. Be sure to allow for the length of the brace tube inserted into the end caps.
Lastly, with the braces assembled, move the davits until they are centered on the stern. Now using the extra rail clamps, attach the 2-foot piece of 1" tube across the davit arm braces. When all fasteners are tightened, the entire davit system will become completely rigid. You may want to cut the 1" cross tube to length and cap it with a couple of plastic caps for metal chairs. See your favorite hardware store for these caps.
I realize that these instructions may seem lengthy and difficult, but they are really straight-forward. Email me if you have any questions.
Total price for all parts and shipping to the east coast was about $1200 this past Spring.
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Since I have stretched myself (200#) on top of the davits to secure and adjust the hold down straps, I am confident that these would support any solar panel that you could find.
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