System

Feb 21, 2010
330
Beneteau 31 016 St-Lawrence river
What is the width of your (boat's) rear end? Whether slings or Weavers if the ends of the dink are dipped in the water when heeling it will be very uncomfortable especially if the boat is pulled off!. I have Weavers on my AB 8VL loaded on a Bénéteau 31 and that works out most of the time. I have just purchased a Zodiac RIB 300; about the same size as yours but still on a 31. Will be testing different solutions next summer (water get's hard here).
 

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
Funny, one of the few pictures on a sailboat is Smitty JK_Boston a contributor on the Catalina 31 site. Maybe he will chime in. We added Garhauer Davits last season and when heeling 20° or more the pontoons are very close to being dipped. I have the same length AB. Caboteur is right
especially if the boat is pulled off!.
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
In my experience anytime I've used slings of any kind to carry a dink on davits, the chafe to the dinghy is very bad.
My suggestion would be to take it to an inflatable repair place and have lifting tangs glued on.
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
971
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
I bought a dinghy sling last year - it doesn't bring my 10 ft. dinghy high enough to sail, maybe a 7-8 footer would work on my boat. I used it a couple of times to keep the dinghy out of the water when anchored but that's it, don't plan on using it anymore. Once you have it all set up it's "reasonably" easy to get the dinghy in it and all tied up - best with two people and not too windy/wavy.
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,039
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Funny, one of the few pictures on a sailboat is Smitty JK_Boston a contributor on the Catalina 31 site. Maybe he will chime in. We added Garhauer Davits last season and when heeling 20° or more the pontoons are very close to being dipped. I have the same length AB. Caboteur is right
@JK_Boston_Catalina310 isn't using the sling any more, they have davits. The picture says 30 foot it should be 31'
 
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Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Here are a couple more pics of my dinghy in the sling. We have a 9'6" Highfields. The other Catalina 310 next to me has an 8' Highfields on davits.
IMG_5014.JPG

IMG_5015.JPG

IMG_5016.jpg

We crossed the Gulfstream and several other sloppy sections using the dingy sling. We never had chafe issues and once had a wave slap it and it splashed back but that was it. I would highly recommend the dinghy sling to anyone who wants an affordable way to get the dinghy out of the water without installing any hardware.

I shouldn't say any hardware. I added two stern cleats, close to the walkthrough. That did make using the sling easier and more secure.

We do have an arch now. It's nice to be able to lift the dinghy out of the water with the engine on. I wouldn't use Davits like the ones on the other Catalina above in big seas. But our arch lifts the dinghy above the stern rail. I can almost put the stern ladder up and down with the dinghy lifted. I am working on gaining those precious few inches.
 
Jan 17, 2013
439
Catalina 310 St. Simons Island, GA
One of the photos on the harbormen marine website is mine. Have been using it for 7 years and currently have a 7 ft dinghy and it works fine. Takes practice to get it set up just right but after a few dozen times you figure it out. When I had a longer (9 ft) dinghy it would sometimes drag in the water when healed way over but with the 7 ft dinghy that does not happen. Will have to see how it works for us when we start more long term, longer distance cruising in 2020 but so far we really like it.
 

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Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
One of the photos on the harbormen marine website is mine. Have been using it for 7 years and currently have a 7 ft dinghy and it works fine. Takes practice to get it set up just right but after a few dozen times you figure it out. When I had a longer (9 ft) dinghy it would sometimes drag in the water when healed way over but with the 7 ft dinghy that does not happen. Will have to see how it works for us when we start more long term, longer distance cruising in 2020 but so far we really like it.
I would recommend adding two cleats to the stern on the back just above the propane lockers. It makes it easier to setup the sling. And it makes it a lot easier to get on and off the boat at anchor.