Lots of davit research leads me to this

[Dean5735]

They are way to expensive for what they are, I am capable of fabricating my own to haul my 8' Walker Bay on my Catalina 30 . I have a question of how high I should haul it. with the top rail of the dingy below the stern light or the bottom of the dinghy above the stern light? I am not sure if below the light will give me enough water clearance for lake michigan swells and waves. Below would make it easier by having lower arm on the davits, but I suppose higher is better but for visibility? The boat is in the drive with the dinghy on scaffolding behind it, so I can build to suit.
Maybe you can see the tow aluminum bar sections I have straped to the rail as an template, starting point type of thing.

Anyone been there and done that? How hi do the boughten ones haul it?

Thanks , Dean

 

[Rich Stidger]

Dean,

As a fellow DIYer, I applaud your initiative.

Before you get too far along, what is your budget for this project, and have you looked at Garhauer davits? The Garhauer models can be had at your door for $900-1100 depending upon the tube size you want or need. They have the installation figured out and the product is top-notch. Don't forget to figure your time (I bill out mine at 18 cents/hour.... I'm retired....) but there is also the loss of use while you are designing and building.

If you are determined to build your own and enjoy the pride of design and construction, I may be able to offer a couple of design tips. You are correct to take the stern light position into consideration (I need to move mine) and you certainly want the dinghy high enough that it won't get hit or swamped by waves. Of course if the waves are that large, the dinghy belongs on deck and lashed down.

The other consideration is that the ends of the supporting arms need to be closer together than the attachment points on the dinghy. This is necessary to eliminate the twartships movement of the dinghy when it is secured. Tying the dinghy is not as simple as it looks. You will spend several hours or more trying different techniques before you settle on one.

If you would like more info and pictures of my final design and tying scheme, email me from the owners directory.

 

[Ctskip]

I, for one, would like to see your design. Don't be shy, step right up and show us all how you did it.

Keep it up,
Ctskip

 

[seadaddler]

See More

Yes I would like to see more how you will support it all with out any bending or twisting of the piping.
Nick

 

[Dean5735]

My budget 0 to maybe $100.00 for some materials, my time and friends time is figured at nill. I have 20 years of shop time in the truck equipment installation and fabrication business and have been out of it for 10 years, (except for little projects like this and my sap boilers) I still have contacts in the shop for scrap or new material if needed, I am thinking of 1-1/2" square aluminum tubing, the Walker Bay only weighs seventy five pounds. Removable is key also, as I don't want to get charged for additional length when in the slip. Building bracketry, gussetting, bending, bracing and all that will be easy, just have to engineer it. I have looked at about 12 different store bought davits and have a good idea of what I want.
I would like to see yours though Rich. I will document mine also as I get going on it.

You can see the 2 sap boilers we made on my you tube channel : blowinganddrifting

Thanks, Dean

 

[Bill Roosa]

Stich and glue solution

Don't forget about glass over plywood. Light, easy to fabricate, rust proof and strong. I built two for my Catalina 30. I-beam type from scrap I had from the construction of my 8-Ball dingy.
Things to consider; the upward angle of the stern light needs to be enough for big vessels to see at closer ranges. Placing the dingy to low above the light will limit them seeing you at closer ranges. First mate visibility, if you can see over the dingy that is great but be sure to check for those "smaller sailors" that also need to see over the stern. This was the controlling variable for me. Fore-aft movement of the dingy. Just need to insure that it does not bang on the davits and damage the dingy over time. Makes a lot of noise too.

Good luck

 

[thereisabelle]

Re: Stich and glue solution

we thought about replaceing the davetts on thereisabelle. the deck pads are still there. I opted for lashing to the stern rail for now. it does cover the stern light, but for any night travel or motoring with the dingy up i will use a clip on light 180'. did you get the inflateable chambers? you wont like the 8' in any chop. take a look at our photo album, we have the 10' hauled up on a spare halyard. takes me 2-3 min. to drop or raise. it will shorten the o.a.l. when comes time to pay for a transient slip. i thought of makeing davit arms from 1x4 and 1x6 pvc. I beam style. that's as far as i got. that stuff does drill & tap nicely. home depot has it in all sizes, s4s... jimbob

 

[flip]

wood

Just a thought, I made a pair of davits last winter out of ash which were cold laminated and they worked quite well last summer. We spent a month in the north channel of lake huron and tending to the dinghy was much simpler. Our dinghy weighs about 60 lbs. I hung 75 lbs on each arm and there was some deflection but nothing to be conserned about. I put two blocks on the stern to rest the bottom of the davit on and fastened the upper part of the arms to the stern rail. Just one more option for thought.
Phil

 

[Bill Roosa]

reposition the stern light

I suspect you can simplfy the situation by moving the stern light to one of the davits. Then you can have the dingy where you want it without the lige being obstructed

 

[Dean5735]

Great shots of the Ash davits, thank you !! I have another idea or two now.
I made a starter template the other day out of some 1/2" styrofoam board insulation, when I get a chance I will post some pics of what I come up with.

Thanks again, Dean