brian L.,
one thing to consider when selecting a lifting davit is the size of your boat, especially on boats with a sugar-scoop transom. the larger the boat, the longer the reach you'll need to pick the outboard up. then you need to think about the problem of where to secure the outboard to the rail. this is especially difficult given the &@#%^$!! cove seats on the pushpit, assuming that the boat gods have cursed you with cove seats. On my boat, an H46LE, the barbecue takes up the starboard side since the empty propane locker is there, which means the outboard has to affix to the port pushpit inboard of the starboard cove seat. It's the ONLY place I can use to carry the outboard. Now here's the tricky part: the reach of the davit arm has to extend fairly closely from that engine mount to the pivot point where I'm going to mount the davit, (AND it still needs to be long enough to clear the transom.) Measure that distance, and then buy whatever brand lifting davit has a reach of that length. What I'm saying is that the garhauer unit that worked so great on somebody else's 37 footer won't come close on my 46 footer. Alternately, the Forespar crane that worked great on somebody else's 41 footer won't fit on your H34. Which is why I ultimately had custom davits made at the local boatyard. Regardless, brand is probably secondary to size when selecting a crane. Ahem. So if you really want an answer to your question, start a new threat asking whether someone's found the perfect davit installation FOR YOUR SPECIFIC BOAT.
