Best Davit System for 420 Sundancer

I put a Hurley H30 with extensions on this past summer. Absolutely the nicest solution I found. Several others within our club are converting. I took a couple of long trips and had a single problem in rough seas. A rogue following wave lifted it out of the cradle. Tightening the straps took care of any repeat,
 
Have you looked at a SeaWeed system? A friend has it on his 420 and it works great. His has a power winch as well. I had it on my old boat (now have hydraulic) as well and I was very happy with it.

http://seaweedmarine.com/
 
Just wondering if I am the only one to think that the seeweed system might be one of the most overpriced products in this industry? For those that have purchased it and use it, worth the cost?
 
gerryb said:
Just wondering if I am the only one to think that the seeweed system might be one of the most overpriced products in this industry? For those that have purchased it and use it, worth the cost?
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It's hard to see how they could cost so much but the reality is when you compare to a hydraulic lift they are less than half the cost. If you compare to a Hurley/Nautley system they are way more. They do work great and they are good quality. There isn't really much to compare them too at that price. A good competitor could take a run at their pricing model but no one has yet.
 
For what’s its worth I’m headed to the Hurley 30+ model unless Seaweed sharpens their pencil considerably and have let them know that. Will be interested to see if they really want more of the market or just stuck where they are!
 
gerryb said:
Just wondering if I am the only one to think that the seeweed system might be one of the most overpriced products in this industry? For those that have purchased it and use it, worth the cost?
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I had the Seaweed system on my previous boat so I can attest to the quality and robustness. Even the finish was excellent since the owners are also in the medical equipment manufacturing business. As for cost I know they deal in $.80 dollars (CAD) so I'm surprised they wouldn't be competitive.
We were at the Toronto boat show two days ago and I visited their display. The system has changed a lot since I had it back in '04, where the cradles were almost custom made. Now they have gone to a multi-adjustable set-up that should fit any dinghy or PWC and then be converted for a different application in the future. They have also gone to a very robust winch mechanism which is tested supposedly with one year of salt water immersion. Ryan said they were extremely busy with orders and I can believe him.
So all I can say was that I liked the original product, even better than my current GHS hydraulic platform. It's simpler and easier. Unfortunate if it's not competitive from a cost point of view though, I don't know the current prices.
 
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I checked and those prices are actually in Canadian dollars (CAD), so the basic system with the light hand winch (like mine) at $7,112.00 CAD, works out to $5,694 USD at today's exchange rate. The light system, even with extended arms works out to $6,400 USD. (Still pricey and I'm not sure what the shipping costs are.) If you are hauling a PWC then consider the heavy system but that's a lot of weight on the transom of a 40-42' boat. A 52 might not notice it. My 460 with 400-450 lbs of dinghy, notices the difference if it's there or not. I'm not sure that I would want to be hauling a big PWC on the extended trips like we do. Also the Hurley and Nautley systems are simpler and cheaper but they don't have the features or effortless retrievability of systems like Seaweed and other pricier systems. It's a one-handed operation with the hand winch; click the winch strap on the bow eye and start winding. It centers itself. I've had a number of dinghy systems and all have their pros and cons from Weaver to Atkins & Hoyle, Seaweed and now GHS hydraulic. Seaweed was the easiest and most trouble free once set up, but the drawback is that it is one-sided.
I did like the fact that with systems like Seaweed you had some control over where the weight of the dinghy was centered (i.e. the keel). Other systems like Freedom Lift put that weight further aft. The hydraulic platform systems (GHS and TNT) can bring the weight forward but there's a lot of hardware and battery weight to deal with plus the complexity. Hurley systems seem to center that weight about where Seaweed would put it, in other words the keel near the aft edge of the platform.
Hope that helps and good luck with the many choices you have. It is confusing but ultimately dollars dictate. Hurley and Nautley seem like good solutions for the dollars spent.
 
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Thanks for all the comments, I went with the Hurley H20 a few weeks ago and the installation was quite simple but the actual use of the system was not possible with the SeaRay 420Sundancer. The height of the platform is way too high for any dingy other than a small one with a very small or no engine setup. I even bought a power winch to try to lift it that had a rating of 2,000lbs. The height does not allow the arms of the H20 to get to the waterline or provide the necessary angle to make it work.

My boat neighbors have the H30 and swear by it and should of taken their advice but really wanted the low profile of the H20 and the arms that easily come off and stow in my transom locker. Now I am just out $2k, have 4 holes in my platform that have the two plates on them that my wife and son both have cranked their toes on them during our last week long trip - ugh...

I am going to test a few other things out but most likely will have a very nice - never used H20 for sale for someone that wants to get a great deal :)
 
MI 420Sundancer said:
Thanks for all the comments, I went with the Hurley H20 a few weeks ago and the installation was quite simple but the actual use of the system was not possible with the SeaRay 420Sundancer. The height of the platform is way too high for any dingy other than a small one with a very small or no engine setup. I even bought a power winch to try to lift it that had a rating of 2,000lbs. The height does not allow the arms of the H20 to get to the waterline or provide the necessary angle to make it work.

My boat neighbors have the H30 and swear by it and should of taken their advice but really wanted the low profile of the H20 and the arms that easily come off and stow in my transom locker. Now I am just out $2k, have 4 holes in my platform that have the two plates on them that my wife and son both have cranked their toes on them during our last week long trip - ugh...

I am going to test a few other things out but most likely will have a very nice - never used H20 for sale for someone that wants to get a great deal :)
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Bummer about your experience. That has to be pretty frustrating. I hope you can get this solved before you lose any more of our already short season!

If you still have your H20 later in the season perhaps I can help find a new home for it. I recently moved to a 400 and am quickly missing the size of my 340's swim platform. The weaver davits that came with the boat are kind of a pain as it relates to dealing with the motor. I might want to move to something like the H20 and start covering the dink with the motor always mounted rather than flipping it up on the side.
 
It is for sale, make me an offer for the two arms and the rachet strap tie downs...the mounting brackets you will need to buy as I dont see those coming off easily as I filled the holes real good with 3M 5200.
 
MI 420Sundancer said:
It is for sale, make me an offer for the two arms and the rachet strap tie downs...the mounting brackets you will need to buy as I dont see those coming off easily as I filled the holes real good with 3M 5200.
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What size did you buy? Soft bottom or hard bottom version?
 
MI 420Sundancer said:
Thanks for all the comments, I went with the Hurley H20 a few weeks ago and the installation was quite simple but the actual use of the system was not possible with the SeaRay 420Sundancer. ....
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Sorry to hear this, I have the same 4 holes in my platform. The 420/44platform is just too high for the H20. That said we really like our H30, its just as easy to remove when not in use. The new electric winch is battery powered and works great.
 
Does anyone know if the Hurley systems ever go on sale? I am looking at the h30 - but I'm also really interested in the extension - however, at an additional $1700 for it - that's just insane. I get it - #becauseboat - but good grief.
 
Blue Chip said:
Does anyone know if the Hurley systems ever go on sale? I am looking at the h30 - but I'm also really interested in the extension - however, at an additional $1700 for it - that's just insane. I get it - #becauseboat - but good grief.
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I was able to find a return that they got back and got about 10-15% off the retail price.
 
importmonkey said:
I have a St. Croix hoist. The previous owner wanted something that an old man could do on his own. The 10' AB with 25hp Merc ain't light and he was able to do it himself. Had it there for the first trip and then took it off shop I could refurbish the tender, so I don't have much to say other than I love how I don't lose any swim platform. View attachment 52173 View attachment 52174 View attachment 52175
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Wondering if this will get the dink high enough up to avoid being hit by any kind of wake... anyone have experience with anything like this? About to pull the trigger on one and looking to verify...
 
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