Better Dinghy cover?

Escapade

Well-Known Member
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Jan 10, 2007
1,230
Lake Michigan
Boat Info
44 Sundancer
Engines
QSC500
Better dinghy cover,
We have a Mercury 310 Air Deck and ordered a cover from our dealer. The prblem is the cover to fit properly has to wrap completely around the tubes. If we leave the dink in the water at the slip the cover quickly get fouled out. I'm looking for some thing that would cover the top side tighly and not allow for rain to collect.
Any thoughts?

Mike
 
I just ordered a new 9' RIB and will likely have the same question about the cover ordered with it. But I will be carrying it in a Hurley davit system and I'm hoping the we can pull bungees or lines under the dingy hull while it is elevated on the swim platform.

Our previous dingy had a cover which went over the bow and had built in elasticized bungee sewn into the hem and then clips behind the outboard. The elasticised hem went under the pointed tubes aft and then clipped behind the outboard. Mid-ships it came with a flexible batten about 1" wide (from a sailmaker) which tucked in between the floor boards and the tubes starb. and port. A strip of fabric sewn into the center of the bottom of the cover prevented the batten from moving. This batten served to elevate the center section of the cover to allow rain to run off the boat. It worked well on the dingy when it was afloat beside the mothership or at the dock.

Good luck,
Warren
 
Warren-

Posible good news. We saw a nice fitted cover that looked as if it would keep any water from collecting in the center. The owners were not around and we left a note asking for info on it.

We stow our dinghy on a Hurley Davit system also! Works well.

I'll keep you posted if they reply.

Mike
 
I put a big Excerise ball (you know, the kind that your wife bought and then never used and then it sits in the attic waiting for the husband to find a good use for it) under the cover to create a "water shed" just like you see under swimming pool covers.
 
We thought of doing that but, dont have a good plan on where to store the ball when not in the dink? What do you do with it?
Mike
 
This excercise ball is delfatable and came with a pump.
These excersise balls are in Wallmart for about $10....the pump is included.....OR....you could just buy the biggest beach ball you can find and blow it up... :grin:
 
Lets see... $ 10.00 Vs. A new cover at $ 100.00... Wallmart he we come!

Thanks man!
 
Hi Dom. Great suggestion on the ball. A bit off topic but just wanted to know if your dink is on Hurley davits? I have bought one with the RIB inserts but not yet installed. From the photo your platform looks about the same ht. as the one on our "new" 400SD-D (first day in her slip yesterday after a long voyage from NC!!!) and your dink is sitting nice and high off the water - love it! Our platform is 9" above the water. Yours looks about the same. Any tricks or suggestions on the install? SR says the platform is synthetic cored and the holes should be sealed - did you double hole with backing plates? Can you deploy the ladder without removing the davits? Will you carry an outboard on the boat - what size, weight? Ease of lifting??

Your comments are welcomed!
Thanks,
Warren
 
Warren-
When we set up our Hurley Davit we offset it to port for two reasons. One to account for the gusset system under the platform and two, to account for the greater weight of the motor under the Davit. You will have another factor as you noted with your ladder. As you have noticed the Hurley can be removed with the clevis pins for fast removal. I used a 1"x1"x1/4" aluminum plate to equalize the lead and also filled the holes with silicone, potted the deck side mount with silicone and coated the fasteners with silicone. All in All we are very happy with the ease of the Hurley Davit.

Mike
 
Thanks Mike! As I understand it by offsetting the davits to port you will always have the stern of the dinghy on the port side of the platform.

Todd Hurley said the motor will always have to be tilted up. Did you position it in such a way that the motor is always inboard of the port side of the platform - even when tilted? Is the dink still centered on the platform side-to-side? In your opinion would the davit hold the "heavy" end of the dink OK if it were installed in the center? Would there be any advantages that you can think of in being able to face the dinghy either way?
Thanks,
Warren

Todd also said quite a few people use straps around the back of the motor to ensure that it doesn't accidentally fall underway, damaging the platform, do you find that necessary?
Thanks,
Warren
 
Heh Dom. If the dink has a seat in the center do you think an inflatable doll would work better? Prone of course. he-he.
Warren
 
Just looked at a photo of our boat on the virtual marina. We offset the boat to the starboard not the port, sorry. Our transome door is to port. We do store it on with motor trimmed up and never had a problem with it flipping down. I recalect the latch on our Mercury motor is robust enough to hold as it has for over a year now. Strapping it would be on the side of caution and cheaper than a gel coat repair. I'm guessing we off set the davit by 12' of center to allow for more weight in the rear ot the dinghy. We do put the dinghy on slighly off set to the starboard. That with the tapper of the dinghies bow gives us ample room to board. We have not had any problem with clearance height on take off as others have said to look out for. Other than a little splash by the dinghy stays dry to the bone.

Now about the blow up doll... Nah... that would be too hard to explain to my 11 year old daughter.

Off topic, these boats are great fun, some friends are planning a "Dinghy Drive In" for later this summer with a projection TV and Popcorn!
 
Nice job on the davits Dom. Too late for me to get Dom's davits now but I really like the elevation of the dinghy and the ease of disassembly. Like Mike did you just drill holes in the platform and seal the bolts with sealant or did you pre-drill and fill, then drill smaller? Or is this overcautious in your view?

Thanks for the clarification Mike. Yes, dinghys a lot of fun and I am looking forward to getting our new one onboard!
Warren
 
Warren said:
Nice job on the davits Dom.

Thanks...


Warren said:
Like Mike did you just drill holes in the platform and seal the bolts with sealant or did you pre-drill and fill, then drill smaller? Or is this overcautious in your view?

I shoved a bunch of 4200 in the holes and then stuck the bolts in....

A few tips, some of which I learned the hard way...

Dry fit and Tape, with 2" wide blue tape, the area around the mounts....that will avoid getting sealant all over the platform.

Tape the edges and the top of the mount...that will avoid getting sealant all over the mount.

Sparingly put sealant on the bottom of the mount and then tighten the bolts.

Have PLENTY of paper towels or rags......

An old cardboard box,with low sides handy on the platform to drop the tube of sealant in really saves you from getting sealant all over the place

Specific to installing the Weaver receivers....put some tape over the hole in the rear of the receiver where the locking pin goes BEFORE you install.....that will avoid sealant from oozing all over the inside of the receiver...learned that on the hard way on the first receiver....


good luck...
 
Excellent practical advice on drilling/filling the platform holes Dom. Appreciated!
Warren
 

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