fabricating davits

[J.Wilt]

Here are some pics of my recent davit project. Tried them for the first time this past weekend and they worked great
!!:smt038!!
A friend made the stainless hardware for me and I used 1" king starboard for the cradles.

I just have to remember to tie off the dinghy while trying to load. It sliped out off my hands and the wind blew it out into the lake about a mile before I had a chance to retreve it.:smt043:smt043
Jeff

 

[Alex F]

Very nice, enjoy them.....and yeah, having the dink's line tied to a cleat until it's settled on the ramps is a good idea.

A quick question, what tool did you use to cut the starboard, jigsaw or something esle?

 

[J.Wilt]

I used a bandsaw w/3/8" blade, and the center cut outs I use a jigsaw.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

nice job i'm almost done with my similar set up the I have a machine shop fabricating the brackets that bolt to the starboard, and waiting for them, Alex, I tried a jig saw to cut the excess material from the polypro that i used and it was a mess, i went to a flush bit router to do the finish work it worked fine but was very hard to control, my buddies also following my ideas but we took his to the metal fab guy and they cut his( plastic) on the waterjet wow what a difference!! pics to follow soon I hope nice job guys,,

 

[capecodcruiser]

nice job i'm almost done with my similar set up the I have a machine shop fabricating the brackets that bolt to the starboard, and waiting for them, Alex, I tried a jig saw to cut the excess material from the polypro that i used and it was a mess, i went to a flush bit router to do the finish work it worked fine but was very hard to control, my buddies also following my ideas but we took his to the metal fab guy and they cut his( plastic) on the waterjet wow what a difference!! pics to follow soon I hope nice job guys,,

Salt, Where did you get your Starboard? And could you either give me your shops number or just ask them to make another set of the stainless brackets that mount to the Starboard?? I know sometimes it is easier if they make up a couple of sets of the same thing. Thanks so much.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Salt, Where did you get your Starboard? And could you either give me your shops number or just ask them to make another set of the stainless brackets that mount to the Starboard?? I know sometimes it is easier if they make up a couple of sets of the same thing. Thanks so much.

I used polypropelene in stead of starboard it has the same qualities as starboard but seems a little cheaper i bought it in 1'' thickness, I will talk to the metal guy and see what we can do , he's doing me a favor so i dont want to ask for too much.

 

[Leafy Isle]

no pics yet, will do soon......

 

[capecodcruiser]

I used polypropelene in stead of starboard it has the same qualities as starboard but seems a little cheaper i bought it in 1'' thickness, I will talk to the metal guy and see what we can do , he's doing me a favor so i dont want to ask for too much.

Thanks Salt, I appreciate anything you can do.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

OK here are some pics, it's not exactly what i wanted the machinist lasered the S R in the brackets but i wanted the Sea Ray logo, he did it as a favor so i cant complain now, they work great and look ok so,,,,

 

[J.Wilt]

Look great Frozen.:thumbsup: I love mine, I thought that I'd be taking mine off more but we can't seem to go anywhere with out the dinghy, kids new toy.:smt038

 

[Alex F]

Joe, very nice setup.

He guys, what's the distance you have between the ramps (I know that each dinghy is different, but I think most of us with similar saize boats have similar size dinks)?

 

[J.Wilt]

My davits are 32" on center. There is only 36" between the 2x4 rail supports under the platform. The dink rides just fine.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

I moved mine to about 40" only because of the same stringers under the platform i figured wider would be better especially with the outboard on the dinghy but i dont think its all that important just look before you drill.

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

I really don't like anything showing on the top of my swim deck period. As a result, I've not had any davits since getting my current boat. This most recent post has me thinking.:wow:

Cars have "hidden hitch" trailer hitches that have "receivers" that barely poke out from underneath the bumper. I'm thinking that a similar "hitch" should be easily designed to attach under the swim platform using the decks support structure. The receiver (square tube) would be placed back a few inches so it wouldn't be easily seen, plus it would take away the stubbed toe thing. :smt001

The actual davits would be mounted on a curved "trailer hitch" type item that would slide into the receiver just under the edge of the swim deck and be secured with a "pin" (just like the trailer hitch ball).:huh:

Think, think, think...:smt101

Well, it's been about 2yrs since the thinking began and I have now followed through with the purchase of an Aluminum RIB then the design, fabrication, installation, and testing of "Jimmy's Davits". Here's some photos of the process...

I used 2.5" square tube aluminum for the "receiver" and 2" square tube aluminum for the "hitch". The white davits are cut from 1X10 plastic wood.

The hitches were placed between the structural members underneath the swim deck and secured with 1/2' stainless bolts with nylon lock nuts. The long "hitch" piece was used to determine the exact placement of the hitch to ensure that the assembly would be level with the swim deck. The receivers were placed far enough back to be relatively unseen when the davits are not being used, but close enough to reach under and install the security pins.

Once the receivers were secure, it was time to slide the hitches in and lift the dinghy onto the arms. Then it was just a matter of deciding how far the dinghy was to be from the transom (allowing space to walk between the dinghy and transom) and drill the hole for the security pins.

Next, determining the security strap placement.

Now for the water test...

Next, I decided to launch the dinghy which went very well. She likes to cling to the davits at a 50-60 degree angle with the port tube on the water. It just takes a little push with my foot on the bottom to get her to slide down into the water. The davit arms remain vertical, so I decided to pull her back onto the davits which seemed relatively easy (no motor on it yet though) and the arms became ramps allowing me to pull her back into position.

Once strapped back on, I decided on a sea trial. Now, I did take a video on my iPhone, but I do not yet have the knowlege on how to download to youtube. That's next.

Stay tuned!!

 

[Pyrojodge]

Jimmy, I like your set up...

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Thanks Jason,

I referred to your "how to post" to get the photos onto the post (thanks again!), but I'm still having no success in getting my iPhone video of the boat running to get published to my youtube account. It refuses to connect saying "Authentication Failed - the username or password entered is incorrect" which I know is not the case.

Any thoughts?

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

After the sea trial, I realized that I need a second strap at the dingy's transom to stop the dinghy from lifting as the boat comes off plane. There is a point coming off plane where the following sea lifts the dinghy ever so slightly. The only way to get a strap in place is to get IN the dinghy while on the davits. I was a bit apprehensive, not sure of the setup's maximum weight capacity but gently climbed into the dingy to attach that last strap. No problem - seemed very secure!

Due to the location of the straps, the cover will not be obstructed. Here's more photos... The new 9.8 Tohatsu 4 stroke goes on next!

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Here goes my first attempt at posting a video from my iPhone through Photobucket (since my iPhone won't let me post to youtube). Just click on the photo.

 

[wetpaint]

Are you not doing this so the engine can remain on the tender all the time? If so you should do sea trial with it on

 

[HUMPH]

Do you always have that much steam coming out of your exhaust? The Davits look great!