Carver Owners Forum

kingstonal wrote:Qr Bbpost i am supprise pete you never heard of seawise davits before, living on the west coast. we i boated out their, all i ever seen was seawise davits

Davits and dinghys are foreign to me, never needed one, never paid much attention. Went from a Zodiac at the age of 14 to a 16' Glastron then graduated to a 21' Wellcraft, to a 26.'5' Bayliner, to 36' Bayliner and now the 444. There's my story (in a nutshell).

Understand

Great info guys, thanks for all the suggestions and reviews.

I'm only dealing with 350lbs, 10-11' RIB w/ 15hp, and I often use my boat without the dinghy. I only need it when we go anchor for the weekend with the dog... So I want a system that leaves my platform clear when I don't need it.

I think the Dinghy Caddy is in the lead at the moment for me. Attaches to the platform with what looks like a Weaver snap-davit. I believe I could put the motor to the starboard side and use the stern cleat for the tackle. I need to see about the angle. The transom is quite large and flat, I can't imagine it would hold up to the point load of a dinghy bouncing in rough water. Perhaps right at the bend it would be strong enough, but I'd rather use a cleat on the hull. Much less force for the bow end, I think I could get away with a larger angle to the port stern cleat.

Second place is the Hurley H20, I just don't know how much weight I feel like hauling up. For years on my old boat I hauled my 110lb dinghy up on the davits by hand with a standoff on the transom, but ever since an eyelet on the dinghy broke when I was pulling with both hands, ouch, I need 1-handed operation so I have a hand for stability. I'm a big fan of block and tackle over electric winch.

My slip this upcoming season is a starboard tie, but it's a short finger so I'll have to drop the dinghy on the main before I back into the slip anyway. I'm hoping a different spot opens up which is a port side tie, but won't know for a while yet.