Dinghy Davits for Ranger Tug

[rappja]

I purchased a 2019 RT-31CB about a year ago. We have just recently begun to deal with carrying a dinghy. I bought a West Marine 10 foot inflatable (17" tubes). The previous owner kept his dinghy (I believe the usual Walker Bay), but left the davits on the swim platform and 2 lifting arms and the ratchet for the mount on the platform over the rear deck.
We just put it together, and unfortunately the arms don't fit. I called the nice people at Weaver Davits. Jason told me none of what I have will work except for the ratchet. I basically have to start from scratch. The whole new system, with a stand off pole, will cost almost $1500 with tax and freight.
We tried to mickey mouse a system with a block and tackle for lifting, but it didn't work.
I have 2 questions:
1) If I go with the new Weaver system, do I really need the stand off pole? It seems like I can attach the upper side of the dinghy to the rails on the swim platform to stabilize it.
2) Has anyone come up with a home made system to lift and secure the dinghy that can be a money saver?
Thanks in advance!

 

[scross]

I did mine from scratch on a C-28. Even with all the right parts it’s a lot of work. Gluing the Weaver pads to the dinghy was by far the hardest part. Use the Weaver glue and follow the instructions exactly!
You want the Weaver davits that are 4” high and 4” out. And you need the pads that glue to the dinghy. I have always used two stand off adjustable threaded rods to secure the dinghy to my boat’s stern. One of those two rods can be attached high up on the dinghy transom. The rod going to the dinghy bow area needs another pad glued to the dinghy. The dinghy will bounce around. You need both standoff rods at a minimum. I shopped around for sales and used on eBay and ended up spending about $700 for everything.
PS: Dinghy bow to starboard & dinghy transom to port side of your RT. Don’t center the dinghy on the swim platform. Shift the dinghy to the starboard side 4” or even 6” if you can. If you don’t, the lower port side tube will be dragging in the wake and splashing lots of spray back into the cockpit.

 

[rappja]

I did mine from scratch on a C-28. Even with all the right parts it’s a lot of work. Gluing the Weaver pads to the dinghy was by far the hardest part. Use the Weaver glue and follow the instructions exactly!
You want the Weaver davits that are 4” high and 4” out. And you need the pads that glue to the dinghy. View attachment 25615I have always used two stand off adjustable threaded rods to secure the dinghy to my boat’s stern. One of those two rods can be attached high up on the dinghy transom. The rod going to the dinghy bow area needs another pad glued to the dinghy. The dinghy will bounce around. You need both standoff rods at a minimum. I shopped around for sales and used on eBay and ended up spending about $700 for everything.
PS: Dinghy bow to starboard & dinghy transom to port side of your RT. Don’t center the dinghy on the swim platform. Shift the dinghy to the starboard side 4” or even 6” if you can. If you don’t, the lower port side tube will be dragging in the wake and splashing lots of spray back into the cockpit.

Thanks for the pictures and the info.
I believe the pictures of the davits you supplied are the same ones Weaver wants to sell to me.
I didn't quite understand your source. Did you get them on eBay or from Weaver? Do you know where they may be on sale elsewhere?
Why won't simply tying the top tube to the rails work?
Lastly, you suggest shifting the dinghy 4-6" to the starboard side. Does that interfere with docking at all?
On my boat, the old davits are already installed. I hope to install the new ones in the same place using the existing holes.
Thanks again

 

[scross]

Thanks for the pictures and the info.
I believe the pictures of the davits you supplied are the same ones Weaver wants to sell to me.
I didn't quite understand your source. Did you get them on eBay or from Weaver? Do you know where they may be on sale elsewhere?
Why won't simply tying the top tube to the rails work?
Lastly, you suggest shifting the dinghy 4-6" to the starboard side. Does that interfere with docking at all?
On my boat, the old davits are already installed. I hope to install the new ones in the same place using the existing holes.
Thanks again

I bought some new/used parts on eBay, some parts from Weaver directly, some from West Marine, some from Defender, and some from LFS Marine. Whoever had the lowest prices for what I needed. I also waited for holiday sales to buy.
My recommendation is to move the dinghy to the starboard side as much as possible without the dinghy bow tube interfering with docking. Remember that the dinghy bow tube will be pretty high up when mounted to the davits. On our C-28 the dinghy bow is higher than most docks. It does take a bit of care when departing to make sure the dinghy doesn’t contact the dock.
I’m surprised Weaver wasn’t suggesting their 4” up and 4” out davits. That was their recommendation for both my RT-25 Classic and the C-28. What did they recommend for your RT-31CB?

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

I've had my dinghy mounted on the swim plaform with the weave system since 2019. Great system. we have the Zodiac inflatable floor 8'6" model with 17" tubes. It only weights about 70 pounds and I can easily load the dinghy without any assistance. You definitely want the 4" up and out brackets (detachable). The brackets keep the bottom tube out of the churn behind the boat. Without them, the dingly will take a beating. You also definitely want the stand off brackets. Our's mount against the upper transom and fold and lock into place when not in use. My stand off brackets mount on the wooden transom of the dinghy (through bolted) and the with a stand-off pad on the tube for the other bracket. I'll send pix tomorrow of the complete setup. And when you do this, make sure you paint your boat name and home port on the bottom of the dinghy. Here are some pix in the mean time of what my set up looks like. I'll send better pix tomorrow.

 

[rappja]

I bought some new/used parts on eBay, some parts from Weaver directly, some from West Marine, some from Defender, and some from LFS Marine. Whoever had the lowest prices for what I needed. I also waited for holiday sales to buy.
My recommendation is to move the dinghy to the starboard side as much as possible without the dinghy bow tube interfering with docking. Remember that the dinghy bow tube will be pretty high up when mounted to the davits. On our C-28 the dinghy bow is higher than most docks. It does take a bit of care when departing to make sure the dinghy doesn’t contact the dock.
I’m surprised Weaver wasn’t suggesting their 4” up and 4” out davits. That was their recommendation for both my RT-25 Classic and the C-28. What did they recommend for your RT-31CB?

I must have confused you. Weaver wants to sell me the 4x4 davits, same as yours.

 

[rappja]

I've had my dinghy mounted on the swim plaform with the weave system since 2019. Great system. we have the Zodiac inflatable floor 8'6" model with 17" tubes. It only weights about 70 pounds and I can easily load the dinghy without any assistance. You definitely want the 4" up and out brackets (detachable). The brackets keep the bottom tube out of the churn behind the boat. Without them, the dingly will take a beating. You also definitely want the stand off brackets. Our's mount against the upper transom and fold and lock into place when not in use. My stand off brackets mount on the wooden transom of the dinghy (through bolted) and the with a stand-off pad on the tube for the other bracket. I'll send pix tomorrow of the complete setup. And when you do this, make sure you paint your boat name and home port on the bottom of the dinghy. Here are some pix in the mean time of what my set up looks like. I'll send better pix tomorrow.View attachment 25624View attachment 25625

Thanks for the pictures. They help a lot.
Do you have to put a backing plate behind the brackets for the pole, or can you simply screw them in?
I'm still hung up on the poles, and whether they are really essential, or just more convenient than tying the dinghy off to a rail after lifting with the davits.

 

[scross]

I’d strongly advise not tying the top of the dinghy off on the swim platform rails, or to the cockpit railing as the only method of securing the dinghy. Using a line to the railing a safety backup to the rigid standoff rods? Sure, why not.
The dinghy will really, really bounce around on the davits. You want the upper half of the dinghy to be secure. My standoff rod clips on the C-28’s transom are bolted on using large stainless fender washers on the inside of the stern fiberglass. I highly recommend bolting the port side standoff rod to a clip bolted through the dinghy’s transom as well to get a really strong support that resists all the bouncing.
Once you see the dinghy bouncing around when you are at cruising speed I think you will agree.
In the attached photo you may be able to tell the davit heads are offset to the starboard side. It’s about 5” offset or so. My Zodiac Cadel Alu RIB dinghy is 82 pounds and 8’10” long or 270 cm.

 

[rappja]

I’d strongly advise not tying the top of the dinghy off on the swim platform rails, or to the cockpit railing as the only method of securing the dinghy. Using a line to the railing a safety backup to the rigid standoff rods? Sure, why not.
The dinghy will really, really bounce around on the davits. You want the upper half of the dinghy to be secure. My standoff rod clips on the C-28’s transom are bolted on using large stainless fender washers on the inside of the stern fiberglass. I highly recommend bolting the port side standoff rod to a clip bolted through the dinghy’s transom as well to get a really strong support that resists all the bouncing.
Once you see the dinghy bouncing around when you are at cruising speed I think you will agree.
In the attached photo you may be able to tell the davit heads are offset to the starboard side. It’s about 5” offset or so. My Zodiac Cadel Alu RIB dinghy is 82 pounds and 8’10” long or 270 cm.
View attachment 25631

OK, I give. I will get the standoff rods. You are very convincing. Thanks!
I see your davits are the 4x4 type. They are bolted on with 4 bolts, not using the one empty hole shown in your picture. Is that because there were other davits there that you replaced, and were able to use the existing holes in the swim platform. The Weaver folks told me this was the case. If so, it would save me a lot of work.
One other question. You talk about offsetting the dinghy to starboard by a few inches. I don't think I will be able to do that. My existing davits will center the dinghy, using a transom mounted arc to port. I have a 10.2 foot dinghy with an inflatable floor, so I have to do it that way. Will that present a problem?

 

[scross]

OK, I give. I will get the standoff rods. You are very convincing. Thanks!
I see your davits are the 4x4 type. They are bolted on with 4 bolts, not using the one empty hole shown in your picture. Is that because there were other davits there that you replaced, and were able to use the existing holes in the swim platform. The Weaver folks told me this was the case. If so, it would save me a lot of work.
One other question. You talk about offsetting the dinghy to starboard by a few inches. I don't think I will be able to do that. My existing davits will center the dinghy, using a transom mounted arc to port. I have a 10.2 foot dinghy with an inflatable floor, so I have to do it that way. Will that present a problem?

If you center the dinghy on the swim platform you will get a greater amount of drag and splash from the lower port side dinghy tube in your wake. If you cruise under 5 knots or so in calm seas this won’t be an issue. Faster speeds increase the drag and splash problem exponentially.
One splash solution is to “jack up” the lower port tube with a ratchet strap connected to your stern towing D-ring, over the swim platform and down to a hard attachment point on the dinghy’s lower transom. We do that on a regular basis.
Remember that even though the davits and yokes are stainless steel you are relying primarily on the glue joints between the yoke pad and the dinghy fabric to hold your dinghy in place. The glue joint will fail well before the stainless steel davit fittings fail. You want that lower dinghy tube out of the wake as much as you possibly can get it!

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

Sorry for the delay in posting the pictures....
There's a caption below each picture.


This shows the basic layout. Stbd stand off bracket attacked to the tube and the port standoff bracket attached to an L bracket through bolted on the transom.


This is the removable 4 inch up 4 inch out davit arm. It's good to have them removable so you don't have them in the way when coming and going with the dinghy. The brackets elevate the dinghy so your prop was doesn't impact the dinghy and keeps the tubes off the swim platform rails.


Here's the pad glued to the tube.


The port standoff bracket attached to the L bracket on the transom. I recommend you use the transom if possible because it gives you a good fixed point and doesn't rely on a glued pad on the tube.


There is the port attachment point for the stand off bracket. I used fender washers vice a backing plate due to space limitations. The upper L bracket is for stowing the stbd side bracket when the dinghy is off the davit. There's a second L bracket on the stbd side to stow the port stand off bracket


A view of the stbd stand off bracket in the stowed position.

 

[rappja]

Bob
Thanks so much for the very clear pictures.
A couple of things things. Weaver recommended that I use a transom arc for the back of the dinghy (through bolted to the transom), and a glue-on attachment bracket for the tube further forward. Your set-up does not look like it includes the transom arc. Any comments pro or con? The arc will obviously be more expensive, but is it "better"?
I don't quite understand why one end of the dinghy will ride lower than the other. I also am having trouble visualizing the solution you mention to avoid dragging it in the wake. Can you send a picture or a picture of a diagram?
My boat apparently didn't have stand-off poles, so I will have to install the attachment brackets.
1) Do you recommend one or two poles?
2) Can the attachment brackets be simply screwed in, or do I need to bolt them in and add a backing plate?
3) Does Weaver sell the attachment and storage brackets for the pole(s)?
If we ever meet, I promise to buy you a beer.
Thanks again.
Jeff