Davit Installation Tips?

[ERTF]

I recently scored this davit for a great price. I will be installing it on my Marine Trader 44, so that I can put my 14ft 1000lb Twin Vee skiff up on the hard top occasionally.

I've been doing alot of measuring & pondering of the installation. I've come to a conclusion of the best location. Looking for any feedback/tips before I go forward.

The davit will be installed above the hardtop with the standpipe terminating on the sundeck. The standpipe plate (for hardtop) was originally 11.5", but prev owner cut one side down so now it's 10.5". The space on my hardtop between my water collection lip and the sliding hatch track is 11", so the plate can fit in there perfectly. I don't use that sliding hatch, so I could remove it if you think I need to add support? The hardtop is 1" good wood, with 1/4" glass on each side. The red cap represents the 4.5" standpipe hole. As you can see, there is a base for the standpipe to rest on the sundeck.

I wish I could mount it on the port side instead (to get away from that sliding hatch / passage cut out to the flybridge. But the boat already has a bias to list port.

It didn't come with any underside mounting plates for the hardtop or sundeck. Do I need them? Or just big washers? And most importantly, do I need to add any additional support up on the hardtop around the standpipe plate? Is it safe cutting the standpipe hole 4inches from the edge of the hardtop?

 

[cafesport]

That davit doesn’t look up to the task. A friend with a 1500 lb steelhead got rid of his twin vee because it was cheaper than getting the right crane among other reasons.

 

[ERTF]

That davit doesn’t look up to the task. A friend with a 1500 lb steelhead got rid of his twin vee because it was cheaper than getting the right crane among other reasons.

The 14ft cc TV is only supposed to weigh #650. With a 230lb engine, I should be in the 1000lb range. What was your friends problem? Maybe his was full of water, bit still seems like it couldn't weigh more than #1500. Either way, a smaller skiff is non negotiable....as is paying a fortune for a hydraulic davit. So either this one works or the skiff stays in the water.

I wasn't able to figure out what the davit was rated for, but I'm sure it's a minimum 1000lb. And my plan is to use it with the telescoping arm fully retracted, so that should put it well past #1000. I was apprehensive not knowing for certain it's rating, but the winch inside says 2000-4000 lbs. And the previous owner was lifting a 14ft cc rib, which probably doesnt weigh much less than my skiff. He had no problems, just wanted the full hydraulic bells and whistles. Also, the 4.5" standpipe has 4 layers of 1/4 aluminum, so seems to have been built to lift a substantial weight.

 

[Comodave]

I am not an expert on that type of davit but I would absolutely put in some huge, as big as possible, plates top and bottom on the hardtop and the sundeck top and bottom. I would bed the plates in thickened epoxy to get them firmly attached and also so that the plates will be in intimate contact with the surfaces. The surfaces may not be completely smooth and parallel so the thickened epoxy will take up any irregularities. As to whether the davit is up to the task you have, I don’t have a clue. I would definitely contact a professional that does this work and get some better advice. It would be worth it to me to pay a few hundred dollars in order not to have the davit rip out the side of the hardtop the first time you pick up the dinghy. What would something like that cost to fix?

 

[ERTF]

I am not an expert on that type of davit but I would absolutely put in some huge, as big as possible, plates top and bottom on the hardtop and the sundeck top and bottom. I would bed the plates in thickened epoxy to get them firmly attached and also so that the plates will be in intimate contact with the surfaces. The surfaces may not be completely smooth and parallel so the thickened epoxy will take up any irregularities.

Yeah the standpipe is 2.5" too tall, so I was thinking about reinforcing with 2.5" thick of starboard (or something else?), for a couple feet to the inboard side. I think the outboard side should be good for sure because that support is right there below it, so the hardtop can't really flex down.

But i don't know if that's even necessary. I've crawled the web for these installations and nobody ever does any extra reinforcing like that. I think most the load just transfers down the stand pipe to the sundeck.

 

[Comodave]

Starboard isn’t structural, that isn’t what I would use in this application. I am not talking about downloading but side load. But again I am not an expert and I tend to overdo most things, but then again they tend to last.

 

[ERTF]

Starboard isn’t structural, that isn’t what I would use in this application. I am not talking about downloading but side load. But again I am not an expert and I tend to overdo most things, but then again they tend to last.

Yeah i was thinking starboard might not be ideal for that spacer if I want more strength. What do you think would be better? Fiberglass over wood core?

Yes I understand that the force will be horizontal for the hardtop, but it seems like the standpipe + the hardtop support will keep the torsion down. I'm not scared of straight horizontal pressure. Just want to mitigate any flexing forces to be safe.