Weaver style davit question: can I leave the outboard on?

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socalrider

socalrider

Guru
Joined
Feb 14, 2020
Messages
1,055
Location
usa
Vessel Name
SEA WOLF
Vessel Make
1979 CHB 41 Trawler
We are contemplating upgrading our davit system to accomodate a motor big enough to get our lightweight 10.5' RIB on a plane - probably a lightweight 15 or 20hp EFI 4-stroke (~95lb).

For a number of reasons the Weaver tilt-up style system would probably work best. Obviously, this would leave the outboard on its side. I see Weaver has a "Leaver" system that allows the outboard to pivot, but it is limited to 85lb and is pretty bulky and expensive.

Looking at a manual for a Tohatsu 20hp, it says that the outboard can be stored on its port side if the fuel is drained from the filter first.

Would it be advisable to leave the outboard on the transom and tilt it up for passages? Really don't want to deal with removing the outboard.
 
20HP on a 10.5 dinghy is a alot.

What is the make and model of the dinghy?

What is the max HP rated for the dinghy?
 
Shrew said:
20HP on a 10.5 dinghy is a alot.

What is the make and model of the dinghy?

What is the max HP rated for the dinghy?
Click to expand...

Achilles 315-LX. 15hp max (I said 15/20hp since they're the same motor just different ratings).
 
That is a lot of weight to leave on the transom in its normal position.

Both lots of weight to tilt up, as well as lots of weight bouncing on the transom with the O/B horizontal.

I would use the Weaver Lever even if I exceeded the 85 lb limit by a bit. I know a Tohatsu 15 hp weighs 95 lbs which should push a 10’ RIB OK.

David
 
We put a SeaWise davit on a previous boat. They are similar to Weaver but waaay more heavy duty. The outboard is mounted to a hinged bracket so when you lift the dinghy the outboard bracket hinges up and the outboard ends up vertical over the swim platform. It is pricey but it ia an awesome setup. It takes literally about a minute to launch the dinghy and about 2 minutes to retrieve it. They have you take measurements and then custom make the system to properly fit.
 
I have a 10' AB dinghy with a 15 hp Tohatsu on my swim step. It is mounted using a Weaver hoist, not the leaver. The hoist is shown on the Weaver site. I've used it for over 10 years with very few problems. The SeaWise davit is superior to the Weaver, but quite a bit more expensive.
 
Thanks all - very helpful. Will check out SeaWise as well.

Norwester said:
I have a 10' AB dinghy with a 15 hp Tohatsu on my swim step. It is mounted using a Weaver hoist, not the leaver. The hoist is shown on the Weaver site. I've used it for over 10 years with very few problems. The SeaWise davit is superior to the Weaver, but quite a bit more expensive.
Click to expand...

So you were using the hoist only, which brought your Tohatsu up on its side parallel to the water? No issues with the RIB's transom or the outboard leaking fuel or oil?
 
I'm using a combination of the leaver and the host. The outboard sits vertically when the dingy is out of the water. When the dinghy is lowered!, the outboard lowers into place onto the dinghy. Once the outboard is mounted on the davit system, it stays in the upright orientation while traveling.
 
I have seen a few boats now with a swimgrid cradle setup. Something I would consider if not for the davit system that puts the dingy on top deck I now have.
Never liked the tilt the dingy up on its side. Had a swivel setup for OB but the rough water pounded the tilt up davit out of shape with motor hanging on dingy.

It is the 95# plus dingy weight on the aft swing up davit that you need to consider.
 
I actually found mine on Craigslist. I think new they were about $1500 but this was 10 years ago. They are always at the Seattle Boat show. Nice guy. Should be able to give you a quick delivered price via phone.
 
Took longer to rig the lifting cables than to install on the swim step. Dingy up and down in 2 minutes. My GB was a sedan so I didn't block the view from the cockpit was my original motivation. But if length isn't a problem, I wouldn't choose a weaver/seawise over this set up (I have also owned) . You can leave fuel tank in dingy etc.

I would lower it a few inches to horizontal and leave drain plug out when storing and pull up to a higher angle so the outboard was a little further from the water / wake and the dink was tight against the bars when running.
 
Bradenvlp said:
Took longer to rig the lifting cables than to install on the swim step. Dingy up and down in 2 minutes. My GB was a sedan so I didn't block the view from the cockpit was my original motivation. But if length isn't a problem, I wouldn't choose a weaver/seawise over this set up (I have also owned) . You can leave fuel tank in dingy etc.

I would lower it a few inches to horizontal and leave drain plug out when storing and pull up to a higher angle so the outboard was a little further from the water / wake and the dink was tight against the bars when running.
Click to expand...

Thanks again - this looks like the perfect solution for us. They quoted me $2345 shipped to SD. Not cheap but not too bad either.

Pete
 
To the OP,

This is a question I have as well. From everything I’ve been able to find the issues are oil leakage from 4 stroke engines, water intrusion into the exhaust/cylinders and stress on the transom being at an angle not considered in the design.

I’m planning a weaver style tip up mount for a 13’ Whaler on my 49’ GB. I had a 9’ Livingston on my 36’ GB and really liked the way it all worked. We just rowed it so motor was not an issue but we’ll need power for the new setup and I’m not loading an outboard onto a whaler from the aft deck of the 49. Too many risks.

This is all my opinion but I’d love to have someone shoot holes in it with experience or data. 4 strokes won’t leak oil if filler side is up. Could have cylinders fill up from the crankcase but I’ll not be using electric start and popping a plug isn’t the end of the world. A cover for the motor should address the water intrusion issue. The motor mount on the engine should be adequately designed to handle the weight loads given it’s designed to take all the significantly higher thrust loads and I suspect the transom will be the same.

Long term winter storage may need some additional bracing to prevent creep of the fiberglass but beyond that I can’t see any issues. The oil seepage into the cylinders is the biggest risk I see at the moment.

My .02c
 
MVSeafarer said:
To the OP,

This is a question I have as well. From everything I’ve been able to find the issues are oil leakage from 4 stroke engines, water intrusion into the exhaust/cylinders and stress on the transom being at an angle not considered in the design.

I’m planning a weaver style tip up mount for a 13’ Whaler on my 49’ GB. I had a 9’ Livingston on my 36’ GB and really liked the way it all worked. We just rowed it so motor was not an issue but we’ll need power for the new setup and I’m not loading an outboard onto a whaler from the aft deck of the 49. Too many risks.

This is all my opinion but I’d love to have someone shoot holes in it with experience or data. 4 strokes won’t leak oil if filler side is up. Could have cylinders fill up from the crankcase but I’ll not be using electric start and popping a plug isn’t the end of the world. A cover for the motor should address the water intrusion issue. The motor mount on the engine should be adequately designed to handle the weight loads given it’s designed to take all the significantly higher thrust loads and I suspect the transom will be the same.

Long term winter storage may need some additional bracing to prevent creep of the fiberglass but beyond that I can’t see any issues. The oil seepage into the cylinders is the biggest risk I see at the moment.

My .02c
Click to expand...

See my post 5. The outboard rests vertically above the swim platform. Super easy and fast to launch and recover.
 
13 foot whaler, fairly heavy. What’s the motor horsepower? A 13 can handle a fairly big motor.
I’m sure you’ve given consideration to the weight and resulting stress on the swim platform. The weaver leaver that holds the motor upright will have weight limits as well.
I would have thought a GB49 would have some sort of crane or davit to store the skiff on the deck somewhere.
Another idea might be to use a dinghy butler. They are very well liked.
 
<<We put a Seawise on a previous boat.>> +1 on this. Checks all of the boxes. Love ours!! Good luck.
Regards,
Scott


https://seawisemarine.com/
 

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Comodave and Bmarler

I'm familiar with the Sea wise system and it's nice but not suitable for my plans. The engine on the whaler will need to be bolted to the transom as it's just not going to work out. I won't be using Weaver components but the concept is what I'm going for. It will not rest on the swim platform but on a couple brackets mounted underneath.
 
With the Seawise the motor is bolted to the transom bracket. Don’t understand what you are referring to.
 
MVSeafarer said:
Comodave and Bmarler

I'm familiar with the Sea wise system and it's nice but not suitable for my plans. The engine on the whaler will need to be bolted to the transom as it's just not going to work out. I won't be using Weaver components but the concept is what I'm going for. It will not rest on the swim platform but on a couple brackets mounted underneath.
Click to expand...
We used the Italian Ceredi brand, mainly because our second hand but unused inflatable came with Ceredi pads and their fittings, attached already. No complaints.
 
If the motor is bolted to the transom, it must be a remote steering setup. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tilting motor bracket for that kind of setup.
I don’t think I’d store my engine on its side like that. I think I’d be looking at other options.
Why not look at a dinghy butler style?
 
socalrider said:
We are contemplating upgrading our davit system to accomodate a motor big enough to get our lightweight 10.5' RIB on a plane - probably a lightweight 15 or 20hp EFI 4-stroke (~95lb).

For a number of reasons the Weaver tilt-up style system would probably work best. Obviously, this would leave the outboard on its side. I see Weaver has a "Leaver" system that allows the outboard to pivot, but it is limited to 85lb and is pretty bulky and expensive.

Looking at a manual for a Tohatsu 20hp, it says that the outboard can be stored on its port side if the fuel is drained from the filter first.

Would it be advisable to leave the outboard on the transom and tilt it up for passages? Really don't want to deal with removing the outboard.
Click to expand...
We Installed a Gahauer Engine Lift that will lift up to 150 Lbs. it swivels so you could put a motor storage bracket under the lift and makes it very easy to raise and lower the engine by a single person, a 95# engine on its side is going to put allot of pressure on one side of the Dingy air chamber. worked really well.
 
OP, I just saw this post of a couple months ago. I have Weaver snap davits and a Weaver Leaver for a 9.9 2-sroke Yamaha. Not sure of its weight but it must be about at the 85 lb max weight. I like this system for its simplicity, but realize you will need a way to raise the outside of the dinghy, the inside being on Snap Davits acting as a hinge. I do this with a sailboat sheet winch mounted on the big boat's aft gunnel. The Sea Wise system mentioned above has its own winching system and is a nice product in wide use, but it's more expensive and occupies more of the swim step than the Weaver davits. My setup has served me well and I like it.
 
Comodave said:
We put a SeaWise davit on a previous boat. They are similar to Weaver but waaay more heavy duty. The outboard is mounted to a hinged bracket so when you lift the dinghy the outboard bracket hinges up and the outboard ends up vertical over the swim platform. It is pricey but it ia an awesome setup. It takes literally about a minute to launch the dinghy and about 2 minutes to retrieve it. They have you take measurements and then custom make the system to properly fit.
Click to expand...

I checked about 6 months ago and I was told if I put $7200.00 in an envelope he would make me one for a 10 foot Highfield, add another 12% for BC sales tax and GST plus freight and it gets up there. I see both the Weaver Lever and the Seawise on boats here and the Seawise is by far the strongest looking of the two.
 
The Seawise is indeed a substantial system. It stores the outboard vertically over the swim platform. They are custom made for the boat instead of one size fits all. When I got mine I installed it in one day by myself. I could launch the boat in literally 1 minute and recover it in about 2 or 3 minutes. It isn’t cheap but what quality products are?
 
Shrew said:
20HP on a 10.5 dinghy is a alot.

What is the make and model of the dinghy?

What is the max HP rated for the dinghy?
Click to expand...
Tohatsu 20, 15 and 9.9 hp all are the same hardware and weigh the same 95 lbs for 15” shaft unless you add electric start or power tilt.
 
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