Dinghy Davits for a CD 30c

[Lisa G.]

I would like to put dinghy davits on the CD 30 I am buying, so I don't have to tow a dinghy while cruising. Looking at photos I have seen very few 30's with davits. Is there a reason for this? Or do most people day sail or not cruise very far? Help!

Thank you in advance.

Lisa G.

[JWSutcliffe]

Lisa:

Having had a CD 30, better to use an inflatable. Even a 31 is simply not big enough for davits.

[jbenagh]

It would be too much weight aft and the hull is pretty narrow back there. And it wouldn't look right to me.

I just tow my hard dinghy. It doesn't affect the sailing too much. We had one close call with it once. I think a stowable inflatable or a nesting dinghy would be better than davits.

Jeff

[jen1722terry]

Hi Lisa,

Our 31 came with davits which, for us, was a selling point. However, the 31 is a good deal wider than the 30 (9") and fuller/more buoyant near the stern. Still, the boat squatted a bit when we bought her, a condition worsened by the older and fairly heavy solar panel mounted on top of the davits.

As we have health issues, we liked the davits to preclude lifting the boat and/or motor ourselves, but knew we'd have to find the lightest seaworthy dinghy/motor available. We chose the Achilles LT-2 at under 40 lbs and the Honda 2.3 hp, 4-stroke, at 29 lbs. There are probably lighter inflatables out there, but we wanted seaworthiness and the ruggedness of hypalon fabric for our 3-4 month, live aboard cruises each year. The Achilles is fine, though the weight-saving inflatable floor is a pain to get completely bailed out to ensure dry feet.

We also knew we would be adding some anchor chain, which we did last year (90' of 5/16" HT at a pound a foot). This leveled the boat with the dinghy off the davits and reduced the squat quite a bit when the dinghy/motor are hoisted on the davits. We also keep the bow water tank filled at all times. This year we are installing a new, lighter diesel engine. Next year we'll replace the old solar panel with a lighter, "walk-on" panel amid-ships. All this should add up to a boat about level on the waterline with the dinghy hoisted, at least that's the plan.

So I agree with Skip that davits on a 30 may not be generally advisable, but it may depend on the overall weight distribution in the boat and weight of the dinghy. Keep in mind that adding too much weight forward to compensate for the davits could adversely affect reserve buoyancy in the bow of the narrower 30, something to think about and maybe even discuss with a naval architect or one of the old Cape Dory hands at Robinhood Marine in Maine. If you can find an ultra-light hard dink and forego a motor, that would certainly help. Some folks have devised ways to hoist the dink and attach it on its side to the stern rail, an arrangement that would move the weight further forward than on davits and possibly be more convenient than storing the dink on deck behind the mainmast.

Some folks are happy to tow their dink and this can be done safely, as long as one does not forget about the tow line and foul the prop with it. Towing is often a problem in heavy seas or summer squalls.

We love our davits and use them often. We have three-fold purchase blocks on each end to minimize hoisting effort. It takes about 10 minutes to launch or hoist the dink with motor, with almost no effort save coiling a few lines and unsnapping the harness and straps that snug the dink to the stern rail. The one exception would be if we were stuck way offshore in a bad blow. In that situation we would move the motor to its mount on the stern rail and deflate and roll up the dink to be lashed on deck or stored in a locker.

Do davits look right on the pretty Cape Dorys? Of course not. They look a clunky in my opinion. But as live-aboard cruisers, our decks are cluttered with a lot of other gear to make for convenient living for months at a time. The boat is our home and it looks that way. We don't much care and the davits could be removed at sale if a future buyer objected to them.

Note that good davits are not cheap - around $4K or so for good ones plus some other ss parts to create a strong mount for them. The dink will have to be modified for a hoisting harness and hoisting blocks are pricey. Good backing plates under the deck are important to spread the stress. We also moved our stern light to the davits' crossbar for better visibility. You'll also pay more, at times, for slips, storage, shrink-wrap etc. due to the longer overall boat length. Nothing worth buying is cheap for the safety-minded boater.

That's about all I can think of on the davits. Good luck with whatever approach you choose for dinghy storage.

Terry

[Lisa G.]

Jennifer and Terry, thank you for sharing your decision making process and experience. Ideally, my plan is to outfit her for cruising in Nova Scotia for the 2018 season. At some point would love to hear about your experiences up there. Afterwards, maybe take her down to the Caribbean. I will be single handing and have some serious back issues so a windlass and an easy and effortless way to deal with the dinghy and it's outboard is imperative.

My initial thoughts were to add more chain to the anchor to help balance the stern weight, too. Helpful to hear that is one of the things you have done. Do you know the manufacturer of your davits? Also you you have a windlass ?

I love traditional boats, which is why I am choosing a Cape Dory. So , I totally understand the purist point of view. On the other hand, form has to follow function.

Lisa

[tvangilder]

Have you considered a smallish dinghy or a nesting dinghy that mounts on top of the cabin top like the Pardey's do? (did)

[Bob Ohler]

We own a CD30, and we use our dinghy a lot! I would get an 8' inflatable with a roll-up floor. It works! For short trips, you tow it. For longer runs you pull it up on deck and deflate it, roll it and secure it. Towing it costs you 1 knot. That is my opinion anyway.

[Lisa G.]

We own a CD30, and we use our dinghy a lot! I would get an 8' inflatable with a roll-up floor. It works! For short trips, you tow it. For longer runs you pull it up on deck and deflate it, roll it and secure it. Towing it costs you 1 knot. That is my opinion anyway.

[jen1722terry]

We certainly agree that towing and storing on board works for many sailors, but not necessarily for folks with serious back or other lifting issues (hand arthritis, balance or vision issues, e.g.).

Davits are great, in our opinion, and as we said in a prior post. Yes, there are compromises to be made in terms of performance, boat length, cluttered look of the boat and cost, but for certain folks (like us), they are, literally, the difference between sailing with a dink, or with no dink at all.

Just our two cents. Happy winter storage to all except the southern members!

Jenn and Terry

[mashenden]

I have toiled with finding the ideal dingy solution as well. It sounds like you are really asking about davits, which was something I did not want to do, but in case dingy options are also of interest, here are my recent experiences so far.

My evolving solution started with me recently buying a Mercury 240 (7' 3") inflatable from Defender (internet). It came with a 3 piece hard plastic floor for about $850. After wrestling with it on dry land to get the floor in place before inflating it (a requirement), and then a hour later trying to pick it up to get it into the water, I realized that this solution was not feasible for deployment from or storage on my sailboat. I could see that I would spend all of my energy getting it ready with no energy left to actually use it. It was a great design but mainly for people that only store their dingy about once a season. Back to the drawing board.

Next I bought the air floor that fits in place of the 3 piece hard plastic floor. It was $300 or so more clams but its nice in that I now have both flooring options. Defender was very helpful in getting answers to my questions on whether the air floor would fit my inflatable. They said it would, and it did. The air floor option made the dingy about 20 lbs lighter and was a lot easier to put in place. This model also has an inflatable tube down the center line that gives it a V bottom. So far I really like the dingy. It towed very well in 30 knots of wind and a following sea and then later it easily deflated and folded up for storage on the cabin top. It seems like a pretty good solution.

That said, I have one more idea that I will try if I find one at the right price. Its the 8' Porta-Bote. It folds up to about the size of a paddle board, and can store on brackets attached to stanchions or possibly in a quarter-berth. Overall weight looks to be about another 15 lbs lighter still than my inflatable solution. People that have them seem to love them. The down side is they are not cheap if bought new. I gotta give it a try if I can find one for the right price.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Matt:

Did you have any stability issues with the "air floor" By stability I am referencing the ability to safely and comfortably stand up on the air floor without feeling like you are on a small trampoline.

I ask because I tried to stand in a dinghy that had an air floor and it was a little difficult to maintain my balance. Admittedly, I'm old and fat and out of shape. I did manage to stand but I have sort of thought that for me it would be better to have a solid metal (aluminum) floor that does not "bounce".

Thoughts

[mashenden]

Matt:

Did you have any stability issues with the "air floor" ...

Good question... I did not try to stand up in it. I am sure it is not as stable as a solid floor (aluminum or hard plastic), but I suspect that the Mercury air floor is more stable than other makes with an air floor. It is inflated to a much higher pressure than the rest of the boat. Per the literature its made of "thousands of X-stitched fibers for excellent support. Fifty percent more rigid than traditional air floor systems."

It definitely seemed very firm. For me it was about less weight since my back is my biggest concern.

Unfortunately it is now deflated and stowed for the season so I will not be able to give it any further testing at this time.

[John Stone]

I purchased a Mercury Marine airdeck roll up 310 hypalon (later adding a Tohatsu 9.8 two stroke) for my West Indies trip last year along with our tried and true 9' fatty knees. The 310 was magnificent. It was fast stable comfortable and rugged. It flew with the 9.8 (easily over 20 knots with two adults).

I don't have davits on the Far Reach. Wouldn't look right. Also, they would interfere with the windvane. So, i don't plan to add them. But under the right conditions, I think they are very practical. I saw a pair on a J120 that were very nice. Made in England. I have the name somewhere and can send it on to you if your still interested.

I have seen a number of boats with SS aft arches with solar panels on top and with integral debits. Done right they look pretty good.

[mashenden]

I purchased a Mercury Marine airdeck roll up 310 hypalon (later adding a Tohatsu 9.8 two stroke) for my West Indies trip last year along with our tried and true 9' fatty knees. The 310 was magnificent. It was fast stable comfortable and rugged. It flew with the 9.8 (easily over 20 knots with two adults)...

Neat comparison photo!. How was the Mercury air deck when standing up? Still reasonably stable or did it have the trampoline effect that Sea Hunt mentioned?

[John Stone]

Very hard. Like a solid floor.