Leave outboard on Dinghy while underway?

[Ilive2sail]

My outboard hangs on the Dinguy while it's up on the Davit, the Davits were re-in force enough to handle the weight of the tender and the outboard which is a Yamaha 4.0 however, should I remove the outboard and store it on the boat while underway? Or leave it on the Dinguy.

[chrisr]

there is another almost identical thread active at the moment

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...re-271469.html

think all the comments there apply here as well

cheers,

[rslifkin]

It's a little different being on a powerboat, but we hoist our dinghy with the outboard on it. Outboard sizing, davit selection, etc. were done specifically with that in mind for us. There's a picture of our setup included below, although it's significantly lighter weight than what's shown in your picture.

As long as everything is strong enough to handle the extra weight (on what already appears to be a rather heavy dinghy) and the outboard isn't in danger of getting dunked while sailing with the boat heeled, I see no issue with leaving the outboard on.

[mvweebles]

There is no practical way to remove a 40hp outboard that supports a center console dinghy (steering, fuel, electrics). I see you have straps that encircle the dink to keep it from swinging. That's a good thing. Do not cheap-out on rigging/hardware and keep an eye out for chafe.

Man, that's a big dink to hang off a transom of a monohull sailboat.

[Muaddib1116]

It looks like you have a reasonably large Oyster or something similar, and Simpson davits are the best non-custom davits out there. If the davits are sized right (Simpsons come in a range of sizes/ratings) and the tender is not overreaching what was intended to be on that boat, then I would say to some degree it's fine because that's what the manufacturers meant to put on there and on the other there's not much you can do about it other than get a smaller/lighter dinghy with a tiller steered outboard that can be removed more easily.

I would be interested to see how they were re-inforced though.

[nuku34]

With respect: How would that dinghy fare in a force 8 storm with 5-6m breaking seas? Or do you do all your sailing in protected waters?

[Muaddib1116]

Maybe he can put it on chocks on the foredeck for longer passages. Although to be honest, it seems like most largish monohulls (54ft+) with Simpson davits seem to tend towards just using the Davits most of the time, and it seems like for cruising in the tropics that this seems to be fine.

[SailingHarmonie]

It's all fun and games until a wave poops that dinghy and fills it with LITERALLY a ton of water... (calculate it, you'll see...) Your outboard is the least of the issue.

Davits are the dumbest idea for ocean crossings that have ever happened. They are all good, cool, and fun--right up until they are a disaster. They are not OFTEN a disaster, but having been offshore in near survival conditions, it's not a bet I am willing to take.

Never, never, never would I go offshore with a dinghy in davits. Never would I own a boat/dinghy combination that required davits as the only means of storing the dinghy.

[Muaddib1116]

Depending on your definition of offshore, I think there's a number of ways to go offshore with the dinghy in the davits with pretty minimal risk. I know of many 50ft+ boats that have crossed the Atlantic with the dinghy in the davits, mine included (by the previous owner). Keep in mind at that size range, freeboards and subsequently davits are much higher off the water than smaller boats.

I think the type of conditions that would risk swamping the dinghy on a large boat should be predictable by weather forecasting, and with reliable forecasting windows, short offshore passages could be made safely. That being said, I agree that I would want a dinghy that could be strapped to the foredeck, preferably upside down. Which is what I have, a Highfield CL310. And even when I upgrade to a larger CL340 or CL360, I will make sure it can fit on my foredeck.

But if you start looking at the modern (last 25 years or so) 54/55/56ft and larger boats out there, some of them are being spec'd with large Simpson davits and center console tenders. Once you get up to the 60ft range, that's pretty much exclusively what they have. And aside from custom chocks that allow you to put the dinghy on the foredeck upright, the davits are the only option.

The theoretical risk is obviously there, but I do wonder if anyone has any first or even second hand accounts of a dinghy on the davits of a boat of these sizes being swamped and causing a problem.

[rslifkin]

The risk of davits offshore depends a lot on the boat. The wider the stern of the boat and the higher up the dinghy is carried (or further forward in the case of a cat that carries the dinghy between the hulls), the harder it will be to take a wave into the dinghy.

For offshore use, I'd also want a very tight fitting cover on the dinghy that's strongly supported in the middle to keep it from sagging. That way even if you do get smacked with a wave, you're unlikely to get a full dinghy load of water in there. Plus the davits should be significantly over rated relative to the dinghy being carried.

[mvweebles]

Simpson davit maxes out at 250kg SWL. That dink with battery, fuel, and gear has to be damn close.

https://www.sailtec.de/products-shop...on-davits.html

That said, I don't know how else to carry a dink of that size. At least not in a sailboat. Removing OB is not realistic given the weight and attachments.

[Ericson38]

Originally Posted by Ilive2sail

My outboard hangs on the Dinguy while it's up on the Davit, the Davits were re-in force enough to handle the weight of the tender and the outboard which is a Yamaha 4.0 however, should I remove the outboard and store it on the boat while underway? Or leave it on the Dinguy.

Is your boat a Tayana 48? Interested to see more of the davits arrangement. We have a 15 hp Merc (2 stroke) and 11 foot Avon.

[Muaddib1116]

Originally Posted by Ericson38

Is your boat a Tayana 48? Interested to see more of the davits arrangement. We have a 15 hp Merc (2 stroke) and 11 foot Avon.

Found his boat online, it's a 2001 Oyster 62.

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Simpson davit maxes out at 250kg SWL. That dink with battery, fuel, and gear has to be damn close.

https://www.sailtec.de/products-shop...on-davits.html

That said, I don't know how else to carry a dink of that size. At least not in a sailboat. Removing OB is not realistic given the weight and attachments.

Actually, the model series he has goes up to 300kg rating in their stock models, look up Cooney davits (Cooney bought Simpson). They also do custom/larger stuff not listed on their catalog. Not sure which he has, though the listing I found for his boat calls them Whittall davits, which may be the brand name before Simpson owned them? The listing claims that they have 1320lb capacity, which should be more than enough.

The 62 is a big boat, but with the babystay and inner forestay, I'm not sure the foredeck has the space for putting the dinghy up there. The listing shows a custom cover for the dinghy. The console should provide the bulk of the framing for the cover, but maybe add a couple additional supports, and that combined with how strong the davits are, it could probably take a wave without too much issue.

[Ericson38]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

Found his boat online, it's a 2001 Oyster 62.

Actually, the model series he has goes up to 300kg rating in their stock models, look up Cooney davits (Cooney bought Simpson). They also do custom/larger stuff not listed on their catalog. Not sure which he has, though the listing I found for his boat calls them Whittall davits, which may be the brand name before Simpson owned them? The listing claims that they have 1320lb capacity, which should be more than enough.

The 62 is a big boat, but with the babystay and inner forestay, I'm not sure the foredeck has the space for putting the dinghy up there. The listing shows a custom cover for the dinghy. The console should provide the bulk of the framing for the cover, but maybe add a couple additional supports, and that combined with how strong the davits are, it could probably take a wave without too much issue.

Good eye!

[SailingHarmonie]

If you believe that a 50 or 60 foot boat can not have a dinghy in davits pooped then you have not been offshore in bad weather.

https://www.roblightbody.com/qe2-1995-freak-wave.html

Weather forecasts are good for 4, maybe 5 days. After that... it is a guess. If your idea of an "offshore passage" is 3 or 4 days, then sure, whatever. That's not an ocean crossing.

You can HOPE it will not happen to you, but "Hope is not a plan."