Building my own davits

[paulg222]

I'm seriously thinking about building my own dinghy davits for my 33 foot sailboat. Mostly I do coastal cruising, not blue water, and I hate towing because it slows me down and there's that fear of dinghy/engine being flipped, etc.

I'd definitely prefer just buying them, but I'm sort of cheap, and spending $1,500 - $2,500 on what seems like $250 in parts just drives me crazy.

I'm thinking about a design sort of like this:

Not that that is a great example, (not a sailboat in that pic and lot's of extra bars there I can't tell purpose of) but general idea is to have single bent single tubes on each side like that, attach them at bottom on/near transom and attach near the bend to stanchions/push-pit. A more common setup is to have 2 tubes on each side, connected together for strength:
But with single bent tubes, I may be able to avoid welding (which I have no equipment or knowledge of)

Curious if anyone here has attempted this before and/or any advice.

[a64pilot]

Well not being able to weld kills it in my opinion.
But you could have it welded, but do you have the ability to bend very thick walled tubing? Or is that also going to have to be hired?
Without being complex you will need large thick walled tubing it just use one tube.

I believe by the time you source the materials, have to pay to have the welding done and the tubes bent, you will of course have a custom build, but it may cost as much as off the shelf.
Now if you could weld and bend tubing, then yes you could likely end up with a better product for less money.

[tkeithlu]

Well, I built my steel trawler. Just looking at the job, doing it without welding would be a bear. With or without, you would be bending stainless steel pipe, which is tricky and expensive. Then you would likely be welding stainless steel. So, you're up against the jig or bender cost for making one set, versus the factory making several thousand, and you are doing specialty welding, which will cost you either a lot of equipment and training, or many bucks per hour for a professional.

If you do it out of materials that you can handle without all that, it's mild steel and will weigh more and rust. Ugly, too.

I think I would search the salvage market at the minimum before taking that job on, and I weld.

[tkeithlu]

A quick search on the internet showed a considerable market in used davits which you might consider. I know, I've sketched dozens of designs myself, since I'm not happy with the way we lift on and off our dinghy, but I've never come to anything actually worth buliding.

[paulg222]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

... but do you have the ability to bend very thick walled tubing? ...

Yeah I was going to mention that. Now I've seen some inexpensive hydraulic pipe bending machines that are sub $200. Here is one:

https://www.amazon.com/XtremepowerUS...a-806751751675

Now some reviews I've read on these cheap benders are not so good, but then again I only need it to work 2 times . Also I guess there are different kinds of benders for tubes that are less likely to kink or damage them (also tube is measured by OD and pipe by ID). Anyone have experience with bending?

[paulg222]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

A quick search on the internet showed a considerable market in used davits which you might consider.

I can't seem to find much on line that is at a good enough discount. I mean if someone used the davits for 10 years, maybe they should just sell them for $200 not $1200? But that's just me being cheap again I guess. Anyway if you have some links that look good feel free to post.

[billknny]

If you do not understand the purpose of "all those extras bars" in the picture you showed you probably don't have the technical expertise to design davits.

Can you calculate the static load on the deck when you hang 150lbs of dinghy at the end of a 5 foot lever arm? Can you estimate the dynamic load in a seaway? If not, then that expertise is what you are paying for when you buy davits. That and the technical skill of welding.

If you think that is nothing, then go ahead and build a set...

[GILow]

I have seen quite a few home made davits fail, in one case the failure occurred in the pen next to me the first time they tried to lift the dinghy.

I am a reasonably proficient welder, having had many years practice and formal training, and I am a keen DIYer, but I’d think twice before I tackled such a project. The forces involved are surprising.

[jackheape]

I investigated this very thing a few years back, going so far as to price the tubing and then taking my design to a local welder who could do aluminum and or stainless. I would nt have saved any money buying the davits outright. I did however research the cost of making them out of wood, carbon fiber, and epoxy, painting them white when finished. I have built several small boats with epoxy and am familiar with it. If I remember correctly I could have done so for less than $500. Never got around to it, because I just modified my swim ladder into a retractable swim platform (that cost $300 at the welder's) and now the dinghy will just ride on the retracted platform (less motor).

[dadster3]

I am curious about your project, and I will be interested to see what you come up with.

Rather than making them from scratch, have you considered modifying a used set of davits to fit your needs? I have seen used davits on Craig's List priced in the hundreds. I offer this because I too am davitless. I have mounts on my boat but there is no manufacturers identification, so I am considering having a used set modified to fit the mounts I have.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by paulg222

I'm seriously thinking about building my own dinghy davits for my 33 foot sailboat. Mostly I do coastal cruising, not blue water, and I hate towing because it slows me down and there's that fear of dinghy/engine being flipped, etc.

I'd definitely prefer just buying them, but I'm sort of cheap, and spending $1,500 - $2,500 on what seems like $250 in parts just drives me crazy.

I'm thinking about a design sort of like this:

Not that that is a great example, (not a sailboat in that pic and lot's of extra bars there I can't tell purpose of) but general idea is to have single bent single tubes on each side like that, attach them at bottom on/near transom and attach near the bend to stanchions/push-pit. A more common setup is to have 2 tubes on each side, connected together for strength:
But with single bent tubes, I may be able to avoid welding (which I have no equipment or knowledge of)

Curious if anyone here has attempted this before and/or any advice.

Go to a machine shop.

[hpeer]

I’ve bent some 1” heavy wall tube on a cheap Harbor Freight bender. Now it was for a bow sprit pulpit and I needed to make close to 150° of bend about 28” diameter IIRC. I laid it out with about 10 small bends on each side over the length of the curve. Then after the initial bends I made intermediate bends between the first set of marks, so the bend was distributed out over about 40 small bends of just a few degrees each. It looks fine but if you run your hand along the interior surface you can feel each of those little bends.

Not suggesting but thinking out loud you could use electrical conduit in stainless or aluminum. Go to a large electrical supplier and find out what you can buy. You MAY be able to buy pre-made “sweeps” in 15°, 30°, 45° and 90° with either a long or short radius. So you would probably want “heavy wall” tube.

The joints would be made with couplings. Not so pretty. And the threads may be cut pretty deep so that you may have to weld the joints anyway.

All that said you it may be cheaper to buy a real bender with a wheel that will roll over the radius you want. And then look to the conduit.

Remember that “tube” is actual OD, “pipe/conduit” is a nominal ID. Not at all the same thing.

1” tube is -“ OD
1/2” schedule 80 pipe is 0.86 OD, and about 0.5” ID.

Just some ideas.

[zstine]

See if you can find a used bimini at a local marina, salvage or marine consignment. I bought a 4 bow bimini off Mystic Marine Consignment with all the fittings for $250 and was able to make a 2 bow bimini and an arch to mount solar. You will get tubes that are already bent, and you can use bolt-on parts to finish the davit job.


The other option is to make beams similar to the shape in your 2nd photo out of fiberglass. I've seen composite Davits several times. Just make a mold out of wood and lay up the glass.

[Reefmagnet]

I was faced with the same quandry. Ended up picking up an old Vetus cast aluminium davit for 100 bucks. Splashed some paint on it, made up some mounting brackets and a couple of other odds and ends and all done.

[grahamb]

……...I went to a stainless steel handrail maker with my design...was 50 mm I think….incorporated lugs for a small clothesline...….4 lugs for 2 lines..….stainless angle along the near horizontal sections for solar panel mounting...and used canopy fittings for added support attached to the base of staunchions……..worked for me...…..