[C320-list] Garhauer Davits

[Jeffrey Hare]

Hi Bob,

  Couple things.

Yes, the cross bars need to be drilled so that the set screws can be
replaced with small bolts like the ones used at the ends for the lifting
blocks.  I drilled small holes so that the set screws could go in further
and used loc-tite on those.  

The main problem here I suspect is how you're carrying the dinghy.

Pointers:
=========
1)  The "D-Rings" aren't really the ideal place to be carrying the bow from.
You should be using a piece of webbing looped under one of the floorboards
near the bow.  Not the forward-most one, but the board right before the one
that transitions to an angle.  I made a webbing strap for mine with large
D-Rings sewn in.  (I've got pictures).

2)  Even when the dinghy is drawn up tight against the arms, you should
still use a webbing strap to pull the dinghy up tight and towards the
transom so that you can't wiggle it at all.  It should be fixed in place.
The way I do this is probably different than most, but...  I leave the
outboard on the dinghy and have the dinghy stern on the Starboard side to
counter the port-list.  After raising the dinghy all the way up, use a long
piece of 2" webbing. start from the lower starboard aft rail by the boarding
ladder, go UNDER the dinghy, up through the OUTER bow Tow-Ring, up over the
cross bar and back to the starting point.  If you use a ratcheting strap,
you can snug the dinghy up so that it is fixed and is unaffected by steep
seas and motion.  If you still have motion, then use an additional strap to
cinch up any loose section.

3)  IMPORTANT: If the lifting points on your dinghy are closer together than
the length of the cross bar, then you're fine.  If they're even slightly
wider apart than the length of the cross bar, you need to make a strap that
you can tie between the lifting clips so that they can never pulled apart
outward wider than the cross bar.  (that would tend to add more stress to
the set-screws).

4)  When leaving the dinghy in davits at the mooring or dock, make sure to
drop the aft end of the dinghy down  several inches and remove the drain
plug.  If you keep the cross strap in place, but loosened slightly you don't
have to worry as much about a pool of water forming in the middle of the
dinghy and not draining out, should the tubes get a little soft in cool
weather.

Anyway, a some of this I learned from the Ocean Marine website where they
discussed this, and other parts of this I gleaned from looking at the
various kinds of commercial lifting straps available.  BTW, I think there's
quite a bit of room for improvement in the ones that are commercially
available, so I made my own.

Here's how I made my own lifting strap for the Bow of a "wooden" floor
inflatable dinghy.  

1) Purchased a 15' (~8k-10k lbs rating) lifting strap with tow hooks on both
ends.  ~$20 bucks...
2) Purchased a pair of 5/16" x 2" welded D-Rings online.  (I got them for
~$6 ea.)
3) Cut off the Tow Hooks and melted the ends of the strap to keep them from
fraying.
4) Measured the width of the board towards the bow that I would be lifting
from and roughly tripled that length, cut it and sealed the ends.
5) Mark the center of the strap, Add 2" to the width of the total width of
the bottom board (in my case 32").  I extended 16" each way from the center
and marked the strap so that I had my 32" section centered on the strap.
6) Slip a D-Ring on and loop the free end back to the line you marked.
Using a zig-zag sewing machine and V92 thread, I sewed the straps together
like you would for a harness.  Repeat the same for the other side.

The reason for tripling the width of the floor board to get the total strap
length, was because now, when the strap is installed, the amount of the sewn
overlap from the D-Ring now comes within an inch of the edge of the board.
This keeps the strap "locked" in place with the D-Rings centered in the
dinghy.   The D-Rings add 3-4" to the total length of the strap, making it
easy to clip onto, yet still keeps it low enough to allow the dinghy to be
lifted fully to the arms.  For UV protection, I sprayed the strap with 303
Protectant. Should last me several years.

This is all Much easier to show with a couple picture than in words...

-Jeff 

PS: If you want me to make one up for you, give me a call.  Took me less
than a half hour start to finish.

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Robert Seastream
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 5:11 PM
To: C320-List
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Garhauer Davits

One thing I discovered this weekend about the Garhauer davits:  The
crossmember is only secured by setscrews, which can vibrate loose.  I had to
tighten them this weekend.  It would have been bad if the crossmember fell
off.  The 'T' endcaps that hold the lifting line assemblies have both
setscrews and predrilled, pretapped holes for included screws.  I'll be
making modifications to provide the same support for the crossmember ASAP.
Other than that, it's a great product.

Another thing:  Just outside Portsmouth harbor, we almost lost (at
minimum) our gas tank due to catching a heavy wake from a passerby off our
starboard quarter.  The dink (Avon Bombard 240) tipped inward towards the
stern of our 320.  Fortunately, our 8 hp Honda was well secured to the dink
transom, and I'd padlocked the gas tank to the seat with a cable and lock.
While the tank did go in the drink, we were able to recover it.  Afterward,
we tied a short line from the dinks' 
aft lifting handle to the lower end of the davits vertical support so as to
limit this sort of travel.  I don't want to carry the 80 pound Honda on a
stern rail mount.

The way we lift our dink is via lines with rings centered and secured in the
middle.  The line is secured with bowline knots to the D rings at the bow,
and to aftermarket U bolts installed near floor level at a
45 angle.

Bob Seastream
'Intuition' hull 906


On Jun 15, 2007, at 6:33 PM, Lamar Desmond wrote:

> Jeff thanks for the info; my dink (Auqa Dutch) has four lifting rings 
> just above the water line so hopefully that will be OK.
>
> We been cursing for the week and after wrestling  the dink (even using 
> the spare jib halyard) upside down onto the bow (my wife refuses to 
> tow
> it) I
> really look forward to the davits.
>
> -Lamar
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com 
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Hare
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 9:31 AM
> To: 'C320-List'
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Garhauer Davits
>
> Lamar,
>
>    Ocean Marine suggests mounting them as you mentioned.  I didn't do 
> that however, given that the 1.25" Garhauer version are strong enough 
> to not really require that.  With the weights you mention, it'll do 
> fine.  I had a 60lb outboard and a dinghy of about the same weight as 
> yours on last year, and it did just fine.
>
> I'm making new hoisting straps this week out of 2" webbing and 
> D-Rings.  Our inflatable dinghy has the removable floorboards, and I 
> have designed the
> straps to pull the dinghy up tight against the arms.    I may write it 
> up
> and post it in case anyone else is interested.  By the way, if you're 
> mounting Transom U bolts on the dinghy, mount them down low, a little 
> above the waterline with the lifting rope/strap/cable as short as 
> possible to allow the dinghy to be lifted as high as possible, and to 
> protect the outboard motor from the large davit blocks and clip.  Be 
> sure to angle the dinghy and remove the plug so that the water drains 
> out if it rains...
>
> -Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com 
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Pat Moriarty
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 8:50 AM
> To: C320-List
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Garhauer Davits
>
> Did you get the pics. I only spend 1 hour a week on the home computer 
> and
> 40+ on the office so I can do it from here better than home.
>
> At 06:34 PM 6/5/2007, you wrote:
>> Yes it was the cross bar and pictures would be helpful.  I was 
>> thinking of not mounting them parallel but with the upper's a little 
>> closer together then the bottom thinking it would add some stability 
>> side to side?  Not sure that would be an issue our dink is less then 
>> 80lbs and the 3.5hp 4-stroke just under 40lbs.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Lamar
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com 
>> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Pat Moriarty
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 8:06 AM
>> To: C320-List
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Garhauer Davits
>>
>> Are you talking the cross bar? I got the 7' and cut it after I 
>> mounted the arms. I also used the lower rail since I have the motor 
>> on the boat all the time and have not noticed any flex problems and 
>> at a rail down heel the prop does not hit the water. I will take some 
>> pics this weekend if
> you like.
>>
>> Pat #130
>>
>> At 09:42 PM 6/4/2007, you wrote:
>>> Anyone with Garhauer Davits: how long did you have them make the 
>>> connector piece; I thought they were a standard size and I would 
>>> have to cut it but they said they make it custom.
>>>
>>> I was looking at the two sets of pictures on our site and like the 
>>> looks of the Garhauer's but am not sure if I would mount them on the 
>>> lower or upper rail.  We have the more mature 320 w/o the transom 
>>> step so I'd be mounting to the transom in either case.
>>>
>>> Any installation hints or tips; looks pretty straight forward: 8 
>>> holes and a couple of clamps.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance,
>>> Lamar Desmond
>>> Blue Moon #358
>>
>> Pat Moriarty
>> PSI Urethanes Inc
>> PH: 800-888-5156  Fax: 512-837-8733
>> Please visit our web site at
>> www.psiurethanes.com
>
> Pat Moriarty
> PSI Urethanes Inc
> PH: 800-888-5156  Fax: 512-837-8733
> Please visit our web site at
> www.psiurethanes.com
>
>
>
>
>
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