[Norm]

I'm looking for suggestions on what type of davit to use on my 3500 Express with the 4' swimstep.
I want to keep the engine on the dinghy when it's out of the water.
Complicating matters, I am 76 years old and don't have the strength that I used to for dragging the boat onto the swim step. I currently use a soft bottom dinghy and a 6 hp outboard.
Does anyone have history/suggestions?
Thanks.

[Maxwell]

Here is an old thread on the setup we had on our 39 Sovran... The block and tackle made retrieving the dinghy a lot easier. You could probably find a portable electric winch in place of the block and tackle to further automate the process...

[Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register]

[August Rush]

I am in the process of installing the Hurley H3O setup with power winch. Same platform as yours...

[Norm]

August, what led you to choose this option?

[August Rush]

August, what led you to choose this option?

I have had smaller ribs, most recently a Mercury 280 Dynamic with a Mercury 9.9.   For that I was using the Nautley Dingy Ramp HD's.    Worked great but still a manual load process which wasn't an issue since the boat and motor probably weighed around 2020 lbs or so.

New RIB is a 11' Inmar with a 25HP Suzuki- Full console boat, so over double the weight of the previous RIB.   The H3O plus handles up to 750 lbs.  It comes with a winch to load and unload.   They make a standard H3O that handles less weight.  This seemed like the best option compared to other major projects like Freedom lifts that can cost north of $25k.   Although I bought my H3O setup slightly used, the new set ups are around $4k or so.   There are a few models...

So in short, if you are looking at manual pull on Davits I would highly suggest the Nautley Dingy Ramp HD's.   If you want something more automated and are going with a larger RIB, I would say Hurley H3O.

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I just re-read your post. Sounds like you have a smaller inflatable. If that is what you are planning to keep, you should be fine with normal manual load davits from Nautley.

[Norm]

Thank you for the information August. Now I have two good choices.

[dbriceno]

On a previous bridge boat I had the original Hurley Davit and a pretty heavy RIB with a 15hp outboard. I used a block and tackle (purchased from Hurley Marine) [Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register] that I attached to the bridge that helped me load the dink. The H3O is really nice if you have the room although I like the Nautley DinghyRamp HD+. If you have questions about the block & tackle let me know. I think I still have mine if you are interested.

[Mark DeJoie]

I'm looking for suggestions on what type of davit to use on my 3500 Express with the 4' swimstep.
I want to keep the engine on the dinghy when it's out of the water.
Complicating matters, I am 76 years old and don't have the strength that I used to for dragging the boat onto the swim step. I currently use a soft bottom dinghy and a 6 hp outboard.
Does anyone have history/suggestions?
Thanks.

I am in the process of buying a Hurley Marine System.  I have a 9 foot dinghy, hard botton, with a 9.9 hp.  My swimplatorm is 24" and 9 feet wide hurley marine was very helpful when I called them.  There are you tube videos on showing people how to pull it on.  Seems easy, but I am not sure of the strength needed to pull it up, mine is 160 lbs. with engine.

[emarrero]

I'm in a 4000 Express and just getting into the dinghy game. I bought a Zodiac Wave Areo (10'2, PVC, air floor) from Defender.com and a Torqueedo 1103 electric 3HP. The dinghy weighs in at about 60lbs so I opted for the Weaver Snap Davit (here: [Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register])

The advantage for me is the snaps keep the dinghy in place while loading & unloading and it's low cost and not intrusive. I don't need it with an electric motor but they offer a swivel mount for your transom that keeps the motor straight when you tilt the boat up.

Good luck and let us know what you decided!