[Fiddlehead]

An upgrade we'd long looked forward to doing was to add davits to the swim platform of our 2002 3500 Open so we could more easily take our dinghy along with us.

After researching several types of davits, I decided on the Nautley XL Roll-On davit system, and am glad I did.  They work like a charm!

Our dinghy is a Zodiac RIB 310 rigid floor 10'6" dual-bottom model (by West Marine) with a Mercury 9.9hp 4-stroke outboard.

I measured & marked the location for the davit arm mounting blocks, then had my boatyard do the actual anchoring to the platform (overdrilling & filling the cored platform with resin, so they'd have a solid surface to anchor into).  I located the blocks using Nautley's instructions.  Note that the bow arm is nearer the center line of the swim platform (next to the boarding ladder), with the stern arm placed appropriately to bear the weight of the dinghy's motor.   


The pics ...

Platform with mounting blocks installed.



Closer shot - note that mounting blocks are offset.  Blocks nearest swim platform are for bow arm.



Davits in place.



Dinghy stowed.



Cover by Taylor Made.



Bow strap secured.



Strap secured to outer davit arm, then through bow eye shackle, and finally to inner location on davit arm. 



Stern strap secured on outer davit arm, then over transom to inner stern eye, finally to inner location on davit arm.




We've taken the rig from Maine to Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket & back, through some pretty rough seas, with no problems at all.  Very easy to launch but needs 2 to retrieve.  Has gotten easier to load with a bit of practice.  Overall I'm very happy with the way it turned out.