I own a 2006 3600 Open and would like to know if anyone has a dinghy mount system they are happy with. I am considering a brand called "Dinghy Ramp" with the XL model. I would prefer to keep the motor and gas tank etc in the boat. My current dinghy is a soft hull inflatable but am considering upgrading to a RIB.
We have the naughtley (dinghy ramp) on our Sovran and are happy with it. If you send me your info I will gladly send you pics. My email is mstrycker (at) gmail.com.
I have an 03' 35' open with the St Croix tilt up mount (think its the 870). this is very similar to the Nautley I looked at that one as well. I have a 9'9" Achilies rib (280LX) w/ a 9.9HP Yamaha and 6 gal gas tank). This system works pretty well for me. In larger seas (3'+) with close chop it could be an issue keeping boat on davtis but havent had a problem yet. I would note retreieving dinghy is a 2 person job. I am 6' 200lbs and it takes a few tries to get it up solo (this is because davit arms mean you are lifting on with donghy pretty far off the back of the swim platform, i.e. your leverage isnt the greatest). with my wife its easy first time. I bought block and tackle to make this an easy one person job but have yet to try it out (like i said its easy with 2 so...). Make sure you consider the beam of your dinghy and how far off the back this needs to ride. I would strongly consider a electric or hydraulic lift if doing again...obviously way more expenseive but peace of mind with doinghy higher up out of water if weather turns bad would be nice as would 1 person cast and retrieve. Havings said that this is a pretty good solution barring a more "optimal" one.
Do you keep the outboard motor on with the dinghy tilted? I thought it was bad to invert the lower unit higher than the powerhead. I am looking for a method that keeps the motor on. However with the 30" swim platform, it would require an extended arm version due to the beam of the dinghy.
My use of term tilt up was poor choice of words. The davit model is St Croix 820 see link below. very similar to the nautley XL. I should have said pull up (i.e. its not a roll on with a winch from the side but a pull on from the stern). once it is pulled up and seated in davits it is riding flat on the swim platform. so engine is tilted same way as if it was in the water with engine tilted up. A correction on my dinghy size, it is 9'2" (not 9' 9", it is an achillies 280LX). I would note I wouldnt want to go any longer personally, with engine tiled up it is still within beam of boat, but if I have full fuel tanks on main boat and it is choppy the prop of the dinghy can get hit with wake periodically, this can loosen the tie down straps and generally isnt preferable. with less full tanks and less than 3' close seas it doesn happen. I have only had it for one season so not sure if I play with trim if i can alleviate that on my own. If the boat was longer this would be a bigger deal and at any rate would produce more drag as it would potentially be wider than the beam at the stern with engine tilted up. You should also look at the mechanics of mounting it to your swim platform. My swim platform's bottom is fiberglass at a 45 degree or so angle back to the transom of the boat. so its not a straigtforward bolt thru the swim platform situation. We wound up using stainless screws and 3M marine adhesive instead of through bolting as there was nothing solid to bolt through with the fiberglass on the bottom. Pleased to note it is working well. Have had boat out in 3-5' and been on several week long trips with no issues. I would advise deciding which davits and which dinghy you plan on using with it before buying or mounting any davits. The nitty gritty of dinghy beam, length, davit postion etc will dicate what you can effectively do. My swim platform is also 30".
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