Lowering the Outboard

[oceandiamond]

Lowering my outboard and attaching it to the dinghy is always fraught with danger and its only a matter of time before both of us end up in the water

Have spent countless hours trying to figure a way around this including straps, mounting on the dinghy while on board, some kind of davit but not convinced with any of these

Any ideas ?

[electricmonk]

I ended up having one made to my design but below is link to a similar idea that works and is/was made by plastimo

inadee.co.uk/enginehoist.htm

[oceandiamond]

Thanks for your help.

I have taken a look at the plastimo one but it looks big and cumbersome. Do you have by any chance the design for yours ?

Thanks again

[Seagem]

What about making up a 'Handy Billy' from some pulleys and a strop over the end of the boom? I have one, which has been useful for lifting heavy items on board and could also be used for MOB recovery. I have not used it for the outboard as I tend load in into the dingy over the sugar scoop stern, with a rope tied around the outboard and to the yacht just in case I drop it lol!

[electricmonk]

I have tried to attach a picture (insert image doesn't seem to like me) ,that shows it but the main dimensions are 1.5 mtrs high with a swing of half a metre. I had it made in fethiye for 165 trl.

[oceandiamond]

Thanks a million. I am presuming you then use some kind of outboard harness to attach

[electricmonk]

as you see we have little outboard so only need a 2:1 block to lift it, this shackles on. The outboard harness is made from 10mm 3 strand with spliced stainless rings and a snap hook sorry no pics. But the whole lot came in at around 180 lira or £65.00.

To assist you with the design, IF you have a bimini you must ensure the hoist can be used with the bimini up; so that restricts the overall height of the boom, this makes the choice of block and the dimensions of the harness critical as if these two items end up too big (high) you find you cant lift the outboard high enough to get it onto the stowage bracket. So lots of measuring is required before you commit to make it.

I did think of lifting the outboard from the end of the boom but what do you do with it when its on board? the boom is too far forward. On my boat the starboard cockpit locker is deep so I could lower an outboard from the boom onto a bracket fixed inside that locker, but after a while that idea quickly evaporated as it means keeping the locker tidy and allowing a wet oily outboard to mess it up a bit more.

[oceandiamond]

the end of boom option is not an option because its too far in and because of the bimini.

Will sit down and start the design as soon as I get hint of spring in the air and will upload my design if that ok with you.

Did you buy a harness off-the-shelf or did you conjure one yourself ??

[electricmonk]

The outboard harness is "made on board" from spliced 3 strand and a few stainless fittings - it cost around £5 and took a couple of hours to splice - why buy one for £65?

Its fits in with my philosophy of if its not broken don't fix it, if it moves oil it, if you can make one that works and and looks OK then make one. Coupled with if you don't have to drill a hole in then boat don't * ; currently agonising on how to fit a couple solar panels without drilling holes - I think I have managed it - in my head anyway.

* Was"coerced" into fitting a bum strap in the galley, needed two eye bolts, NEVER been used . . . . . . . and we crossed Biscay in F10- 11 these boats are seriously stable.

[Donrob]

With regards to a harness for the outboard I stumbled upon a very effective and cheap one by accident when playing about with a sail tie that had come with a new Elvstrom sail. The sail tie was made from a length of very good quality webbing and it had a small loop sewn in at one end. I passed the other end through the loop once and then again so that I got like a figure of eight with the loose end coming out in the middle. The two new loops created are placed one over each end of the outboard cover and there's the harness. By pulling at the loose end the two loops over the outboard cover tighten. To finish off you would need to sew in another loop at the loose end of the webbing (or make a knot) and put in a shackle to connect to the hoist. I suppose this harness can also be made from rope.

[temptress]

We've incorporated a davit with a pulley system on our wind gennie pole. Its main purpose is to enable the First Mate to haul the much heaver Skipper out of the water should the need arise but it works a treat for the outboard as well as heavier items of shopping.

[mkremedy]

If anyone is interested, in the hints & tips section there are pictures of the outboard lift that I installed on the stern of my SO36i.
you can find it under the following title
"SO 36i Stern Seat and Outboard Lift"

Happy Sailing
mkremedy

[jimlowden]

some hoists [ garhauer ] are made with removable swivel arms and hoisting hardware, leaving only a short s/s post when not in use - not obtrusive and easy to store

[boltnbrew]

We installed a Kato davit from Katomarine. Very happy with it on a 20HP mercury outboard. 110 lbs not a problem.

[electricmonk]

Feb 1, 2013 23:13:22 GMT jimlowden said:

some hoists [ garhauer ] are made with removable swivel arms and hoisting hardware, leaving only a short s/s post when not in use - not obtrusive and easy to store

see the picture of my home made device in a post above. the arm with the takeall (not fitted in the pic) comes off in exactly the same way leaving the short post attached to the rail.