Hi all, just joined this new discussion group! We have a NS30C (#40) and I just completed the installation of Atkins & Hoyle 2000 Fixed Davits. These are transom mounted with backing plates. I noticed that even with these backing plates there is a noticeable amount of flex in the transom and it is somewhat disconcerting. Has anyone else installed davits like these on their Nonsuch? (there must be!)? Did you add any additional support and how is it working out?
Bill Salton; NS30C; Bonheur; Niagara-on-the-Lake (SCBC)
Don’t lift the dinghy with the davits attached like that. They are sure to rip out of the transom.
I have Kato davits on my 33. Those attach to the deck and to the sternrail. The first summer with the dinghy, during a 2 week cruise, the stern rail bent.
My solution was to straighten the stern rail and connect the stern rail to the top of the coaming attached at the stern rail adjacent to the Davit and to the top of the coaming with a folding pad eye. The material between the stern rail and each pad eye on the coaming is about 12 turns of 1/8’ braided spectra line.
As the boat rocks side to side while traveling, there is a lot of side to side force on the dinghy and davits. You might also need cross wires with turnbuckles forming an X from the base of each davit to the top of the opposite Davit.
You might also need an X wire brace arrangement on the top of the two davits similar to the arrangement described above.
Did you follow all of Atkins and Hoyles installation instructions? Were there any offered accessories that you elected not to purchase?
You need the deck support kit and the back/side stays. Did you use a minimum 6”x9” backing plate at each davit location? I think you need plates inside and outside of the transom.
Backing up Ward’s advice: think of your davits as levers (or crow bars) that transmit all of the weight of your dinghy to the transom throughbolts. The weight of the dinghy is using that lever to pull the top bolts out and push the bottom bolts in. And also to pull and push the inner and outer bolts as the dinghy sways. And adding momentum as that weight bounces in waves.
That’s what makes it so essential to have huge backing plates to spread the forces, and additional tensioning and attachment points to further distribute the loads.
Keep in mind that you want to plan for the worst case, which is not just the weight of the dinghy, but the weight of the dinghy filled with water from a wave or heavy rainstorm.
Hi Bill
Welcome to the Nonsuch world and to this site.
Another possibility might be to attach struts from the top knuckle joints to the swim platform mounting flanges if you can find adequate hardware. It looks to me that the mounting hardware you have was designed for a thick beafy transom and I agree with Ward that the current setup is not optimal or even practical.
All the best,
I bought my N30U with a different make and style of davits but the attachment was very similar. My pre-purchase survey discovered soft spots on the transom deck around where the davits were attached. The softness was more extensive than the surveyor and expected sand it cost more to repair than I had budgetted. No doubt davits may be successfully attached but I still think that potentially it opens the possibility of water getting into the core. I have not replaced the davits and will either tow a tender or place it on the deck.
I haven’t installed davits, but I did notice while installing an autopilot drive on the transom’s inside how thin it is (about 5/16” solid lamination). I would not have been comfortable with davits and a dinghy hanging there without reinforcing the inside with plywood and another laminated layer. My swim ladder is thusly mounted.
