www.iFourWinns.com

Is anyone using the pivot-up davit system along with the motor pivot? The pivot system worked fine until we got a motor and the swivel. The motor swivel is pretty heavy. That along with the weight of the motor causes the dinghy to plunge motor first into the water when you pull it up. Or at least thats what happened to us....brand new motor. I was just wondering if anyone is using this and has done modifications to fix this.


http://www.allinflatables.com/shopping/davits/ad/davit.html
http://www.allinflatables.com/shopping/custom/pivot.html

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Monica
gulls@play
Vista 288

I would switch to properly installed Weaver Davits.

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Current Boat: 1994 278 Four Winns Vista

There's not a lot to be done other than being careful. The weight of the engine and swivel need to be taken into account. Along with keeping the dinghy fully inflated.

I seem to recall there's another kind of motor swivel setup, one with a set of arms that pivots the engine out/over instead of just rotating. I believe they had a setup that would connect to a winch on the boat, so the lifting force was at the engine/transom. This better controlled it.

I haven't bothered with either. I just put a short line around the handle on the engine and secure it to a cleat. I've heard tales of people dropping their engine into the water when pulling it off the dinghy. I almost had that happen once. At least with a short line attached you can drag it back up REAL QUICK. I stow the engine in an extra large duffel bag. Along with some tough foam padding, cut from various foam stuff I had lying around.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista