Mounting Garhauer Dingy Davits (Model # DD 6-2) on C 36MK II

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Mounting Garhauer Dingy Davits (Model # DD 6-2) on C 36MK II

Garhauer Dingy Davits Model # DD 6-2 ; Davits are 1 ¼” dia. vs. Lighter duty model designed with 1” Dia. davit 
 
Our boat is a 2005 Catalina 36 MK II, but these davits should fit most MKII years.
 
Kit Containes:

  • (2) davit arms
  • (2) davit pivot bases
  • (1) cross bar (must be cut to correct length)
  • (2) support struts for the cross bar 
  • (2) compression struts with pivot bases (must be cut to correct length)
  • (2) cam cleats on clamps
  • (2) dinghy davit block and tackle systems
  • All necessary attachment nuts and bolts. 

 
Tools/Parts needed:
-Hack saw or cut-off saw
-Metric and English Allen Hex Wrench set (I’m not sure why Garhauer didn’t use just one style)
-Box wrench, ratcheting wrench or deep socket wrench 
-Bubble Level
-Drill & Bits
-Tape measure
-Sharpie marker
-Boat life caulk (polysulfide caulk) or butyl tape.
-Little Giant type large stepladder.
-Possibly- a fabricated spacer for a davit pivot base to extend it from hull- see step 7 below.
 
This is a two person job. It will take at least a full day. Double check all measurements. Wait for final assembly to apply caulk or butyl tape. When drilling holes in the transom- use a slightly oversized drill bit to give the bolts some clearance to accommodate less than perfect drill alignment; take care to keep the drill perpendicular to the transom surface for each hole.
 
December 2018 price quoted from Garhauer; $1600 plus freight.
 
Rob Gorman was our contact at Garhauer and was very helpful. Also, we were fortunate to have a 2002 MK II C36 owner nearby that provided helpful information. His 2002 stern rail/seat system was different than ours- but the same davit design fit his boat. There was room for a pre-existing  dinghy engine hoist on both our boats, although the davits restrict some motion of the hoist crane.
 
1) Check the side to side level of the boat by placing the bubble level on the cockpit deck. 
 
2) Insert a compression tube into the pivot base and position the base on the transom step. The base will slightly overlap into the non-skid area. Make sure you have clearance between the compression tube and stern swim seat. Drill the holes to mount the pivot base. Be sure to orient the base with the Allen hex screws facing out. You should be able to reach into the lazeretts to access the mounting nuts while your helper uses a Phillips head screw driver on the outside of the hull. 
 
3) Measure the compression struts and cut to length. Measure to the length to the centerline of the stern rail for the cut length. Cut slightly long if unsure. Unbolting the strut from the pivot base will ease the installation.  
 
4) Attach the davit to it’s pivot base. Hold the davit against the upper stern rail. The pivot mount should be placed a few inches down and inboard from the engine exhaust vent. Note that when sliding the pivot mount downward on the transom, the davit arm will tip up and vise versa. Lowering the davit can give more elevation to the end of the arm- within a range. I suggest loosely mounting the davit to the stern rail and using a bubble level to establish the side-to-side vertical position. 
 
5) Mount the other davit as above. 
 
6) With both davit arms parallel and extended aft, measure the distance between the arms at the stern rail. Use the same measurement for the end of the arms.  Slide the “T” fitting onto each arm. Measure for the cross bar length and cut to size. Note that one end of the cross bar has a hole to capture a mounting screw. Cut the other end (with no hole). You will need to drill a hole in the other end to accommodate the mounting screw. 
 
7) Insert the cross bar into the “T” end fittings and mount on the davit arms. Do not tighten any of the screws. Hold the bubble level against the cross bar to determine if its level.  If not, adjust the davit arm height by sliding the davit pivot mount up and down over the transom. You may have to do this with both davit pivot mounts. Adjust the davit pivot bases until you establish a level position of the cross bar. Double check the side-to-side vertical level of the davit legs.  Mark the pivot base holes and drill.  Unfortunately, when mounting the pivot bases,  you will have to descend into the aft lazerettes to apply a wrench to the nylon lock nuts while an outside helper applies a Phillips screwdriver to the bolt heads. The port lazerette can be a tight fit because of the exhaust hose.
 
We discovered that our boat has non-symmetrical geometry in the stern area. I believe the stern rails are the culprit.  A half inch off in on one rail can lead to 1-2 inch discrepancy in elevation at the end of the arms. We could not resolve this issue by adjusting the davit pivot mount position on the transom, so resorted to using a half inch spacer below one of the davit pivot bases- to move it out from the hull and create a level crossbar. Garhauer does not provide spacers, so we fabricated one from an aluminum plate.  The 2002 C36 MKII owner experienced the same issue. 
 
8) Mount the two cross braces from the davit arms to the cross bar. They should be mounted at a 45° angle.
 
9) Mount the blocks and tackle.
 
10) Mount the cam cleats aft of the davit cleats. 
 
11) Tighten all nuts and Allen screws.
 
If I can find a way to compress my pictures to < 2MB, I will attach

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

No Rush
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Going to do the same thing on our 94 Mk 1.5. The davits are only going to be 39" apart because the stern pulpit seats are in the way. Our rib dingy is a 10'2" walker bay and I might have to adjust the attachment points in the dingy to make it work. Maybe a back bone bare in the dingy to keep the davit lines vertical.
 

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Davit Arm Position -near engine compartment vent

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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Stern Rail Compression Tube Placment. 

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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kbecker
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having taken Anita from Boston to new home in Longboat key florida have the need to get the dingy out of the growth producing waters of the south. am looking at a kato davit and at an arch system. see merits of both. Rigger tells me arch to get dingy up as problems can occur with sideways waves. I get the point but have really never run into anyone (aside from long multiday distances where wisdom says on deck) who has experienced a problem. as i do not not plan on solar panels and look of arch is not pretty seem davits for a 36 are the ticket. looking for words of wisdom.
Kip

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Kip-
Although our davits are installed, we haven't used them yet, so I can't comment from personal experience. I did talk to another local C36 owner prior to our Garhauer davit purchase, and took his experience into account in my decision. We have similar dinghies (8-1/2 foot RIB's)  with 3-4HP outboards. He has not experienced any issues in moderate sea/wind conditions supporting the dinghy with engine mounted (~ 160 pound total weight).  He did make the comment if heavy air was expected, he would probably tow. His only complaint was that it interferes with the swim ladder. 

The Kato arch looks like it would give more elevation and maybe allow access to the swim ladder with the dinghy in place. However, I didn't see any Catalina examples in their web page and wonder if the arch mounting is compatible with the geometry of our boats.

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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Garhauer davits installed 

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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Garhauer davits installed 

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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Sajanim
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Paul,
Just curious if you know how much the davits and dink add to the LOA. I'm considering adding them to Xena.

 

Troy
S/V Xena
2002 Catalina 36 MK II
Hull #2103
Seward, Alaska

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Only a guess, but with the reverse transom I'd guess about 2/3 of the beam of your dingy. Our dingy is 65" wide so it adds about 43"-44" to the lenth of the boat.

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That sounds to be about the right measurement. If I find ours is significantly different, I will post a comment.

On a seperate note, now that we have utilized the davits with our 8'-6" RIB, they are a terrific addition to the boat. We definately picked up some speed vs. towing and no issue with dipping the dinghy with moderate chop and heel. Cross tying lines is a must to prevent it from dancing, and my next project will be simplify the tie down process so we can retrieve and launch faster. 

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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Sajanim
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Thank you Paul and No Rush, I will be talking to Garhauer very soon. 

Troy
S/V Xena
2002 Catalina 36 MK II
Hull #2103
Seward, Alaska

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Following up on some previous davit questions;

  • The arms measure about 44 inches in length from the where they are attached to the stern rail.
  • With an empty bow tank, full fuel tank and two full aft water tanks, the hull height from the water, measured at the transom, is 7". (This is not the height of the swim platform, but is the amount of hull-to-water clearance for the hull beneath the platform.) Hoisting  a 120 pound dinghy with an attached 40 pound motor onto the davits reduces the hull height by one inch. Somebody in the forum had concern that the aft of the boat be pushed much lower by the weight of a dinghy & motor hoisted onto the davits; not the case.
  • "Pancake water" and no wind gave us a speed with dinghy/motor hoisted of 5.7 knots at 1800 RPM. Towing the same dinghy at 1800 RPM yielded a boat speed of 5.0 knots.

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

No Rush
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Posts: 15

I have garhauer davits on our Mirage 32, and a walker bay 10.2' dingy with  a tohatsu 9.8, total weight of 250 lbs incuding a jug of gasoline, no problem. Thats our Northern boat, our Southern boat, No Rush, a C36 - 1.5  is heading south from Maryland this fall. I am installing the arms of our garhauer davits on No Rush and  installing all the brackets and braces so I can use our dingy on No Rush. We sailed the Mirage from Nova Scotia to the Bahamas in 2014/15 with no problems, a much smaller boat with the dingy and the motor hanging from the davits. The C-36 has more free board in the stern so I;m not anticipating any problems with dragging the stern of the dingy while heeled. The garhauer davits, 1-1/4",  are really solid. You have to cross brace the dingy and pull it in tight to keep it from swaying.

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