Davits: Here’s What We Think - Now Tell Us How You Use Them!

Since a catamaran is intrinsically better suited to anchorages than to marinas, the tender is much more than a simple accessory. Its storage and handling are key points of attention during the design phase.

At Excess, we systematically question this topic when designing a new model, so let’s use this article to review the main possible solutions.

We can identify three main families:

• Classic davits (fixed with blocks and tackle)

• Pivoting davits

• Under-platform lifting systems, such as Tenderlift®

Each concept has its advantages and disadvantages, its fans and its detractors.

Classic davits

Advantages:

• They have the merit of simplicity: few moving parts, fixed to the primary structure of the boat

• High rigidity in all axes, making them very insensitive to waves and transversal loads

• Nothing protrudes below the tender, so you get better clearance above the water for a given tender position

• Compatible with catamarans where the mainsheet track is on the aft beam (such as Excess)

• Cost-effective

• Can carry ideally positioned solar panels (out of the boom’s shadow)

• Allow you to store “toys” in addition to the tender, such as stand-up paddleboards

• Positioning the tender under the davits is simple and reliable, even in choppy conditions

• Little to no risk of wear.

Drawbacks:

• Fixed solution, which often increases the boat’s overall length

• Need to create proper support points for the tender on the davits and ideally strap it down to avoid any movement during long passages

• Solution that can appear simplistic, not very modern.

Pivoting davits

Advantages:

• An attractive solution, as it allows part of the loads to be transferred into the coachroof, thus reducing stresses in the hull

• Rotational kinematics that move the tender away from the boat when launching, and bring it forward when lifted (generally more compact in the marina)

• Nothing protrudes below the tender, so you get better clearance above the water for a given tender position

• Cost-effective solution, requiring little structure

• Lightweight solution

• Davits in the lowered position can have an additional function (for example: trampoline)

• Positioning the tender is simple and reliable, even in choppy conditions

Drawbacks:

• More vulnerable to lateral loads

• Difficult to fully secure the tender in position (generally supported on only one side) for long passages

• Kinematics requiring pins and moving parts, which can wear out more quickly

• Do not easily allow for the installation of solar panels

• Incompatible with catamarans where the mainsheet track is on the aft beam (such as Excess)

Under-platform lifting systems

Advantages:

• Very clean, discreet solution that does not interfere with visibility from the cockpit

• Multifunction solution, which can serve as a bathing platform when the tender is not on it

• Conceptually more reassuring: the tender is resting on a support and not hanging (although it still needs to be strapped down!)

Drawbacks:

• Structure with volume below the platform, increasing impacts with the sea

• Heaviest solution, requiring significant additional structural reinforcement in the boat

• More advanced kinematics and more complex mechanics in direct contact with salt water

• No possibility to carry solar panels or store “toys” independently of the tender

• The tender has to be positioned very precisely on the chocks, more delicate when the sea is not calm

• Generally an electric or hydraulic solution, more expensive and potentially more vulnerable

Tell us what you think!

Each of these solutions has its advocates and detractors, but above all the choice must be adapted to the intended use.

Classic davits remain to this day the preferred solution for blue-water cruising yards, while the other concepts are generally reserved for charter-oriented boats or very large luxury yachts.

At Excess, this is the direction we are currently taking, and we strive, model after model, to deliver the most refined solution possible while remaining within the family of classic davits.

We would be very interested in your feedback on the different families mentioned above, and especially in understanding how you actually use your tender:
Do you put it back on the davits every evening? Do you remove it for long passages? Do you often move the engine onto a dedicated bracket or do you systematically leave it on the tender, etc.?

In short, all feedback is welcome — help us keep thinking out of the box!