jackets and safety harnesses, but it has certainly firmed my resolve to
not carry my dinghy on the swim platform.

I think it depends on the nature of the water you regularly boat in.  In
the PNW, at least on the inside waters, mounting the dinghy on the
swimstep on Weaver or similar style davits is the method that I would
guess 80 percent of the boats in this area that carry dinghies use.
Hardshell or inflatable, swimstep mounting is by far the most common
method, particularly on boats in the 25 to 45 foot range.  Given the
huge number of boats here I'm sure there have been people who've had
problems from this but I have never heard of anyone having a problem
with a swimstep-mounted dinghy in the kind of rougher water we get here.
I can certainly understand where a swimstep mounted dinghy could cause a
problem out in the open ocean.  Plus there are a lot of variables--- the
nature of the swimstep, the type of mount, how the dinghy is secured to
the boat, and so on.  Some of these things are hardware choices, some
are reliant on the logic and foresight of the boat owner.

I have seen enough people have enough problems with launching or
retrieving a dinghy from the upper cabin top using a power davit when
the boat's rocking around to resolve never to have this kind of system
should we ever own a boat capable of carrying a dinghy up there.  To us,
either a pivot-up swimstep mount or davits that hang the dinghy off the
transom are the only sensible ways to go, at least around here.

C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington

jackets and safety harnesses, but it has certainly firmed my resolve to
not carry my dinghy on the swim platform.

I started out with the dinghy carried on the top deck and using a crane type
lift. The top deck is about 12 feet above the water line and the top of the
dof davit crane is about 18 feet above the water line.

After several years of wrestling the dinghy - 14 ft Boston Whaler - onto the
top deck I looked for a diferent method. My DeFever is very rolly and with
the dinghy hanging on 14-18 ft of cable, I have come very close to putting
it thru the saloon windows. Except when it was clam, it always took two
people to raise or lower the dinghy. Several times it was too rough to even
get it on board - so ended up towing it until the waters calmed down.

I then went with a Sea Wise davit on the swim platform. I raised the swim
platform up about a foot and reinforced it with some heavy duty angle
supports.

The dinghy, when raised, is now about 16 inches above the water level, and
matches the heighth of the Sea Wise brackets. The dinghy can easily be
raised or lowered by one person in less than a minute.

It doesn't seem to be bothered by the mild following seas of the PNW inland
waters. But the dinghy does get some water inside when traveling in rough
seas.

Now the crane only is used to lower kayaks to the water, which we only use
in calm waters.

All in all, I like the swim platform mounting over the top deck and crane
method. It is safer, quicker, and easier than the top deck. And besides, the
top deck is now a larger gathering place for guests.

Don Sorensen
M/V Esperanza
DeFever 60 Flush Deck
Seattle/Dallas