One of the delights of cruising is anchoring out at your favorite gunk hole and launching the tender and taking in the sights of the region or visiting other yachts; it’s a good way to meet new acquaintances. But if your dingy is not very accessible or difficult to launch, you will not likely use it much.

All tenders require satisfactory storage. Towing is not always practical and can be dangerous in bad conditions. The same goes for on deck storage; a heavy wind and you may lose it. But if properly setup your yacht with the proper davit system, your tender will provide trouble-free service.

Notwithstanding before you select your davit system, you’ll need to select the right tender for your yachting needs. Do you favor a rigid tender or inflatable? Remember punctures are very common with inflatables? Where will it be used? On the high seas or inland waters? How big do you need her?

Many of the answers to storage locations and systems lie in how large it is and much your tender weighs.

There are 4 standard davit arrangements ready to store a dinghy:

·clip-on, where the tender rests on its side on the swim platform;

·stanchion mounts on the transom, the dingy hangs over the stern;

·rotating davit mounts on the decks; and

·hydraulic - powered lifts attached to a swim platform to lift large dingies or personal water craft.

Clip-on davits are a great product. Weaver Davits, one of the lead sellers, are an economical choice for trawlers with swim platforms and small tenders and outboards up to 10 horsepower. But the outboard must be removed from the dingy before hoisting out of the water. Most boaters have an outboard motor storage rack attached on the transom for easy access. Another worry is raising the tender from a horizontal place in the water to a standing position for storage. Weaver Davits are limited by the weight of the dingy. I have the davit system on our trawler and I could not be more satisfied. We can launch and recall the dingy in less than 5 minutes.

Stanchion mounts are secured to the rails, deck or transom. Designed for heavy dinghy-engine setups, these davit systems come with adjustable riser arms for a custom fit to your boat. Big dingies may require optional support kits attached on the transom or swim platform. When properly installed, the tender rests level from the stern of the boat. On these installments, the dingy outboard can remain in place. On a negative side, the tender setup requires a fair amount of hand-operated labor to hoist the tender using 2 block and tackles. These are common setups on sailing boats.

Rotating davits raise, rotate and position the dingy onto the foredeck or sundeck. If the deck can hold the load, these systems can be directly mounted, or the supporting post may be based on a lower deck. Most setups are provided with an electric winch to mechanically lower and raise the dingy. Dingies with large motors (15 horsepower or more) often combine a rotating davit on the transom with a cradle for the dingy mounted on deck. The setups allow raising for the heaviest of tender/motor arrangements. On a down side, these arrangements may place the operator at heights that could be dangerous in rough waters. In addition, care must be made to keep the outboard from striking the mother ship as the tender is raised or lowered, breaking windows or damaging the gel coat.

Hydraulic - powered lifts have become common on large yachts to lift big dingies or personal water craft. Most are complicated and not easily owner installed. Prices for these davit systems increase as the lifting ability increases– the heavier the dinghy, the more high-priced the davit system. To use, the lifts are lowered into the water and the dingy is driven onto the cradle. A negative feature is that these units may not work well in a following sea.

In most examples when buying a used boat, the tender and davit system is already in place. You will just need to familiarize yourself with it to see if you like it. If you do not, there are other choices for you.