Nordic Tug 37 davit crane?

[Breezin]

I’m in the process of buying a used Nordic Tug 37 that has no dinghy davits of any kind. I’m weighing the pros and cons of stern davits such as the Seawise system or a crane for storing the dinghy on the sundeck. From the threads I’ve found, both appear to have advantages and disadvantages. A couple of negatives that have particularly caught my attention are the loss of the swim platform for boarding from floating docks with stern davits and impacts on stability with added weight from a crane and dinghy on the upper deck.

Anyone with a similar-sized boat care to share their experience? Are there other options?

 

[Retriever]

My NT37 came with a Roskelley Olsson RS1 mounted on the swimstep.

Olsson Mfg. - Transom Davits - The RS-1

Launching or or retrieving is easily done alone in about 15 seconds. Everything you use in the dinghy can stay inside since it's stored horizontally. And it doesn't block the view aft from the salon like the Seawise.

It probably adds a bit of LOA compared to other options.

You lose much of the swim step. There's enough for boarding on the port side, but if you're tied up on the starboard side you're stepping over the gunnel (watch your head on the boat deck overhang!). For the occasional swimming we do in the PNW the limited swim step space is fine.

It's nice to have the whole boat deck free...I've had a dozen people up there in folding chairs for happy hour.

 

[LouisG]

I have a Seawise on my NT32. I will gladly trade the swim platform for the upper deck in the PNW since we just don’t swim much.

It does block the rear view from the cockpit but you have the view from the upper deck. All the usual trade offs.

 

[Waterford]

Breezin,
I had a NT 32 with Weaver davits which I changed to Seawise. I modified a 35mm hole saw to use with my cordless drill and the dinghy was up or down in a flash. The disadvantages of the Seawise solution are the blockage of stern view, additional hardware in the dinghy, and the limited access to board from port.

We recently purchased a used NT37 with dinghy and crane mounted on the top deck. Although we are going to live with it for a boating season before we decide about its replacement, I’m not liking it yet. Disadvantages:
1. Takes up our entertainment and relaxing space. Even launching the dinghy leaves crane and davits in the way.
2. Impossible to launch should you lose power (i.e. an emergency)
3. Difficult to launch/retrieve solo.
4. Difficult and dangerous to launch/retrieve in rough water or winds.
5. Only launches off starboard (limits access in some docking situations)

I expect that we will have a Seawise davit on the stern sometime. It can be mounted on the NT37 far enough to port that it does not block the transom door, but the tower does completely block port access to the swimstep.

 

[RCook]

Hi Breezin,

Our NT37 came with a dinghy crane, a feature I was pretty sure I wanted. Our previous much smaller boat had a small and slow dinghy that had to be inflated and deflated for each use. I wanted a more capable one.

Did not want to tow a dinghy - too much trouble in several ways.

For quick and easy launching, I'd like having the dinghy attached to the stern in one way or other, but: We do a lot of salmon and halibut fishing, and would not like a dinghy being in the way of fighting or landing fish. Would not like the additional length required in a slip. Would very much dislike the dinghy blocking any part of the view aft. And we do use the swim step.

Now that I'm practiced up, launching and retrieving the dinghy by crane is no more trouble (maybe less) than inflating and deflating - even without help from a crew member. I would rarely want to use the dinghy in windy weather, so I don't worry much about using the crane in windy conditions.

Weight up high is a disadvantage, contributing to our tendency to roll in large beam seas, such as when rounding Cape Caution. To reduce that effect, and to improve dinghy payload, we replaced our Bullfrog Utility Tender (came with the boat) with a much lighter Gala A300D.

The Gala easily carries 600 lb of people on plane. I'm quite pleased to have so capable a dinghy, carried securely and out of the way. The tradeoffs work for me.

 

[firehoser75]

Hi Breezin,
Each method obviously has it's advantages and disadvantages and also has much to do with "personal preferences".
On our NT 37, we have a Seawise davit. It is mounted in such a way that there is adequate room to access the swim platform and move around, as well as use it as an access point for getting on and off the boat from a dock on the starboard side (the way ours is mounted - could be port access if mounted differently). Visibility to the stern is limited a bit, especially for the water close to the boat. However, when docking, etc. we operate as a team using headsets for communication and have not found this to be an issue for us. We are probably 1-2 feet longer overall as a result.


We spent a fair amount of money repairing water intrusion on the top deck caused by either improper caulking or caulking failure where a former owner had mounted a dinghy (supports) up there. Personally, minimizing holes and potential leaks is an issue, others may not worry.
By the way, when the dinghy is in the water, the swim platform is totally usable for anything you may want.
We don't fish from our tug as we don't want long hours running the engine at low rpm's, so having the dinghy back there isn't an issue there. This summer, we buddy boated with friends who have a much larger boat than ours (60 foot Krogen) and they mount their dinghy "up top". All summer we used our dinghy for crabbing and prawning as they didn't like all of the effort and time it took to launch their dinghy and they did like how quickly and easily our's launched!
Others have mentioned the weight up top issue and roll, so as discussed, "pros and cons", there is no "perfect" answer.
Good luck with your decision and let us know what you decide,
Tom

 

[Breezin]

We spent a fair amount of money repairing water intrusion on the top deck caused by either improper caulking or caulking failure where a former owner had mounted a dinghy (supports) up there.

Thanks - another good point to consider. I hate putting holes in a boat - top and bottom especially.

 

[dwilkieo]

Hi Breezin,
Each method obviously has it's advantages and disadvantages and also has much to do with "personal preferences".

Another vote for the SeaWise system. I have a Nordic Tug 32 and love the Seawise. I have a 10' 2" Achilles RIB, with a 20 HP Yamaha, which is a bit too big for the boat, but I make it work because I drop a hook and fish the local Channel Islands.
I can get to more remote fishing spots quickly with the bigger dinghy, and fish comfortable with one or two friends.
Also - Most of the anchorages require fore and aft anchoring and the SeaWise gets my dink in the water fast enough to take the stern anchor out and set it where I want it. Once the dinghy is down and the painter tied off to the boat, I can use the swim step for guests, swimming, diving, etc. At the end of the day I hook the dinghy onto the transom and wind it up enough to be out of the water. No bumping in the night.
It only takes about 1 - 1 1/2 minutes to wind the dinghy completely vertical (I'm 70 and it's fairly heavy) by hand.
If I have no Island trips planned, I take the Achilles home on a trailer and park it in my back yard out of the sun. Then I enjoy my tug (including fishing out of the cockpit) without hindrance. My 10' RIB would be a nice fit on an NT 37.

 

[North Baltic sea]

Hi,

I have a simple krane, attachment to the railing and deck, not through. It can raise yamaha 2.5hp + small dingy, unfortunately I don't know the manufacturer or how much max load. It is hand operated and lifting succeeds the rope to rotate through two wheels.




NBs

 

[firehoser75]

Hi North,
That crane looks to me like it is not designed for a dinghy and outboard. I would be worried about it possibly failing (over time), as well as the load (movement) it could be putting on the upper deck railings, possibly leading to leaks into the roof (and core) area. I am known to be cautious in this regard Maybe only lift the outboard?

Regards,
Tom

 

[Stout]

Hydraulic Crane

We have a Steelhead Marine ES1000 hydraulic crane with power winch, luffing and rotation. It is easy for a single person to launch and retrieve the dinghy. It is not as fast as a swim platform mounted system. Our dinghy is too heavy to mount on the swim platform and would not fit in our boat house with the additional length. We have not tried to launch in rough seas and hopefully will never have too!

 

[Sailor Harry]

Hi, we just purchased a NT-32 with very strong custom-made dinghy davits and a Pilot sailing dinghy. We plan to remove the davits and buy an inflatable dinghy that we can store on the upper deck. Stay in contact as we get further south (now in CT on our way to FL).