Adding Dinghy to 466MY

I just bought a 2006 466MY. It has a swim platform extension (about 40" past the steps). The previous owner also had a Steelhead Marine crane (SM1550R) installed on the platform (port side, next to transom, opposite the stairs).

The previous owner had a large Sea-Doo on the platform and it fit just fine. He used Weaver Davits to secure it.

From what I know, he didn't use the boat much, and not in any kind of weather. He kept the boat in Lake Simcoe and just went from Marina to Marina, if the hearsay is true (I never met him).

I had a 15' Caribe with a 90HP on it. I love that dinghy, but I can't lift it (I used to tow it on my slow trawler), so I'm trading it in on another, smaller dinghy.

I think I've narrowed my search down to the Walker Bay Generations 390. From my measurements, it fits beam-wise, but nothing will fit fully on the platform. It's also fairly light, as far as 13' RIB's go (at about 580, plus motor, etc).

The Walker Bay is 76" wide, and I have about 40" of platform after the stairs.

Now the first concern is that the platform site pretty low in the water as it is. I'm concerned about the weight, but I know getting something smaller than the 13' isn't going to work for us.

My family and I spend most of our summer on the hook and use the dinghy extensively to travel to places, picnic, swim, and sightsee. We're do multiple hour expeditions daily.

I was looking at removing the crane and replacing it with a davit system from Seaweed (a roller type system). Everyone, from the guy selling me the new dinghy, to the marina managers, my mechanic, and a good friend that had one on their older boat recommend me against it.

I'm now waiting for some photo's and specs from UMT Marine on their cantilever chock system that is supposed to be removable. Many people recommended this, and they say they just remove the chocks at anchor, tie them to a line and drop them in the water out of the way.

I don't want to affect any handling of my boat. I understand that adding 800+ pounds is going to slow me down a bit, and I can accept that. I don't want to make the boat handling dangerous, etc.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated before I pull the trigger on this.

Anybody?

I probably will use the existing crane. Sea-Doo's are a lot heavier than 500 pounds. The entry level one is over 750!

The dinghy I'm looking at will likely be around 900 pounds all said and done (boat, motor, gas, battery, etc). but due to it's width it will sit further back on the platform (hanging off actually). so I'm wondering if anybody has any experience with carrying a dinghy on this model boat.

That's a good idea. I've lifted a similar dinghy and rested it on fenders, so I know it fits.

As to the trial run, I can't because I need to have chocks made to fit, so by then I'm committed.

I don't know that the guy was happy with the sea doo on the back, but I never met the previous owner (bank sale), so I don't know what made him happy.

That's part of why I'm posting here, to see if anyone has a boat similar to mine and has any opinions.

I got my boat late in the summer. Had I got it earlier, I would have been able to talk to other boaters in my marina with similar setups.

When I took the bot out for it's first water test, the Sea Doo was on the back and we did 48km/h. None of the electronics were hooked up so we had no onboard speed. I downloaded a GPS speed app on my Android phone, that's why the KM/h numbers - I couldn't figure out how to change it in time.

Now the boat was right empty in fuel at the time, I mean it was possible that the fuel gauges were broken kind of empty.

I know I'll lose some speed with full tanks and the dinghy, but for weekend cruising, I'll keep to 1/2 tanks and only have full tanks for my yearly long distance cruise.

With full tanks, I lost about .75 knots. I expect with the dinghy I'll lose another knot or so (I hope not much more).

The thing is that our style of boating really revolves around the dinghy. We have a 15' now that we really love (but don't want to tow).

We use the dinghy to visit other friends in the anchorage (or nearby anchorages). We have lunches or dinners a few times every weekend on another boat (and have guests on ours each weekend for drinks and meals). We explore islands and picnic every weekend, so a small dinghy would limit our favourite daily activities.

Nothing is better than picnicing on an island 10 miles away from your anchorage, going for a swim and exploring around.

I've figured that the 13' dinghies still give me everything I want with minimal sacrifice (little smaller, but not so small I can't fit my family and the dog), and a little slower.

I had to decide between the Avon (fantastic quality, fast, etc. but flat hull so rougher ride, especially in rough seas) and the Walker Bay (seems fantastic quality but maybe not as well thought out in some areas, but deeper V so smoother ride but slower). My wife and son are nervous and don't like bouncing. The 15' Caribe was like driving a Cadilac down a freshly paved highway.

I agree with the reliability of the phone app, but I was caught unprepared. I didn't think that the electronics would be off so I did what I could.

I don't think we'll have a problem either, but I wanted to get whatever information I could before I sell my dinghy and buy something that doesn't work.

I bought the walker bay generation 390, and I'm having chocks made by umt marine. They are cantilevered so that the keel of the dinghy will be hanging just off the back of the platform. They're really nice and they are removable so I can have the platform free when I want.

All the experts say this will work

Mine is actually a little bigger, but the newer dinghy and engine are lighter so mine weighs about the same. So's my crane. That's a manual crane, mine's fully hydraulic.

I would have like to see what they are using for chocks though.

Thanks for the post!

I think those pictures are taken at my marina! I'll check with the marina to see.

I've seen people using a similar system. I have a friend with something like that. It's really for smaller dinghy's. I bought a 390 Walker Bay (13') with a 70 hp Yamaha. It's about 800 pounds. I'm not sure that system would work.

My buddy likes his for the dinghy he has. It doubles as a nice boarding ladder when it's in the water too.

My boat already had the crane when I bought it. It's a good crane, but I wouldn't have gone that route. The cost of the crane, installation and the extended platform would be outrageous! A hydraulic platform would have been cheaper (and likely easier to use).

I had to replace the Weaver SeaDoo davits with a set of chocks from UMT Marine. I haven't installed them yet (need the boat out of the storage building first).