Garhauer Lifting Davit

I wish to express my thanks to Gene Roberts for discovering that relevance of the Garhauer Lifting Davit to the unique design of the Pearson Ariel's cockpit, counter stern, and outboard well, to Bill Phelon for including Gene's modified Garhauer Lifting Davit installation in the "Ariel Owner's Guide and Maintenance Manual," and to Myron Spaudling for his studied installation of Gene's lifting davit in the perfect location to lift the motor from the well and at the same time to transfer the majority of the stress to the aft port cockpit support post, which post at least on my boat, hull #330, appears to be well built, well bedded, and well supported by wide base, which is glassed to the hull very near the turn of the bilge where the glass is (I suppose) thickly laid.

I followed Gene's lucid cookbook for success in the Maintenance Manual to install the (modified as per Gene's specifications) Garhauer lifting davit on "Augustine" yesterday. It took me two days, largely because this was my first installation of such a beast, and because I spent a lot of time measuring to ensure that my hull and cockpit configuration were the same as Gene's, and because I bedded the support hardware on the cockpit floor with Boatlife, Life Caulk, and wanted to let it set up for 24 hours before I cranked the bolts tight.

My measurements weren't precisely the same as Gene's, because placement of the center of the support post (stabilizer ball) 2.5 inches from the port cockpit wall necessitated a 7/8 inch thick "extension support mounting block" rather than one which was one inch thick. One the other hand, lumber yards refer to teak of 7/8 inches width as a "one by," so perhaps (thought I) Gene realty meant that the "extension support mounting block" should be a "one by" which would actually be 7/8 inches…. however, take Gene's advice and not mine in this regard. Had I used a one-inch wide mounting "extension support mounting block," the center of my stabilizer ball would have been 2 and 5/8 inches from the port cockpit locker.

Perhaps the dimensions varied slightly from year to year or from hull mold to hull. The Ariel cockpit floor is not balsa-cored like the deck, but instead is reinforced by one-by- three boards that appear to be fir like the cockpit support posts, but could be some other wood. The result is that the underside of the cockpit floor looks like a corrugated panel corrugated. The turn of the cockpit floor up to the wall is not cored. So when I centered the stabilizer ball 2.5 inches from the port cockpit wall, although all four holes were through a wood core, I would have been moiré comfortable one eighth of an inch further toward the centerline of the boat, because the backing plate partially overlaps the radius as the cockpit curves upward. Not to worry. It is a stable and secure installation. I like elegant solutions, however, and so I will probably add some epoxy and perhaps a teak spacer block, epoxied in place to insure that the entire backing plate is resting on a flat surface that will effectively transfer the load to the aft port cockpit support post.

By the way, I also added teak compression plates to the underside of the cockpit between the stainless steel plate that comes with the davit mounting hardware, and the cockpit floor, and also to the inside of the port cockpit wall.

My only constructive criticism is that the Garhauer mounting hardware is designed so that the device can be mounted to a stanchion or other steel rail. This does not work on my boat due to the strength of the stern rails, and the relative weakness in the deck adjacent to the lazarette area, combined with geometric issues. The result is that the heads of the mounting bolts face outboard and are thus on the inside of the cockpit locker rather than facing he cockpit. The mounting ring of the "extension support-mounting block" is welded to as steel plate. The steel plate, in turn, has two welded nuts to which the mounting bolts are attached. It would be nice if Garhauer could be induced (and they are very friendly an accommodating, so they probably could be) to provide an option that allows through bolting from the exterior. This would be simple to design and manufacture, but would take some engineering. Nonetheless this is probably amount issue, and the installation went pretty well despite the rather odd situation of crawling inside of a cockpit locker to bolt through the glass to an object on the outside.

Now, let me say that I have not yet lifted my motor with this contraption, since my motor is currently awaiting maintenance, but I did have a lot of fun hoisting my ice chest and the contents within it last night. The operation added a new meaning to "happy hour".

This is a serious piece of all stainless steel hardware available at very reasonable price. The Garhauer lifting davit is suitable to lit a motor with a 6:1 ratio from the well to be stored in the lazarette locker, cockpit locker, or drop that puppy close to the dock with a certain amount of horizontal influence by the lifter or other member of the crew.

The most recent Garhauer modification also makes it easier to lift a motor into a dinghy while operating the davit from the dinghy. So for crying out loud, save your back and buy one. I have no affiliation wit Garhauer, other than being one of their customers.

I purchased my lifting davit at the Alameda boat show last spring, and there is another show coming up this September. The davits are also available by phone from Garhauer. Don't forget to ask for Gene's modification, which lengthens the support post, and if you don't already own one buy a manual from the Association to tell you how to install it in you Ariel.

It took me four months to install my lift because I decided to rebed the hull deck seam and rub rail, repair cracks and apply gelcoat the area of the hull and deck between the rub rail and non-skid, and do other deck repairs before repainting my non-skid.

So in summary, thanks to Gene, Myron, and Bill. You performed a great service for me and all other Ariel owners who can't lift 60 lbs from their OB wells.