Gurdy Davits

A forum for people who are new to commercial fishing and for talking about the fundamental rules and regulations.
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Vermillion
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Gurdy Davits

Post by Vermillion »

Hey am looking at buying Kolstrand's InMac-Kolstrand Stainless Steel Gurdy Davit - 48 Inch Reach made out of Schedule 40 SS pipe; has anyone ever used these davits before? I intend on hand trolling using 25# and 30# lead. Any input would be very helpful.
Kelper
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by Kelper »

Are you using poles, or are you using the 48" reach to give you some spread to go sans poles? You'll want 30# leads if want to fish 3+ 11" flashers, to prevent too much blowback. Seems like with a 48" reach, you'd want a bit more support for 30#, but maybe those davits are really strong.. What size boat are you HT out of? If you have a 48" reach, how are you going to clip on gear, etc? I'd almost want my trolling block about 15" out on that davit, with the (can't think of the word) at 48" to give you the spread. .. so I wouldn't have to be hanging out of the boat when working gear.
spottedowl
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by spottedowl »

Over time they will not be strong enough, I would have them gusseted. Either double flats or single solid on the back side, we did a single on the back so it didn't rub the wire. Also gave us a couple rigging points with holes and shackles. Keep your tag to the ends and figure where a good gaffing distance is for you and set your block there. Our block was set at 2' but for setting we had an open pass block to the rail so the wire was right in close. A Dory is a booger to lean over the side with the short, out sloped sides. Keep your weight heaver like Kelper said or you'll swing back a fair bit.
yak2you2
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by yak2you2 »

Holy cows! I can't even image what that much SS is going to cost. Then there's the weight. Not necessary. Find a good aluminum fabricator near you. Stand at your work station and imagine how it's going to look, and where your you want things to be. Take those dimensions to your welder and have him bang it out of schedule 40 aluminum. If your concerned about strength, have him put a gusset in the curve. Done.
I don't know anybody hand trolling with SS davits, very few with steel even. Aluminum built right is plenty strong. Go to pictures, go to "Mai Tai gets a long awaited overhaul" and you can see how I rigged the exact gurdies you have, with 30 lb. balls. Now, I have adjustable arms mounted on my rack so I can pull them in, but the point is, it's all aluminum. Lots of crankers now a-days are going for just the super davits, with the block mounted for ease of reach on a 6' to 8' gusseted pipe. Somewhere, I have pictures of this posted too. Plenty affective, and WAY easier to deal with when it's time to go into and out of the water.
Good fishin'
Abundance
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by Abundance »

That's what I was thinking Yak, but I am unfamiliar with handtrollings requirements. I built new davits for my power troll setup a couple of years ago, and it didn't cost me more than a bit of aluminum pipe scrap out of our storage pile and a few minutes of a welder friends time. Mind you, they aren't perfect and my next set that I work up is going to have a few improvements (more support, a little more reach, ect.), but it got me fishing for pretty cheap and does everything that I needed to get going.
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Vermillion
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by Vermillion »

Thanks guys for the input. The davits do have a long reach but they swing in and set when you are running gear. They have a set point for your block so you just swing in the davit to where you are comfortable and then go to work. They are asking $185 a piece for them not including the the brackets that you have to install on your boat. It does look pretty sweet but it is spendy. If I was to get the davits and all the parts I think it would be about $650. I think I'll look into going alluminum if it is considerably cheaper, but I gotta say with that reach and being able to swing the davit in when working seems pretty handy.
yak2you2
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by yak2you2 »

Another thought. If you wind up building something with adjustable arms, similar to mine, here's what I found. I started out with a clamp set up on the end of the arm, and a backing plate bolted tight around the rack support. This tended to slip over time, and allowed the arm to slide down the support. What I came up with was a series of hole drilled through the bracket and the support, with a single bolt for a keeper pin. Works slick now. Just pull the pin, swing the arm in or out as desired.
Funny thing is, I designed it this way so I could pull them in when pulling along side the dock. I never do, and it never is the problem I thought it was going to be. However, this is because of my boat length, and how I line up with the pilings. A different size vessel may have a need to retract the davits. I've considered welding them permanently in place, and adding a gusset, but 10 years fishing this set up without problems speaks for it's self. Iv'e hung 20 fm line loads of cohos and dogfish off of it. Hung up hard enough to bust the breakaway ganion and lose a cannonball. Never have busted or bend one yet.
bodegablue
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Re: Gurdy Davits

Post by bodegablue »

Have the same setup on my boat. I have the first block at about 15"the a long tag of tuna cord to a spring of the end of the davit. i had my own brackets made because the kolstrands are poorly built and the floor bracket is too small. i keep them solid so they dont swing when you crank them up they come to the side and you can easily reach them. when you let them out and put a stop against your insulator they swing to the end of the boom.The stainless davits are sturdy and not that heavy being only 1 inch pipe. tghey handle 30# easily and I have been thinking of going heavier.
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