The davit is the part of the tender programme nobody thinks about until it fails. When it does fail, it fails expensively: a EUR 1.4m limousine on the deck, a crew member injured, a guest in the water, an insurer with questions. The reason this category receives less attention than it should is that davit decisions get made early, by the yacht's exterior designer or naval architect, and by the time the tender is being chosen the geometry is locked.
This guide covers the davit and launch-recovery question from the perspective of an owner or build manager who wants to understand what the engineering actually involves, what choices are still on the table, and how the decision interacts with the tender selection.
What "davit" actually means in the superyacht context
The word covers a wider range of equipment than the historical usage suggests. On a modern superyacht the launch and recovery system might be:
- A side-mounted hydraulic davit. Single or twin column, telescoping or articulating arm, lifting capacity from 500 kg to 8,000 kg. Mounted on the upper deck or boat deck.
- An aft slewing crane. A heavier piece of equipment, usually with greater reach, capable of handling larger tenders and chase boats. SWLs typically 1,500 to 12,000 kg.
- A garage-mounted launch system. Sliding-beam crane inside a garage, often paired with a transom door or side gate. SWLs commonly 500 to 4,000 kg per arm. The dominant solution on yachts above 50m.
- A hydraulic transom platform with integrated launch. The tender slides off a fold-down platform; recovery is by drive-on or by a small hoist. Common on day boats and shadow vessels rather than mainstream superyachts.
- A floodable garage. The whole compartment fills with water and the tender drives in or out. The cleanest user experience for the crew and the most invasive engineering for the yacht.
The choice between these is driven by yacht size, tender mix, deck layout, owner preference, and (heavily) by the naval architect's view of structural and aesthetic constraints. By the time a tender is being specified, the davit is usually already chosen and the tender has to fit the system rather than the other way around. See tender garage sizing for the upstream discipline.
The principal suppliers
The davit and crane market for superyachts is concentrated. The names that recur on premium projects:
- Besenzoni. Italian. Broad range from small hydraulic davits to large tender launch systems. Heavy presence on Italian-built yachts and a wide reference list across European yards.
- Opacmare. Italian. Davits, cranes, transom platforms, gangways. Tight integration with the major Italian yards. The default supplier on a lot of Ferretti, Sanlorenzo, and Benetti projects.
- Nautical Structures. US-based. Aft slewing cranes and davits for yachts in the 30 to 70m bracket and above, with a strong following on US-built yachts and large refits.
- Sanguineti. Italian. Heavy-end cranes, particularly for shadow vessels and support vessels handling large tenders and chase boats.
- Steen Davits. Danish. Specialist in heavy slewing cranes for the largest yachts.
- Cramm Yachting Systems. Dutch. Telescopic and articulated davits, often on Feadship and Heesen builds.
For chase boats, support vessels, and larger expedition tenders, the conversation moves towards heavier crane suppliers (Effer, Heila, Palfinger Marine) sourced from the workboat and offshore market.
Sizing the davit: the SWL conversation
Safe Working Load (SWL) is the working capacity of the davit, certified by the manufacturer and audited by class. The basic engineering:
- The SWL must exceed the all-up weight of the tender (dry weight + full fuel + crew aboard for launch and recovery if applicable + lifting gear). Add 10 to 15 per cent over the published dry weight as a working assumption.
- Most class societies require a safety factor between the working load and the structural ultimate. A 4:1 factor on ultimate structural capacity versus SWL is a common planning heuristic (a 3,000 kg tender implying a 3,000 kg SWL davit with a 12,000 kg ultimate), but the binding design and proof-load factors are set by the class society and are stricter for man-riding duty. Verify the required factor with class rather than treating 4:1 as the rule.
- Dynamic loads in seaway can substantially exceed the static lift weight. A boat being lifted in 1.5m of swell sees impact loading well above the static figure. Modern systems include shock-absorbing slings or motion-compensated heads to manage this, but the structural calculation should account for it.
Get the davit SWL wrong (under-specified for the tender) and the choice on the day is to refuse the lift or risk the equipment. Both have operational consequences. Over-specify by 30 per cent at design time is far cheaper than upgrading the davit during a refit.
Classing the appliance: why man-riding changes everything
SWL is only half the specification. The lifting appliance itself is classed for a duty, and the categories matter to an owner: broadly Cargo, MCA, SOLAS and HOP (Human-Occupied Payload, or man-riding). The decisive distinction is whether the appliance is rated to launch and recover with people aboard. A SOLAS rescue tender must launch crewed within the five-minute rule, which makes its davit a man-riding appliance with a stricter proof-load regime and certification case than a cargo-only davit lifting an empty boat. Specifying a cargo-rated appliance and then discovering the SOLAS unit has to launch manned is an expensive late correction. Confirm the man-riding and SOLAS requirements with the class society and flag before the appliance is ordered, and read this alongside SOLAS tender compliance.
How davit choice constrains tender choice
Three dimensions matter and each constrains the tender:
- SWL caps the tender's all-up weight. A 3-tonne davit cannot lift a 3.5-tonne tender. This is the binding constraint on whether to specify a diesel-jet limousine (heavier, higher SWL needed) vs a petrol-outboard open tender (lighter, more davit options).
- Lift geometry constrains the tender's beam and length. A telescoping davit with 4.2m of reach cannot launch a 14m tender. The geometric envelope (reach times rotation arc) has to enclose the boat with margin.
- Lifting points on the tender must align with the davit's spreader or sling configuration. Custom tenders are designed around the chosen davit's lifting interface; production tenders may need adapter slings or modified pad-eyes.
The reverse case (choosing a tender first, then davits to suit) sometimes happens on refits where the owner wants a particular boat. It usually means an SWL upgrade and sometimes a structural intervention on the deck. Both are expensive.
The launch and recovery sequence in practice
Once the equipment is in place, the operational layer is what determines whether the system is safe to use day after day. A typical sequence on a 50m yacht with a 7m tender on a side-mounted hydraulic davit:
- Crew brief: who is at the controls, who is on each line, who is in the tender.
- Davit pre-check: hydraulic levels, control function, sling and hook condition, no obstructions in arc.
- Tender pre-check: engines secured (or running for drive-off), all loose gear stowed, painter and stern line ready.
- Outboard rotation: davit slews tender clear of the lifting cradle.
- Lower to water, controlled: the line tender controls fore-aft, the davit operator controls vertical.
- Hooks released by tender crew, davit retracted clear, tender drives off.
- Recovery is the reverse, with the additional discipline of driving up to the slings rather than allowing the slings to be presented to a drifting tender.
The whole sequence takes three to five minutes with a competent crew. It takes twenty minutes if the crew is not practised. Davit time is operational dead time for the guests; the discipline of fast, safe handling matters.
Certification, inspection, and lifecycle
Davits are lifting equipment. They sit under class survey requirements and under the same regulatory framework as deck cranes.
Certification
Class societies (Lloyd's Register, Bureau Veritas, RINA, DNV) certify the davit at installation and re-certify at periodic surveys. The certificate names the SWL and the conditions of use. For commercially operated yachts, the LOLER framework (in UK waters) and the Code of Safe Working Practices (MCA) apply additional disciplines.
Inspection
A competent annual inspection covers:
- Hydraulic system condition: hose age, fluid analysis, leak check.
- Structural inspection of column, arm, and pivot points: visual and (periodically) NDT.
- Wire rope or webbing sling inspection: replacement at defined intervals or on observed wear.
- Hook, shackle, and bonded pad-eye inspection on both the davit and the tender.
- Brake and emergency-lower function test.
- Control system function test and emergency-stop verification.
Five-yearly inspections typically include load-test with calibrated weights and full structural NDT.
Replacement lifecycle
A well-maintained hydraulic davit lasts the life of the yacht. Soft components (hoses, slings, hooks) are routinely replaced. Major structural components (column, arm) generally do not need replacement absent a damage event. Control electronics and hydraulic packs reach end-of-support around 15 to 20 years and are often replaced at mothership refit.
Garage-mounted launch systems have shorter effective lives because they are more heavily integrated with the yacht's structure and benefit from electronics upgrades on a faster cycle.
Garage-mounted vs deck-mounted: the design trade
For a yacht above 50m, the dominant question is garage launch vs deck launch.
Garage launch
- Cleaner aesthetics. No visible davit on the boat deck. Tenders disappear when not in use.
- Better protection for the tender. Out of weather, out of UV, out of view.
- More complex engineering. Requires deck cuts, transom doors or side gates, internal cranes, ventilation, drainage.
- Capacity-limited. The yacht's hull form and the garage volume cap what can fit. Tenders above 9 to 10m struggle in most garage envelopes.
Deck launch
- Heavier capacity. No upper bound from garage volume. Tenders to 14m and beyond on the right yacht.
- Faster operations. No transom door cycle, no internal manoeuvring.
- Visual presence. The tender is on the deck. For some owners that is a feature; for others it is the reason to go garage.
- Weather exposure. UV, salt, weather all attack the tender harder.
For yachts in the 40 to 60m range running a single primary tender plus a small secondary, the garage solution is dominant. Above 60m and into the support-vessel category (see shadow yachts), the deck-mounted heavy crane comes back as the right answer.
For specific implementations and where in the design process the call gets made, see also tender launch and recovery and tender vs chase boat.
Safety incidents and what they teach
The recurring incident patterns the insurance market sees:
- Failed slings or pad-eyes. Always traceable to deferred maintenance or undocumented installation. The mitigation is documented inspection, not better hardware.
- Davit mis-operation in seaway. Crew attempting a launch or recovery in conditions beyond the davit's working envelope. Mitigation is captain discipline and a documented sea-state limit per davit.
- Crew injury from line management. Hands in the wrong place during a controlled descent. Mitigation is the briefing and the operating procedure.
- Tender collision with the yacht hull during recovery. Almost always poor approach by the tender driver. Mitigation is training. See tender crew training and licensing.
A documented operating procedure, signed by the captain and logged, is what an underwriter wants to see. A boat that can present that document tends to settle claims faster and on better terms.