Presto XL500 Davit Lift Installation

[ttmott]

Here is something interesting, I noticed while having a Gin and Tonic on the boat yesterday afternoon an unusual harmonic noise coming out of the subwoofer in the cockpit area. That sub is installed in the transom locker next to the aft seating. Without consideration, I installed the lift wireless receiver under the deck where that sub is located right above it. I suspect I may need to relocate the receiver.....

 

[ttmott]

Here is something interesting, I noticed while having a Gin and Tonic on the boat yesterday afternoon an unusual harmonic noise coming out of the subwoofer in the cockpit area. That sub is installed in the transom locker next to the aft seating. Without consideration, I installed the lift wireless receiver under the deck where that sub is located right above it. I suspect I may need to relocate the receiver.....
View attachment 120200

Actually, now under closer inspection in that picture that is the subwoofer wire right next to the receiver - maybe I'll first try to relocate it....

 

[Great lakes pirate]

It could also be that romex that it is zip tied too. Is that AC power?

 

[ttmott]

Tom, Is the anodized block on the right a manual pump or a flow divider to ensure the two lift halves operate at the same evenly. I began the project of building one and have the prototype parts cut out and ready to begin the build. I bought a HPU with dual action and was going to simply parallel the two cylinders and wondering if the imbalance would be an issue that I would need to mitigate with some sort of regulator. I put a pin in the project to concentrate on other more pressing issues for now. I was looking forward to seeing your installation and commentary, thanks for sharing.
Rusty

Hey Rusty - I confirmed there are no counterbalance valves on the actuators. The downside to that is if a hydraulic hose fails the lift may not hold its position. Important to have counterbalance valves in cranes and critical equipment; maybe, not here....

 

[ttmott]

It could also be that romex that it is zip tied too. Is that AC power?

I agree not a good routing but never had noise until the davit installation and that triplex wiring and speaker wiring has been there since I've owned the boat.

 

[FootballFan]

Outstanding write up. I am not sure which is more impressive, the job you did installing the lift or your thread sharing the details with the community.

Even if someone reading this is not able/willing to take on the installation themselves, your write up pulls back the curtain on what is involved and will make us more knowledgeable consumers.

Thank you, this is one of those posts that is jammed packed full of value for all of us.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Hey Rusty - I confirmed there are no counterbalance valves on the actuators. The downside to that is if a hydraulic hose fails the lift may not hold its position. Important to have counterbalance valves in cranes and critical equipment; maybe, not here....

Thanks Tom, I’ll just need to source a flow divider then. I’ve got a buddy that is a hydraulic equipment fabricator that can point me in the right direction.
Will you be storing your dink on the lift or only using it to take the sink on voyages? Just wondering how you will be configuring your slip/lift. Bow in with the dink on the lift or stern in with lift J arms removed except when on trips when needing the dink.

 

[ttmott]

Thanks Tom, I’ll just need to source a flow divider then. I’ve got a buddy that is a hydraulic equipment fabricator that can point me in the right direction.
Will you be storing your dink on the lift or only using it to take the sink on voyages? Just wondering how you will be configuring your slip/lift. Bow in with the dink on the lift or stern in with lift J arms removed except when on trips when needing the dink.

The layup configuration I plan is to keep the dink in my shop at home as well as remove the J-brackets (2 screws and it slides right off - 5 minutes) and store those with the little boat. For trips to the islands its nothing to put it together. The lifts then tuck down and are well out of the way. I had an epiphany to build a light-weight platform that could easily mount on the J-brackets so we had a bit of a water level platform for enjoyment when out to our local sandbars.... The lift system is good for 1500 pounds.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

The layup configuration I plan is to keep the dink in my shop at home as well as remove the J-brackets (2 screws and it slides right off - 5 minutes) and store those with the little boat. For trips to the islands its nothing to put it together. The lifts then tuck down and are well out of the way. I had an epiphany to build a light-weight platform that could easily mount on the J-brackets so we had a bit of a water level platform for enjoyment when out to our local sandbars.... The lift system is good for 1500 pounds.

That is the plan I have as well, only have the J arms on when needing to transport the dink. That’s what makes the presto design attractive as it still allows utility of the swim deck as opposed to other davit designs. I like the auxiliary platform idea as well, though we would have no use for one the way we boat these days. We have become ‘on’ the water people as opposed to ‘in’ the water.
CD

 

[ttmott]

That is the plan I have as well, only have the J arms on when needing to transport the dink. That’s what makes the presto design attractive as it still allows utility of the swim deck as opposed to other davit designs. I like the auxiliary platform idea as well, though we would have no use for one the way we boat these days. We have become ‘on’ the water people as opposed to ‘in’ the water.
CD

The flow divider is the gear type. Here is the Presto schematic of the system -

 

[ttmott]

Video of the lift system with the Highfield Tender

 

[Strecker25]

Video of the lift system with the Highfield Tender

that is a very cool system. I love the idea of a hydraulic platform but I’ve heard so many horror stories. This is a nice alternative

 

[ttmott]

A few words on the lift system after three weeks of use in the Bahamas. We just got back from three weeks in the Exuma Cae's. We were caught up in the storm that came across Florida; several days of washing machine action and high winds which would have made the use of the dinghy almost impossible with the Marquip crane. Conversely, this Presto davit system simply lowered the dinghy into the soup and held it there until we got in and started the engine then lowered all the way down and we were away; no acrobatics and no bruises. Coming back a bit more difficult driving the dinghy to the back of the boat in all of the wave action but once over the davit cradles a press on the remote up button and the davit captured the dinghy and it was rock steady with the boat so we simply stepped out. I don't think I could be more satisfied.
Regarding deck/swim platform space - Once we arrived at destination the davit system was rolled out and almost the entire swim platform was open and useable; I think this provided not only a better CG on the boat (davit/dinghy rolled in to the transom) but provided us the swim platform to enjoy. The rolling in and out was no harder than rolling the marina cart down the dock.
The issues - The davits need to lower another inch or so. The Highfield dinghy's keel is just barely lower than the cradle on the lift and it was a bit of an effort pulling the dinghy into the cradle but only had to grab the lift arm handle and pull it over; I'll try to figure out how to get the cradles lower in the lift arms. The only other nit is the remote transmit distance is very limited, like, we had to be five feet from the back for it to work; this may be where I have the transmitter/receiver mounted and all of the metal structure and wiring around it.
Regarding the boat's performance with the weight - It was noticeable, in that, the engine load (which I watch like a hawk) was five percent greater and I had to run the tabs significantly further down. Probably some more pitch out of the props...

 

[Sum Escape]

After seeing your video in the Spring and closing on our new to us vessel, we ordered the Presto. It is currently being installed at River Forest in FL where she is stored for the Summer.
Our swim platform is only 12 inches off the water so hopefully we will not have the height issue you referred to in your Bahamas trip lift review. Thanks again for the encouraging posts.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

A few words on the lift system after three weeks of use in the Bahamas. We just got back from three weeks in the Exuma Cae's. We were caught up in the storm that came across Florida; several days of washing machine action and high winds which would have made the use of the dinghy almost impossible with the Marquip crane. Conversely, this Presto davit system simply lowered the dinghy into the soup and held it there until we got in and started the engine then lowered all the way down and we were away; no acrobatics and no bruises. Coming back a bit more difficult driving the dinghy to the back of the boat in all of the wave action but once over the davit cradles a press on the remote up button and the davit captured the dinghy and it was rock steady with the boat so we simply stepped out. I don't think I could be more satisfied.
Regarding deck/swim platform space - Once we arrived at destination the davit system was rolled out and almost the entire swim platform was open and useable; I think this provided not only a better CG on the boat (davit/dinghy rolled in to the transom) but provided us the swim platform to enjoy. The rolling in and out was no harder than rolling the marina cart down the dock.
The issues - The davits need to lower another inch or so. The Highfield dinghy's keel is just barely lower than the cradle on the lift and it was a bit of an effort pulling the dinghy into the cradle but only had to grab the lift arm handle and pull it over; I'll try to figure out how to get the cradles lower in the lift arms. The only other nit is the remote transmit distance is very limited, like, we had to be five feet from the back for it to work; this may be where I have the transmitter/receiver mounted and all of the metal structure and wiring around it.
Regarding the boat's performance with the weight - It was noticeable, in that, the engine load (which I watch like a hawk) was five percent greater and I had to run the tabs significantly further down. Probably some more pitch out of the props...

Tom, if you used to just carry the dink on the bunks on your platform, isn’t the only difference in performance coming from the added weight of the presto lift assemblies and hydraulics? I would think about removing the original hoist and see if that gets you back to original load numbers.

 

[ttmott]

Tom, if you used to just carry the dink on the bunks on your platform, isn’t the only difference in performance coming from the added weight of the presto lift assemblies and hydraulics? I would think about removing the original hoist and see if that gets you back to original load numbers.

Yes but I bought the Highfield RIB which is close to 500 pounds compared to the 130 pounds of the Mercury RIB I had. Added to the 140 or 150 pounds of the lift it made the boat's performance change noticeable. I'd consider pulling the davit out which would open up quite a bit of access room and no doubt remove 300 or 400 pounds but I think it could serve some utility.

 

[ttmott]

After seeing your video in the Spring and closing on our new to us vessel, we ordered the Presto. It is currently being installed at River Forest in FL where she is stored for the Summer.
Our swim platform is only 12 inches off the water so hopefully we will not have the height issue you referred to in your Bahamas trip lift review. Thanks again for the encouraging posts.

You should be more than ok with the deck height you have. I actually fixed the issue - the chalks in the J-brackets could be lowered about 1-1/4 inch which I did and I moved the chalks out to the next set of bolt holes which even lowered some more.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Yes but I bought the Highfield RIB which is close to 500 pounds compared to the 130 pounds of the Mercury RIB I had. Added to the 140 or 150 pounds of the lift it made the boat's performance change noticeable. I'd consider pulling the davit out which would open up quite a bit of access room and no doubt remove 300 or 400 pounds but I think it could serve some utility.

I forgot that you upgraded your dink

Yes but I bought the Highfield RIB which is close to 500 pounds compared to the 130 pounds of the Mercury RIB I had. Added to the 140 or 150 pounds of the lift it made the boat's performance change noticeable. I'd consider pulling the davit out which would open up quite a bit of access room and no doubt remove 300 or 400 pounds but I think it could serve some utility.

Tom, I forgot you had upgraded your dinghy so you had quite the weight increase with davit addition. I agree that it would be hard to remove a useful implement just to save some weight. I removed my water maker to save weight but mainly to gain space but for our boating the water maker had no utility.
CD

 

[Sum Escape]

Thanks again for the lift installation videos and review. I've used our lift one season (Florida winter) and regularly rinsed with fresh water and lubed the rail bearings with T9 but they are binding up. One other user (in Miami) said he replaces bearings annually. What has your experience been? Thanks.

 

[ttmott]

Thanks again for the lift installation videos and review. I've used our lift one season (Florida winter) and regularly rinsed with fresh water and lubed the rail bearings with T9 but they are binding up. One other user (in Miami) said he replaces bearings annually. What has your experience been? Thanks.

No issues (yet) with the wheels; I don't use any lubrication on them but do rinse the system well with fresh water after we use the boat.
The issue I do have is with the hydraulic fittings threaded into the cylinders - they are carbon steel and corrosion is quite bad. I have an email into Presto to get a solution.