Boat Davits & Tender Lifts — Gold Coast
Boat davits, tender lifts and dinghy cranes sized, supplied, installed and repaired at Gold Coast City Marina — hydraulic and electric, every major brand, with documented load testing and mobile teams across South East Queensland.
Boat davits on the Gold Coast — supplied, installed, repaired
Marine Solutions Australia sizes, supplies, installs, services and repairs boat davits and tender lifts from Gold Coast City Marina, Coomera — for recreational boats, commercial vessels and superyachts across South East Queensland. Hydraulic and electric davits, dinghy cranes, tender platforms and passerelles — every major brand, whether we supplied it or not.
We start with the part most installers skip — properly sizing the davit to your tender’s real wet weight and the structure it mounts to — then handle the whole job: the davit itself, backing plates and deck reinforcement, the hydraulics or electrical work behind it, and commissioning under load. Most servicing is done dockside by our mobile teams, with rebuilds and installs completed from the Coomera workshop.
Whether your davit has stopped lifting or won’t hold the tender, you need a documented load test for an insurer or surveyor, or you’re fitting a new tender lift as part of a wider refit, we diagnose it properly, size and fit it to suit your vessel, and sign the work off — then support it for the life of the boat. If a davit has failed with the tender stuck mid-lift, we prioritise breakdown response during business hours.
A davit is structural gear — we treat it that way
A davit swings a few hundred kilograms of tender over your transom and holds it there at sea. Most davit trouble traces back to a unit that was never sized to the tender’s real weight, a mount without proper backing, or hydraulics and wiring left unserviced until they fail. We’re a marine engineering company — the same team that rebuilds hydraulic rams and powerpacks and services winches and deck machinery — so the davit, its structure and its drive get engineered as one system, tested under load before sign-off.
Certified engineers · GCCM workshop + mobile · All brands serviced · Documented load testing
Davits and lifting equipment — supply, install, service
From a manual dinghy davit on a cruiser to a hydraulic tender crane on a superyacht — sized to the load, mounted to engineered backing, and maintained by the team that handles the hydraulics and electrics behind it.
Davit supply & installation
New boat davits and tender lifts sized to your tender’s wet weight, lifting height and deck or transom structure — then through-bolted with proper backing, plumbed or wired to the vessel, and commissioned under load. A davit is structural gear; we install it like it is.
Hydraulic davit service & repair
Hydraulic davits and tender cranes — rams resealed, hoses and fittings replaced, powerpacks serviced and rebuilt, slew and luff functions bled and pressure-set. A davit that creeps down under load or weeps at a fitting is telling you a seal or hose is going; we fix the cause, not the symptom.
Electric davits & winches
Electric davit winches fault-found and repaired — motors and brushes, brakes, solenoids and contactors, limit switches, pendants and the wiring behind them. We test across the whole circuit, rebuild what’s worn, and make sure the brake holds the tender where you stopped it.
Sizing & deck structure
The most common davit problem is a unit that was never matched to the load. We size the davit to the tender or PWC’s real wet weight — fuel, engine and gear included — check reach and lifting height, and engineer the mounting: backing plates, deck reinforcement and the right fasteners for the structure underneath.
Passerelles, platforms & lifting gear
Beyond davits we service the rest of the vessel’s lifting equipment — hydraulic passerelles and gangways, swim and tender platforms, and deck cranes — through the same engineering team that handles the hydraulics and electrics behind them, so the whole system is maintained as one.
Custom 316 stainless fabrication
Mounts, bases, cradles and chocks fabricated in-house in 316 marine-grade stainless when off-the-shelf hardware doesn’t fit your transom or deck — including replacement studs, backing plates and fittings for older davit installs where the original hardware has corroded.
Tired davit — rebuild it, or fit a new one?
Most davits we see are a repair, not a replacement. Here’s how we call it — honestly, after an inspection, with a written quote either way.
| Consideration | Repair / rebuild | Replace |
|---|---|---|
| Typical symptoms | Creeps down under load, slow or jerky lift, weeping fitting, dead winch motor, seized sheave | Cracked or corroded structure, obsolete unit with no parts support, undersized for a new heavier tender |
| What we do | Reseal rams, replace hoses, rebuild the winch or powerpack, renew wiring and controls | Size a new davit to the tender and deck, engineer the mount, install and commission under load |
| Cost | A fraction of replacement — most davit faults are seals, hoses or electrics | Quoted to the vessel; includes structural work and hydraulic or electrical tie-in |
| Time | Often dockside in a visit; rebuilds run through the Coomera workshop | Planned install — typically alongside other work or a hardstand window |
| When it’s the answer | The structure is sound and parts are available — most davits we see | Corrosion has reached the structure, or the unit can’t safely lift the tender you actually carry |
Upgrading the tender? A heavier RIB usually means re-checking the davit’s rated capacity and the deck structure under it — worth doing before the new tender arrives, and often best timed with other hydraulic or superyacht refit work while the boat’s already in.
Davit playing up, or tender outgrown it?
Send us the make, model and a photo with your tender details — we'll tell you whether it's a rebuild or a replacement, and quote it in writing.
Keep the tender lifting safely
When a davit creeps, stalls or stops with the tender in the air, the symptom rarely shows where the fault is. We diagnose across the whole system — hydraulics, electrics, structure — fix the cause, and recommission it under load.
Won’t lift or won’t hold — fault-finding
A davit that stops mid-lift, drifts down with the tender in the air, or won’t respond is rarely obvious from the symptom. We diagnose across the whole system — hydraulic pressure, seals and valves, or the motor, brake, solenoid and pendant on electric units — find the actual cause, and tell you what we found.
Reseals & rebuilds
Davit rams stripped, honed and reseal-kitted; winches and powerpacks rebuilt to spec; sheaves, cables and hoses renewed. Most tired davits are a rebuild, not a replacement — and we pressure-test and load-run every rebuild before it lifts your tender again.
Load testing & inspection
Documented davit load testing and inspection for insurers, surveyors and vessel management — lift and hold under rated load, structural and fastener checks, and a written report. Sensible before the cruising season, after a repair, and whenever a survey or policy asks for it.
Mobile & workshop
Servicing, fault-finding and hose or seal work handled dockside by our mobile teams across the Gold Coast and SE Queensland; rebuilds, fabrication and full installs run from the Coomera workshop at Gold Coast City Marina with the rest of the engineering team on hand.
Brand-agnostic — we service what’s on your boat
Davits come from a long list of European, US and Australian builders, and owners are routinely told local service doesn’t exist. It does — same bench, same engineers.
Brands we install & service
We install and service the major davit and tender-lift brands — including Besenzoni, Opacmare, Aritex, UMT, Steelhead and Nautical Structures — plus the transom and dinghy davits common on Australian trailer boats and cruisers, and Muir deck machinery through our authorised Muir dealership. We’re not tied to one badge: we recommend what suits your tender, your transom and your budget, then stand behind the work.
Hydraulic hoses, rams & parts for any davit
The most common dead-end owners hit: a European hydraulic davit with a failed hose or ram and no local agent. We make hoses, reseal rams and rebuild powerpacks in our own workshop — with Parker components stocked and custom fittings fabricated when off-the-shelf won’t fit — so an orphaned davit is almost never unserviceable.
Proof, not promises
The davit crane in the photos on this page is a real rebuild from our Coomera workshop — rams resealed, cylinders refitted, the slewing pedestal reassembled and the unit run under load before it went back aboard. It’s the same standard of work we document in our superyacht hardstand case study.
Documented for insurers & surveyors
Load tests, inspections and repairs are documented — the same rigour we bring to insurance repairs and superyacht work — so the paperwork stands up when a surveyor, insurer or vessel manager asks how the davit was tested and by whom.
Davit rebuilds in the workshop
A hydraulic davit crane rebuild from our Gold Coast City Marina workshop — rams, cylinders and slewing pedestal stripped, resealed and reassembled by the same crew that handles engineering, refits and insurance repairs.
Boat davits — common questions
Cost, sizing a davit to your tender, maintenance, repair versus replacement, the brands we service, load testing, and how we work on the Gold Coast.
How much does a boat davit cost to supply and install?
There’s no flat rate — a davit is quoted to the vessel, because a manual dinghy davit on a trailerable cruiser is a very different job to a hydraulic tender crane on a motor yacht. The main drivers are the lifting capacity and reach you need, hydraulic versus electric versus manual drive, how much structural backing the deck or transom requires, and the plumbing or wiring run to the unit. We size the davit to your actual tender first, then quote in writing before any work begins. Call 07 5612 7161 with your vessel and tender details and we’ll talk you through the right approach and likely cost.
What size davit do I need for my tender or dinghy?
Size to the real wet weight, not the brochure weight — tender plus outboard, fuel, battery and the gear that lives in it, with margin for water in the bilge. Then check reach (can it swing the tender clear of the rail and set it on its chocks) and lifting height. The deck or transom structure matters as much as the davit: the mounting needs backing plates and reinforcement matched to the load. We do this sizing as part of every davit quote, and we’ll tell you honestly if your existing davit is undersized for the tender you’ve moved to.
How do I maintain a boat davit?
Run it regularly — monthly at least — rather than letting it sit; most davit problems start with disuse. Rinse it with fresh water after saltwater use, inside the arms as well as outside, and keep the cables, sheaves and hook or strop clean and lightly lubricated. On hydraulic units watch fluid level and look for weeping at fittings; on electric units keep connections clean and test the brake holds. Then have it professionally serviced — seals, hoses, fluid, motor and brake checked, and a test under load — on a regular schedule, the same way you service the engines.
Can you repair my davit, or does it need replacing?
Usually it’s a repair. Most davit faults are seals, hoses, valves or the electric winch — all rebuildable — and we strip, reseal and rebuild davit rams, powerpacks and winches in our Coomera workshop, then test under load before the unit goes back into service. Replacement is the honest answer when corrosion has reached the structure itself, when parts are genuinely unobtainable, or when the davit was never rated for the tender you now carry. We inspect first and tell you which side of that line your unit is on, with a written quote either way.
Do you service davits you didn’t supply?
Yes — all brands, hydraulic and electric, whether or not we did the original install. That includes hydraulic hose and ram work on European and US-built davits and tender cranes, electric winch and control repairs, and sourcing or fabricating replacement parts where the original supplier is slow or gone. If you’ve been told your davit brand can’t be serviced locally, send us the make and model with a photo and we’ll confirm what we can do.
Can you load-test a davit for insurance or a survey?
Yes. We carry out documented load testing and inspection of davits and lifting equipment — lifting and holding under rated load, checking the structure, fasteners, cables and hydraulics, and issuing a written report you can hand to an insurer, surveyor or vessel manager. It’s the same documentation rigour we bring to insurance repairs, and it’s a sensible check after any major repair or before a long cruising season.
Do you install and repair davits on the Gold Coast — mobile or at the marina?
Both. Servicing, fault-finding and hose or seal replacement are usually handled dockside by our mobile teams across the Gold Coast and South East Queensland. Bigger jobs — a new davit install, structural backing work, a ram rebuild or custom stainless fabrication — run from our Coomera workshop at Gold Coast City Marina with the engineering team on hand. Either way you get the same engineers and a documented sign-off with the davit tested under load.
Didn’t find your answer? Call 07 5612 7161 (Mon–Fri 7am–3pm) or email [email protected] — we’re happy to talk it through.
Get your tender lifting properly
Tell us about your vessel, your tender and your davit — a new install, a unit that creeps or won't lift, a load test for the insurer, or a rebuild. We'll size it, fix it or fit it, test it under load and sign it off. Mobile across SE Queensland.