Boat Davits & Tender Lifts, Gold Coast
Boat davits, tender lifts and dinghy cranes sized, supplied, installed and repaired at Gold Coast City Marina. We service hydraulic and electric systems from every major brand, with documented load testing and mobile teams across South East Queensland.
5.0 From 25 Google reviewsBoat 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.
We repair davits that have stopped lifting or won’t hold the tender, provide documented load tests for insurers and surveyors, and fit new tender lifts during wider refits. We diagnose the fault, size and fit equipment to the vessel, and sign the work off, then back it with ongoing servicing and spares support. 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 starts with undersizing, 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 boat anchor 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 davit faults can be repaired. We inspect the structure, drive and controls first, then provide a written quote for a repair or replacement.
| 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 | Usually much less than replacement; most davit faults involve 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, which covers 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, a photo and your tender details. We’ll explain whether it needs a rebuild or replacement and provide a written quote.
Keep the tender lifting safely
When a davit creeps, stalls or stops with the tender in the air, we work through hydraulics, electrics and structure together, fix the cause, and recommission the unit 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, and name the fault before we quote the fix.
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.
Davit load testing, documented
A davit only proves itself under load. We proof-load davits and tender lifts above their rated capacity with the load measured on a calibrated crane scale, run every function while the weight is on, inspect the structure and hydraulics under load, and issue a written report your insurer, surveyor or vessel manager can file.
The photos here are from a recent proof load test on a Besenzoni hydraulic davit rated at 300 kg. We rigged a 360 kg test load, 120% of the safe working load, worked the hoist, slew, telescope and boom lift under load, then finished with a dynamic test of repeated lifts and static holds. No hydraulic creep and no unintended movement on any function. The inspection alongside the test covered the lifting rope, hoses, fittings, counterweight, retaining pins, slew mechanism and structure, and picked up two maintenance items, a leaking pressure gauge fitting and a slew bearing due for lubrication, both recorded in the client’s written report.
That is the point of the exercise: a pass you can hand to an insurer or surveyor, and a short, specific list of what needs attention before it becomes a failure. Book a load test after any davit repair or reseal, before a long cruising season, when a heavier tender or PWC goes aboard, and whenever a survey or policy renewal asks for evidence. If the test finds a fault, the same engineers fix it.
All major davit brands serviced
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, which we supply and service as an authorised Muir dealer. Which brand we recommend comes down to your tender, your transom and your budget, and we back the work with a 1 Year Warranty on labour.
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 Besenzoni unit refurbished in our Coomera workshop: five cylinders and the slewing swivel overhauled and pressure-tested, hoses renewed, the structure repainted, then rebuilt, craned back aboard and load-tested to its 600 kg plate rating. The whole job is written up in the davit crane refurbishment case study, alongside a telescopic tender-crane overhaul carried out at the berth.
Documented for insurers & surveyors
Every load test, inspection and repair is written up, so when a surveyor, insurer or vessel manager asks how the davit was tested and by whom, the answer is on paper. The same records back our insurance repairs and superyacht work.
Davit rebuilds in the workshop
Davit overhaul work from our Gold Coast City Marina workshop, from precision component preparation through to hydraulic rams, cylinders and slewing pedestal reassembly.
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?
Davit quotes start with your actual tender, because everything else follows from the lift. From there the number moves with the 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. A manual dinghy davit on a trailerable cruiser and a hydraulic tender crane on a motor yacht sit at opposite ends of that range, which is why the answer is a written quote rather than a price list. Ring 07 5612 7161 with vessel and tender details to get one started.
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. We service hydraulic and electric davits from all major brands, regardless of who installed them. That includes hose and ram work on European and US-built davits and tender cranes, electric winch and control repairs, and sourcing or fabricating replacement parts when the original supplier is slow or no longer trading. Send us the make, model and a photo, and we will confirm what can be serviced locally.
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?
Servicing, fault-finding and hose or seal replacement are usually handled dockside by our mobile teams across the Gold Coast and South East Queensland. A new davit install, structural backing work, a ram rebuild or custom stainless fabrication runs from our Coomera workshop at Gold Coast City Marina. Wherever the work happens, the davit goes back into service the same way: tested under load, with the sign-off documented.
Didn’t find your answer? Call 07 5612 7161 (Mon to Fri 7am-3pm) or contact us. We’re happy to talk it through.
Crane work, start to finish
A full davit crane refurbishment through the Coomera workshop, and a telescopic tender-crane overhaul carried out at the berth. Both documented through to the water-bag load test.
Hydraulic Davit Crane Refurbishment & Load Test, Motor Yacht
A Besenzoni hydraulic davit crane came off a motor yacht for a full refurbishment during her refit: stripped to components, five cylinders, the slewing swivel and the power unit overhauled and pressure-tested, the hoses condition-reported and renewed, the structure repainted, then rebuilt in our Coomera workshop, craned back aboard at The Boat Works and load-tested to its 600 kg plate rating before sign-off.
Telescopic Tender Crane Overhaul & Dyneema Renewal, Motor Yacht
A telescopic tender-garage crane came out of service with a worn dyneema lifting line and stripped mounting threads. Working at the berth with a purpose-built lifting setup, no shipyard crane, we removed the crane, extracted the internal extension arm, renewed the line, repaired the threads and load-tested with a water bag before signing off a full tender lift.
Proof-tested before hand-back
A new install, a unit that creeps or won’t lift, a rebuild, or a load test the insurer has asked for. Get in touch with the vessel, the tender and what the davit is doing; however the job starts, it ends the same way, tested under load and signed off in writing.