Talk:Davit

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what exactly is a davit??? The pictures and description is unclear.

Pronunciation is about speaking the word, not writing. VanBurenen 18:38, 30 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

@VanBurenen: Wikipedia isn't just about writing. Pronunciation of a word is part of the basic knowledge about. --Thnidu (talk) 14:26, 13 May 2018 (UTC)Reply

Don't see where citations would be needed when this is common sailor's knowledge that they could add to what this editor provided. Nice pictures, mate... Conaughy (talk) 20:28, 11 February 2008 (UTC)Reply

@Conaughy: See WP:V. And most of us aren't familiar with "common sailor's knowledge".--Thnidu (talk) 14:26, 13 May 2018 (UTC)Reply

A breakdown of the parts (and their names) of a davit would be most welcome. Also, a description of how it is properly operated would add a lot. 50.201.105.54 (talk) 18:47, 6 March 2014 (UTC)Reply

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@ User:Alansplodge - There wasn't any whaling off Greenland "around 1600". You must be referring to whaling off Spitsbergen from 1611 onwards. Did your source give an actual date or location? BulbousCow (talk) 05:44, 28 March 2023 (UTC) - (originally posted at User_talk:Alansplodge)Reply

The quoted source comes from a Google Books "snippet view" of Seamanship in the Age of Sail: An Account of the Shiphandling of the Sailing Man-of-war, 1600-1860, Based on Contemporary Sources p. 284 by John H. Harland (1923-2018), who was a Fellow of the Society for Nautical Research [1]:

"Vessels engaged in the Greenland whale fishery , had of course been in the habit of carrying boats in this way from the early 1600s, and in a way it is surprising that the innovation came so late to the man-of-war."

Do you have a source which says that this is wrong? Alansplodge (talk) 16:39, 29 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

Conway's No Man's Land (1906, p. 168) mentions Danish men-of-war seizing Dutch whaleships on the open sea somewhere east of Greenland in 1638. That's the earliest I can think of whaleships venturing west of Spitsbergen, besides bay whaling off Jan Mayen, which began in 1616. Do you know Harland's source? Early 1600s is still vague. There was no Greenland whaling as such. The English at the time referred to whaling off Spitsbergen as "the Greenland trade", so I think he may have confused the two. I don't recall Fotherby's 1613 illustrations of whaling off Spitsbergen including davits though. It's been some time since I read Purchas, etc. His narratives might clear it up. BulbousCow (talk) 19:15, 29 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

Many thanks BulbousCow. Perhaps if we change the text of the article to "during the 1600s" or "during the 17th-century", it would still concur with the Harland source whilst avoiding the problematic early dating? Please advise. Alansplodge (talk) 17:07, 30 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

In the absence of a reply, I have amended as proposed and deleted the "dubious/discuss" template. I trust this is agreeable; feel free to revert if not. Alansplodge (talk) 15:26, 4 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Sorry. Some microfilm had just arrived so I've been at the library all week. That works for now. There's a copy of his book at a nearby university. Hopefully if I have time I can take a look at it to see if he gives a source. My books didn't say much about when davits were first used. The only one that went into any detail was Clifford Ashley's The Yankee Whaler (1926). It's not quite clear when they were invented according to his version, but he states Americans were the first to use them, perhaps in the 17th century (pp. 53-54). He mentions the Dutch using beams or cranes to hoist boats as early as 1684, but then states "... the Yankee, long before this, invented the davit". He doesn't give a date for this invention though. BulbousCow (talk) 14:30, 6 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Thanks BulbousCow, so the article as it stands now agrees with both references. Alansplodge (talk) 12:32, 7 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

Should we also add a section acknowledging that Davits are also used on buildings and/or in construction? For example:

• Davit Cranes
• Roof Davit Systems

I have zero expertise on davits - I just found it curious that this wiki page only mentions nautical uses. Ray (talk) 18:19, 9 July 2025 (UTC)Reply