Whilst attending a Moonraker Owners Club rally on the river Medina at Cowes, we met David and Penny Edwards, who had recently purchased their flybridge Moonaker 36 to replace the ketch they previously owned.

The ketch had been able to take to the ground, so the drying harbours of Cornwall, Normandy and indeed the Isle of Wight had been easily accessible. The Edwards wished to continue this practice but were not overly impressed with the legs currently on the market

Instead, David, an ex-technical director of liferaft manufacturers RFD, decided to make legs to fit his new aft-cabin, shaft-driven Moonraker, or any other powerboat for that matter, which would be simple to operate, look smart and double as davits.

At the Cowes rally he showed me the result, named the DavEd-Leg.

The 'leg' actually looks more like a radar arch Made of stainless steel and spanning the stern of the boat, it is rotated by remote control using two hydraulic rams from, in this case, the aft cabin.

The rams are fitted at the sides of the aft cabin, and hidden by the cabin's inner lining.

The leg is stowed in an upright position over the aft cabin when the boat is on passage. If it is necessary to take the ground it swings down beneath the boat and below the propeller shafts and props.

Unlike with conventional legs, the weight of the boat is spread across the whole width of the stern, which makes it less likely to sink in softer ground. Much of this weight is taken on the 'shoulders' of the leg, so it is essential that at these two points the hull is strengthened substantially.

The DavEd-Leg has other important subsidiary uses. For one thing it can be used as davits to lift a tender, with a lifting capacity of 250kg. And yet bringing it inboard means there is no added expense in mooring fees, because the overall length of the boat is not increased.

Secondly, it can be used for man overboard recovery. It is one thing to bring a person who has fallen in the water alongside the boat, but quite another to lift him aboard, especially if there is only one other member of the crew. With this device, however, the person being rescued is simply hitched to the DavEd-Leg and hoisted on to the aft deck.

It is claimed that another potentiaI use of this device is to immerse the arch into the water to act as a drogue, although we are not convinced of its efficiency in this mode.

The version we have seen was the prototype and appeared slightly bulky, but this could be refined in future models. Overall, it could be a very useful multipurpose accessory, giving boats access to many harbours where they would otherwise be unable to stop

The cost of a DavEd-Leg is estimated at about £4500. David Edwards tells us it is suitable for cruisers up to 40ft in length, and that he is currently looking for a licensee.  

Enquiries David Edwards. Tel:01202674259  / E-mail: david@dvedw.fsworld.co.uk

Website: www.dvedw.fsworld.co.uk

Morvyn Phillips