Reply To: Invention of Davits for Ships' Boats

[Frank Scott]

Peter Goodwin has quarter davits being introduced in the Royal Navy from the 1790s, and transom davits from 1800.
John Harland mentions that quarter davits were a feature of the Greenland Whaling ships from the early 1600s & says that it is surprising that this feature came so late to men-of-war.

References:
Goodwin. P., The construction & fitting of the Sailing Man of War (London, 1992), pp.213-14
Harland. J., Seamanship in the age of Sail (London, 1987), pp. 284-85