Downrigger Mounting

[Lovgren69]

I've been busy trying to outfit my new boat [2008 Stratos 386] and I have questions about downrigger mounting.

When I bought the boat the pervious owner had added a custom aluminum bar across the transom, which he mounted (2) downriggers and 4 rod holders.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...stratos2-1.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...stratos3-1.jpg

He mounted the bar [which is a large 2 X 6 aluminum track] so it would fit into Perko flush mount rod holders on each side of the gunrails. The bar drops right into the flush mounts, I don't believe that there is any locking of any sort. The entire system seems like a pretty snug fit.

Here is a crude illustration of the current bar and mount.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...69/drawing.png

My only problem with the set-up is that it effectively blocks off a fairly large portion of the stern, particularly the 2 jumpseats and storage compartments underneath them.

I am thinking about cutting the bar out in the middle, and keeping the (2) end pieces and mounts so I can mount a downrigger on each side independently.

My concerns are twofold:

1) Will this be sturdy enough and will the downriggers tend to swivel and work loose over time? And could this lead to stress cracks developing in the gunrails around the flush mount holders?
2) If I happen to hang up the rigger balls while trolling, would the entire assembly pull out and potentially send my riggers to the bottom of the lake?

So if anyone has any experience/ideas/thoughts/ on this set-up or a similar one I would appreciate it...Thanks

[Shellback]

Sure, why not,they sell gimbal mounts for downriggers. A gimbal mount is just the portion that plugs into the rodholder with a plate on the top. There should be a pin across the bottom of the rodholder which engages in a slot at the bottom of the gimbal mount to prevent turning. If there isn't a groove in your setup, you could easily make one . http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boati...3Bcat104304780

[perchjerker]

to answer #2 set your drag on your riggers so they will just pay out cable if you get hung up.

before using gimbal mounts I would be sure the flush mount holders are mounted securely and have backing washers. I dont know what the gunnels are like on those boats and how sturdy they are but you should be ok

[jalichty@bresnan.net]

We used gimbal mounts on our fiberglass fishing boat, a Sea Hunt Escape 220, and they worked great. Had a ball hook up one time and messed up the bottom forks on the gimbal mount and the pin at the bottom of the rod holder. Bought new stainless rod holder and gimbal mount and the worked great as well. You need to know the angle of the rod holder before purchasing the gimbal mount since I believe they come in 0, 15 and 30 degree angles. I have one 30 degree stainless rod holder and a stainless gimbal mount in my garage gathering dust. If you decide to go that way, I would make you a good deal on them.

[REW]

Lovgren,
Before making any modifications to your current setup, why don't you take the boat fishing?

I have read and understood that the bar blocks out some of the boat for use. But, if you haven't taken the boat fishing how do you know if it is going to be an issue?

You might find that you like the bar running across the back of the boat to hang to or for some other reason.

If, after taking it fishing for a couple of days, you find that you don't like it; then go ahead and change it as you feel the need.

What seems a good idea in the driveway or garage may not be such a good idea on the open water.

Or you may find that when you fish on the open water, you find things that you need to consider that you hadn't thought about when in the driveway or garage.

Nothing wrong with gunnel mounted downriggers. Many folks like them.

But nothing wrong with a transom board on a boat either and many folks prefer them on the open water. You have pointed out issues that you see with the board, but in practice, you may find them to be a non issue.

Good luck
REW

[K Gonefishin]

I would hate that bar, it's not like the boat is a 24 + fter. The bar prevents you from getting in the back to net a potential trophy or fish of a lifetime or untangle something caught around your prop or whatever, yeah sure you could crawl over it but what if you wanted to lay down on your back deck or something. I say get rid of it and go with gimble mounts, gimbles are a great way to mount riggers, a couple of my friends have them and they are nice.

[titanxt]

Lovgren69, I don't have an answer for you because you beat me down to South Carolina to buy that Stratos before I could get down there from Indiana... Great boat and you got a great deal!!! Good job!

[Burr]

That looks like a pretty expensive piece of aluminum to cut up. It might be best to leave it in one piece, and just try a gimbal mount. That chunk of aluminum might be pretty valuable to someone if left in one piece.

[REW]

As I posted earlier,
Go fishing with what you have first.

If you actually find that there is an issue with the one piece bar - then go for the gimbal mount. Why spend additional money and potentially encounter additional issues if there is really no serious issue.

Lots and lots of folks have run full width track mounts for years with 0 issues.

No matter what, your full width bar is stronger and will put less stress on the sides of the boats.

Good luck
Great looking rig.

REW

[Lovgren69]

Well I finally had the opportunity to test the downriggers using the existing gimbal mounts and flush mount rod holders.

I will call the first round a failure. Everything starting off looking pretty solid and flush, but after a few hours on the water the rigger on the left was leaning badly because the flush mount holder started to bend.

I think I need heavier duty flush mount rod holders. The ones I have were Perko Rod holders, and when I looked at the spec sheet for them- it says: warning-these holders are not intended for downrigger or heavy duty use.

I should've known, since the jacket (tube) on the flush mounts was thin gauge aluminum and pretty thin and flimsy. I guess I need to go back and try the bar, or order some heavy duty rod holders like the Lee brand ones. It sucks they are like $100 a piece.

It is frustrating, since I already have over $800 tied in up in downriggers and trying to mount them.

And as was mentioned by K Gone, I'm not really eager to go back to the full length transom bar, since it essentially makes my 2 flip seats unuseable, and makes netting fish and adjusting the motors in the back a royal PIA.