horizontal rod racks
 

Would like to know if/how anyone has rigged their 18' under the gunnel rod racks to accomodate 9' fly rods.

Is it possible that all Seacraft owners are bait fishermen ?

Give it time Sidelock, give it time.

These guys will chime in with suggestions and cautions you may never have thought of before the fact and likely everything between functional but ugly to the truely elegant but expensive! Give it some time!

BTW, do you have 9' of open area under the gunnel of an 18? I don't believe I have ever seen one up close myself. I would also be happy to get a tracing of the under-gunnel rod racks I have on my 23', if you think they could be modified for your situation.

BigLew, any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Yes there is ample room for 9' flyrods to fit however the original teak rod racks where designed for spinning rods & they are too close to each other to support & balance the long flyrods. They are simply a piece of 4" x 3/4" teak with large holes bored through them & the holes don't even line up on a level plane to each other. They are screwed into a small recess in the liner wall stiffeners . They definetely need to be replaced with a better design & an additional unit needs to be installed further back towards the rear to balance the long flyrods properly. I have an idea of what is required & will fab some out of starboard or seaboard but its always wise to gather as much info/opinion from others before making a final decision on the design & needless to say, there is always room for improvement.

Marks boat was heavily modified. I'm sure it's just a matter of finding or making the right holders.

My 9' fly rod fits in my rod racks, but only because it's a two-piece rod.:D

It's not ready to hand if you spot a tailing red, but it doesn't take long to put it together.

Dave

Strick,

That is a piece of art. Not sure about threading the rod tip through the obstruction, but that may not be an issue for SideLoc's application. Properly designed he might get away with mounting to levels of two rods side by side with a bracket shape similar to the one in the pic.

One of the issues I'm dealing with & can't quite decide is whether to design & position the rear rack to support the rod by the butt , just ahead of the cork handle OR support the actual cork handle itself.

Gotcha. Supporting it by the cork handle will give it more stability in the rack, but you don't want to damaage that cork. Maybe something like a smaller piece of PVC pipe, split in half and then maybe lined with a softer material to not damage the cork and properly cleaned up might work.

Help me out here. It's been years since I have touched a fly rod. Not since I went to a stocked pond maintained by a fishing club my dad belonged to back in the '50's.

Not quite certain but it looks like the one in Strick's picture is supporting the rods by the front tip of the cork handle. It would be interesting to hear if Mark is happy with that set up & wheather he would do anything different if he were to do it again.
What say you Strick ?