Down riggers

[maumeebay3]

I have a 1974 20' sceptre o/b that I want to install down riggers on. I cant get my hand up under the sides to bolt the base plates down. I dont think they will hold with screws. Anyone have an idea?

[2182]

my friend just mounted a few on his contender and ran into the same issue. he mounted in his rear gunnel rod holder and had to cut the bolts down so it would still pivot properly. he said it was a pain but it works well now that its done. he mounted cannons which sell the "rod holder mount" separately for this exact reason.

[Capt Chuck]

Remove the aft vents (if available) reach in and mount your bracket between the box lid and the rub rail

[mnwnvc]

I have the same problem, was considering installing 5 inch access ports under the aft rod holders and replacing them with swivel base down rigger bases. Not crazy about the look of the access port but have not figured out a better way. Seems all of my rod holders were installed before the deck was bonded to the hull and there is no way to get a wrench on the below deck nuts to remove the rod holders. Screws will not hold the weight of a down ridder ball.

[bigeasy1]

Thru bolting is definitely the way to go,when mounting riggers.
Another option is 1/4-20 well nuts.I run eight riggers on two boats,and while six are thru bolted,two couldn't be,because of the gunnel width on my Trophy.
Those two riggers,are mounted to the port and starboard gunnels with Well Nuts,a rubber sleeve wuth a threaded brass insert at the bottom.
When you tighten up the screw or bolt,it expands the rubber sleeve in the hole,similar to a molly bolt.
I've had these on those for several years,and they have held up extremely well.
I have five foot booms and run 13lb weights off them,and they see lots of use under constant salmon trolling for eight to twelve hours at a time.

On all the other riggers,i was either able to get to the underneath,or like Michael, I installed 6" deck plates to the back,so i could access the nuts,plus now i can easily get to some other stuff like wiring and trim tab hose fittings.

I'm going to be running four riggers on my 23 Tsunami,and fortunately i can get to the back as it's an I/O.

[esoxesox]

I run 4 Cannon riggers on my '73 20' CC. The forward "outs" were a pain to mount. They are mounted about 10" behind the aft rod holders. I had a machine shop cut and bend 1/4" steel plate into kind of a "7" shape to fit underneath the gunwale so that it bolts up to the swivel mount on the top but also runs down the liner too to lend a little extra support when the booms are out and the boat is rolling in the trough. If you do that though, be careful. I didn’t get it totally squared up on port side and it created a little spider crack in the gelcoat. The starboard side was done more carefully and it is solid. I sanded down a chunk of starboard to level off the swivel mount on the gunwale. I am running Big Jon swivel mounts tapped to allow for a Cannon bracket. They aren't the best brackets but are narrow enough to fit well on the gunwale. The corner riggers are mounted on a similar steel bracket that is drilled to bolt onto a fixed Big Jon plate and they sit just inside the transom. That plate is mounted on the inside of the liner and backed with a steel plate (had to pull the vents for that one). The corner mount method doesn't give a super clean look and I can't get the corner hatches open all the way but it does allow me to pull them off easily if I want to and, since they are set slightly inside the gunwale, I can run with both the corner and the outs back without having to stick the outs on a riser.

Lots of screwing around, dropped washers and nuts, etc on the "outs". In retrospect, should probably have just added an access hatch and dealt with the somewhat cut-up look. I'd like to install Bert's or Traxtech tracks this summer to allow complete removal of all the deepwater stuff. If I ever get to that I'll definitely be going the access hatch route.


esoxesox

[mnwnvc]

Check out the Gimbal Mount $59 from Bert's Custom Tackle. They insert into your existing rod holder and allow mounting of swivel bases. Your rod holders would need to be well mounted to prevent stress cracking. I think I am going to try a pair.