Small boat owners that use downriggers- show me your setups!!

[Jethro]

In the last few years I have gotten quite addicted to trolling for coldwater fish. At first I was trolling my spincast rigs with keel weights, then I discovered the beauty of leadcore. This past year I have graduated yet another level and have seen the light as far as downriggers. I can't look back, catching salmon on light line is way superior to leadcore. I have a small 14' Starcraft side console Superfisherman. It's surprisingly seaworthy for it's size and trolls down nice and slow. I currently have a Cannon Mini Troll which installs as a clamp on the gunwale. It is cumbersome to use and the depth counter is inaccurate, so I am interested in getting a couple of hard mounted downriggers. Problem is using them in my small boat. It's not like I have a ton of room to mount them. If anyone is willing to share how their small boat downrigger setups, I'd love to see it as I am trying to determine which way I am going to go.

[Doubles Shooter]

I mounted an older pair of Riviera 4' boom riggers on my 16' boat. I got lucky as the gunnels were the perfect width for the Cannon swivel bases. drilled and installed 1/4" SS bolts. I'm not a Trout or Salmon guy, but the riggers work great for Northern and Tigers.

[icejohn]

i have a board set up with downriggers with rod holders that clamps to the gunwale with clamps i purchased thru cabelas, works perfect so if i want to take them off i easily can. i suppose you could also bolt the board on as well.
just my two cents,
john

[Jethro]

Nice, I like the ideas coming in! I think I am going to make something out of wood to clamp to the side. I wish I had wide gunwales but they are narrow.

[JDK]

Can you do something like this.  Basically a 2x6 on some mounts bolted to the gunnels.  Everything comes off with 4 bolts per side.

[Thor]

My setup might not be ideal, but it doesn't work too bad.  I have two riggers, but I've only gotten around to installing one so far.  My plan is to eventually mount the second rigger in the same location on the opposite side of the middle seat.  I bought the pre-owned but never used riggers for a total of $120.  Unfortunately, the swivel mount, track, backing plate, end caps, ball holder, etc. cost me more than $200 for just the one rigger, which is why I haven't mounted the second one yet.

As an aside, the track would have been stronger if I mounted it perpendicular to the gunwale instead of parallel to it.  The pulling force of the rigger would have been distributed against the 12" length of track.  The way it's mounted now, the rigger is pulling against the approximate 3" width of track.  The trade-off is that two mounted riggers would have used up 24" of my seat as opposed to 6".  So far it's held up well with no sign of weakness.

[Jethro]

I'm getting some good ideas from this thread, but I'll post some pictures to give you an idea what I am dealing with here. I guess my biggest problem is the bimini top. I guess I will have to give up on having that for when I using the downrigger because it interferes with anything that I want to mount at the rear of the boat. My other problem is that I have no access to the rear of the boat due to the stupid float pods or whatever are under the rear deck at the transom.

Here is the boat that is not made for coldwater fishing...

This is the best picture I have of the rear of the boat, but it's a little different now (see following picture):


Here shows the bimini that I think will have to come off for coldwater fishing:


So as you can see, I have no gunwales to mount to. I can use a clamp but I find them inadequate for downrigger mounting due to the forces involved. The downriggers always seem to move no matter how tight I make the clamp. And the bimini gets in the way of anything mounted flat to the rear deck. And not having access to the rear transom is a bummer, makes it hard to access the ball and release.

[Thor]

It looks like you might be able to mount a set-up similar to mine where the blue bucket is located in your second picture if you have access underneath what looks to be a lid over a storage compartment.  I'm not sure if it would be durable enough to support the stress of a rigger, but it could probably be reinforced with a backing plate and/or a stronger lid, if needed.  Alternatively, maybe you could mount the folding seat where the blue bucket is now and mount the rigger to the compartment where the seat is located or mount it behind the seat where the battery charger is pictured.  If that compartment is durable enough to hold a person in a seat, it should be strong enough to support a small rigger.

If you want a second rigger, maybe you could mount a similar set-up on the starboard side to the front seat in front of your steering console.  With a rigger that far forward, you might need to take extra precautions while turning to make sure the cable doesn't get tangled up with the motor, but it could work.  Also, maybe you could mount the second one right behind the driver's seat using a swivel mount like I used.  It's hard to tell from your picture if you would be able to crank it up without having to lean too far behind the seat, though.

With the Traxstech mount I used, it is very easy to install or remove the riggers as needed.  They just slide into the track and are held with a few turns of two thumb screws.  This might allow you to raise the bimini top into position and then deploy the riggers in areas where they won't interfere with the top when it is up.

There is/was a member named "Polar Bear" that used to post in the PA forum.  He had a smallish boat with two riggers mounted on tall pedestals on either side in the middle of his boat.  I think he upgraded to a bigger boat, but there used to be pics of his smaller boat in some of his posts from several years ago.  Maybe you can PM him for advice or search his old posts for pictures and ideas.

[Mac Attack]

Mount your bimini top with a hard support on the aft side of it to get it up and out of the way when being used or when folded.

Like this -



The one above pulls tight and snaps to the windshield, but yours would use the straps on the front to keep it pulled tight when open.
And you can use quick release pins on the rear pipe supports to do this so you can remove the top when needed.
Then, as I mentioned, you use the strap on the front side to open it and hold it open.
And the hard support pipe allows for an open area on the rear part of the boat for you when the top is folded up or open.
As compared to another set of straps on the rear like you use and like this -

[fishlessman]

can you remount the top and spin the bimini to open the other way, you probably wont use the top anyways for bass fishing as it would be in the way. the riggers should be right between the seat with a row of rod holders in between. not seeing the top up its hard to say if spinning it is an option. either way i look at it the top is in the way

[Jethro]

Thor, the compartments in the middle are a live well on the left and a storage compartment on the right. Both are lids that open and I don't think I'd want to mount riggers on there but maybe? I'd have to put latches on the lids so they can't open by accident. Both compartments are actually used quite a bit as well.

Attack, I had thought of doing just like you say, but it's a small bimini top. It's actually real easy to remove so I may just remove it for trolling season. I think it would solve my whole problem.

[JDK]

Another not sure if it would work but why not take 2 oarlocks and mount them to the sides of the boat.  Take a piece of 5/4 pressure treated decking and cut it to length.  Put a bolt in either end so that it goes down through the oarlock and bolt it down.  Mount the downriggers to the board.  Easy on and easy off.

[Jethro]

Another not sure if it would work but why not take 2 oarlocks and mount them to the sides of the boat.  Take a piece of 5/4 pressure treated decking and cut it to length.  Put a bolt in either end so that it goes down through the oarlock and bolt it down.  Mount the downriggers to the board.  Easy on and easy off.

Hmmm, I like this idea. Actually like that a lot.

[Thor]

The oarlock suggestion sounds like a real good idea.  I've read that you shouldn't use pressure treated wood in contact with aluminum, though.  Supposedly the salts used in the treating process will corrode aluminum.  There are easy ways around this problem, and probably not much, if any, of the wood will actually be in contact with the aluminum anyway, but I just thought that I would mention it.

[Mac Attack]

The oarlock suggestion sounds like a real good idea.  I've read that you shouldn't use pressure treated wood in contact with aluminum, though.  Supposedly the salts used in the treating process will corrode aluminum.  There are easy ways around this problem, and probably not much, if any, of the wood will actually be in contact with the aluminum anyway, but I just thought that I would mention it.

Not salt.
In the old days it was copper - galvanic reaction - corrosion of the aluminum.
Copper isn't there anymore these days but you can treat the wood with epoxy and be fine.
Besides, the board isn't there for extended periods of time AND in contact with water, etc. creating the galvanic reaction.
Use regular lumber and paint it if you're worried.
If it starts to rot in 10 years buy another 2x6 or 2x8.
They're cheap.


Mac