Down riggers on FM165

Do any of you guys have downriggers mounted on your boats? I'd like to see how you've done it. I'd like to get some but not sure if the gunnels will support that kind of load.

thanks

MK

Re: Down riggers on FM165

I had to figure this one out too. My FS175 has very narrow gunnels. I was able to mount the Scotty side-angle mount using carriage 3/8" carriage bolts with the head of the bolt inserted in to the slot on the inside gunnel. In order to this, it was necessary to cut out a narrow vertical slot under the rear corner plate to allow the head of the bolt to slide in to the track. I used a dremell for this.
Mounting the Scotty plate then just required two wing-nuts and washers.
I also had to shim under the base of the mounting plate to bridge the gap between the top of the gunnel with a couple of blocks of wood.

The nice part is, I can remove the entire set-up in minutes and didn't have to drill one hole other than for wiring.

I?d be happy to post a picture if you have the same slots on your boat to make this work.

Re: Down riggers on FM165

Pretty sure I do. But there must be a clean way to do it. I've seen those clamp on style mounts. Just not sure how much pressure they would put on the freeboard (side of the boat). Lowe apparently has something for the larger boats. The big boat show is coming up for us January. I'll make it my mission to find a good solution.

Right now the Salmon are starting to enter the rivers. I'm near Toronto, very close to Lake Ontario. We get massive Salmon here. Downriggers no longer needed at this point in the season. Just my lawn chair and a few beers lol.

Cheers!
Marcel

Re: Down riggers on FM165

My dealer called me today and said that there are Lowe factory mounts available for the FM165 for downriggers. $45 Canadian. About the same USD I imagine. She has pictures of them. I think you can see them on the Lowe website too under accessories for the 175 models.