Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

Now I am saying "What if you cant use the rod holders?"
At least you have the board to mount other style holders to..
Or make two "L" shaped brackets with the "notch" in the foot of the "L" to raise the board enough to use the flush rod holders or the strap method for tuna...

When you arent fishing, you just pull it off and put it in the garage..
I really think I am going to play with this on my boat now!

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

Very similar to what I was thinking. For additional strength I was thinking about laminating 1/2" marine plywood on the bottom to 1" mahogany (we're not talking about much so why not make it pretty?) and edge band with mahogany. I'm thinking five or six SS rod holders.

Won't get around to it until winter but will post pics when I do...

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

I like that idea Kevin! Maybe laminate a couple pieces of plywood together so it covers the top side of the cleat too, cheap and beefier.

Heck, you could also put rod holders that hang the rod off to the side at 90*. If using those you would need something to lock the board in place, so the opposite end wouldn't try to slide forward on a hook set.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

Maybe a good idea anyway for a beefy EYE hook and a aircraft cable or other way of securing around the cleats, while under way and driving the hook home on the strike!

 

[mvnvltn]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

http://www.cleatclamp.com/

Something like this can be made pretty easy.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

Those Cleatclamps are a pretty cool idea. On my jon boat I welded an all thread coupler to a 1' piece of (1/2-3/4"?) square tubing and then bolted it to the boat. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out a way to make something that would bolt onto a cleat.

How about this, take a house door hinge and bend it to fit over the top of your cleat and bolt down securely, no rocking or movement what so ever. Weld an all thread nut onto the side of the door hinge, done! It might be kind of hokie pokie, but what the heck, you're fishing, not in a fashion show...

If you are going to use Driftmasters, the starboard side holder needs to be lefthand threaded so it tightens when a fish strikes. OR, nutted from the bottom side, I nut them from the bottom so all the rod holders are swappable.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Trolling wihout Rod Holders? Any ideas?

I just hate the "no-drill" , clamp-on approach.

Drill away and forget about it. Get a box of SS bolts! Mount it securely and you won't ever be disappointed. When you sell the boat the new owner won't care one way or the other.

My last boat was customized to the nines. Just before I sold it I removed a dozen items for use on the new boat. I bought a set of color matched bathtub flower appliques and pasted them over the old holes. The guy I sold it to commented how nice all the decorations were. He didn't know there was a hole under each one.

I took good care of the boat. Bought it brand new and sold it 14 years later for more than I paid for it. I let the new owner have all the holes for free!