Rod holder ?

[BillTex]

I should have been more clear; these would be for trolling (not rod storage). Lead line for stripers and off shore for tuna.
They need to be solid-they will get whacked hard.

Flushmounted in the gunnels will be required. I will need 6-8 holders.

I see a lot of old threads here that say the standard SS rod holders are too long and will require cutting in to the rod boxes and create a leak path to the hull liner.

A nice wood spacer under the flange of the rod holder may give enough lift to avoid this...does anyone know how much spacer I would need 1"? 2"?

Tx, Bill

[phatdaddy]

I think i'd rather have the bottom on the rod holder sticking through the top of the rod box than raise them on the gunnell 2-3 inches. I troll for mackeral and grouper and can only drag 2 rods at a time.

How many will u be trolling with?

[jvitiel]

Not a great picture but in mine the holder protrudes about 1.5" to 2" through the top of the rod box and to a lesser extent through the rear. It pretty much drains into the cockpit and a little baffle work could ensure that it completely drains into the cockpit. It sticks too far down to use a shim on top of the gunwale IMO but maybe you could split the difference with a 1" shim and trim an inch off the bottom of the holder? Maybe just trim the lower corner off of the holder or maybe move the pin up some too and then cut a bit more off. Note that if you don't cut the rod box, the holder will drain 100% into the hull liner so covers or drain tubes will be needed.

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by jvitiel

Not a great picture but in mine the holder protrudes about 1.5" to 2" through the top of the rod box and to a lesser extent through the rear. It pretty much drains into the cockpit and a little baffle work could ensure that it completely drains into the cockpit. It sticks too far down to use a shim on top of the gunwale IMO but maybe you could split the difference with a 1" shim and trim an inch off the bottom of the holder? Maybe just trim the lower corner off of the holder or maybe move the pin up some too and then cut a bit more off. Note that if you don't cut the rod box, the holder will drain 100% into the hull liner so covers or drain tubes will be needed.

Thank you...that explains a LOT. I'll measure everything...but now that I understand I don't think I'll have any problem cutting through the rod box. Seems to be a non-issue. I was having a hard understanding what the problem was until you posted this...

Edit; I would be trolling 6-8 rods for tuna...

Thx, bill

[SkunkBoat]

before you go cutting holes...

The other problem you will encounter is that you cannot angle them out in a normal trolling spread. The gunnel is not wide enough to mount them outward at 45 and 90 degrees. 6 rods all pointed straight back make a tight spread!

I have 3 in each gunnel...i'll try & find a picture...

forward of the rod box is a 0 degree (straight up,this is for drifting not trolling), aft of the rod box is a 30* straight back and in the far stern I have a 30degree angled out 90 degrees. There is room back there but you have to remove the "bait bins" and use a special rod holder from GEM that doesnt have mounting screws

[phatdaddy]

I can't troll two without a mess, can't imagine pulling 6/8.

[bradford]

Not a fisherman so take it with a grain of salt, I have just 2 30 degree rod holders mounted aft of the rod boxes, no cutting required. Have seen them mounted on the forward edge of the splash well, would probably need to be 0 degrees. Lumberslinger has a nice custom rod holder setup that transverses his splashwell. Would look pretty nice for what you need I would think. I don't think the spacers would look good. If I were going to go that route I would have full length teak covering boards from just aft of the side windsheilds to the back edge next to the lazarette storage hatch/boxes.

Get a bunch of good ideas and opinions before you cut holes. As soon as you do someone will chime in with the perfect functional and ergonomic solution.

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

before you go cutting holes...

The other problem you will encounter is that you cannot angle them out in a normal trolling spread. The gunnel is not wide enough to mount them outward at 45 and 90 degrees. 6 rods all pointed straight back make a tight spread!

I have 3 in each gunnel...i'll try & find a picture...

Yeah...for sure would need to be angled. I haven't measured yet...but really the gunnels are that narrow? Where is the problem...the width of the flange vs the gunnel?

Pics would be great if you can find them.

I am trying to have a plan for all these mods so I can get busy in the spring. Unfortunately I picked up the boat 2 weeks ago and brought it home and covered it up right away before snow storm the next day...

Well, anyway...if you Guys don't mind I'll keep asking questions...it'll give us something to do over the winter. If we can't work on boats...at least we can talk about working on boats!

What about the swivel rod holders...anybody try those in a V20?

Thanx, Bill

[scook]

Well, like Bradford, take with a grain of salt - I pretty much only troll Salmon on the Columbia River in Oregon and use Scotty socket type (the socket screws onto the inside of top of the gunnel) and they adjust in any direction. If they're strong enough for Tuna, they'd be something to consider. Another possibility would be to mount a couple of not very high stainless rails in the tunnels and get some clamp-on rod holders.

I just looked on marinepartdepot.com and saw some interesting adjustable stainless rod holders that top-mount on the gunnels, they look like they might solve your problem. I've bought stuff from them and it's been pretty good stuff and way less expensive than other suppliers. A couple of items that should have exactly matched had a different screw pattern and some of their descriptions (measurements) are a little vague but they've been good about taking the few things back that weren't what I wanted.