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[Spawn Sack]

I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on the Scotty #1025 Right angle side gunnel mount.

http://www.scotty.com/fishing-gear-equipment/downrigger-mounting-systems/1025-right-angle-side-gunnel-mount.htm

I'd like to outfit my boat with Scotty down riggers, likely the #1085 Strongarm 30"

It would be nice to go the standard route and use the standard #1036 mounting plate and bolt that right to my gunwale, unfortunately my gunwale is only 4 inches wide

So, if I wanted to use the mounting plate most people use, it would hang into my boat 1.5 inches. The mounting plate is 5 and 1/2 inches by 5  and 1/2 inches. Without getting into the logistics of mounting the #1036, let's just say that I could make it work.

The other option seems to be the #1025 mount. I like that nothing would be hanging/sticking inside my boat. When I want to run downriggers I just screw on the extra side piece, then snap the top piece on.

Curious if anyone has one or has used one and can give me a review on it. I opened the box for one in Fred's Abby the other day and I thought it was kind of dinky. However the more I look at the logistics of the standard #1036 mounting plate the more I think it's going to be something that will be permanently sticking into the boat.

[firstlight]

I like them and use them on my 14 ft Lund VBow.
The gunnels do flex a little from the torque of the 15 lb balls but not so bad it will cause any damage or such.
I like the fact that I can easily unscrew and take off the boat when not using the riggers.
They aren't cheap but either is getting a fab shop to install something for you.
I would highly recommend them.

[Spawn Sack]

Excellent thank you first light.

I was thinking if I went with the #1025s I'd add some backing to the lip on the inside of the boat where the plate bolts to. This would give the mounting location more strength. Did you do this on your Lund? If yes what did you use? I was thinking 1/8 or so aluminum plate cut to the same size as the mount. I believe the backing would have to go on the underside of the lip inside the boat (where you can't see it) as if it were on the same side as the mount I think it would interfere with how things snap together. Next time I'm in Fred's I'll have to take a closer look at these #1025s.

I would like to use the #1036 standard mounting plate, I'm just not too keen on the plate protruding 1.5 inches inside the boat. I tried centering the plate on the gunwale so it was sticking out  .75 inches on the out side and .75 on the inside of the boat. I thought this looked stupid. If I were to go with the #1036 plate I would have it flush with the gunwale on the outside of the boat and 1.5 inches on the inside.

It's all cost/benefit.

Firstlight, what down riggers are you running with the #1025 gunnel mounts?

[armytruck]

Just a tip .
Whenever I have had to do some mods mounting Downrigger mounts to fit boats in the past . One thing I always found usefull and cheap is your good ole kitchen plastic cutting board material . Real cheap , cuting and drilling is a breeze . Dollar store or any department store . Aluminium is great to but . Just a thought 

[firstlight]

I am using the Scotty manuals with extension.
I don't put the extension out too far if I don't have to.
The nylon cutting boards are a great idea and something I need to do.

If you want to check out my set-up you are welcome to drop by if you like.
Im located in Maple Ridge.

This thread reminds me that I need to replace the cable on one of mine.

[scouterjames]

I am using the Scotty manuals with extension.
I don't put the extension out too far if I don't have to.
The nylon cutting boards are a great idea and something I need to do.

If you want to check out my set-up you are welcome to drop by if you like.
Im located in Maple Ridge.

This thread reminds me that I need to replace the cable on one of mine.

Any chance of posting a pic, F/L??

[firstlight]

Any chance of posting a pic, F/L??

No sorry.
Cant do pics.

[bmynbr]

I have one on my boat, and works great

[Spawn Sack]

Thanks for the input guys. I spent a fair bit of time the other day in Fred's Abby looking at Scotty stuff, talking to the staff and going over measurements of my gunwale, and blah blah.

I've decided not to go with the #1025 side gunwale mounts. Not that I think they suck or anything, they seem to be pretty well constructed. I would just rather have the standard Scotty base plate permanently bolted to my gunwale. I'll have to upload some pics I took to photobucket when I have time and post them on this thread. I made some templates out of cardboard that I'm going to take to a fabricator and have him copy them using diamond plate aluminum.

I'll try to give a brief description here. So the plate will be an exact match for the Scotty base plate (duh). My gunwale is 4 inches wide and the Scotty plate is 5.5 inches wide, so it will hang into my boat a bit. Instead of having just a flat plate made, I decided that where the plate ends inside my boat, I want it to bend down at 45 degrees until it makes contact with the gunwale lip inside my boat, then bend again at 45 degrees (I think 45 degrees) and end flush with the edge of the lip inside my boat.

I plan to bolt the diamond plate to the gunwale using 4 bolts. Then bolt the base plate to the diamond plate. I haven't figured out the exact location of the holes, but I am going to make sure that there are at least 4 bolts into the gunwale. I also plan to bolt the bent inner part of the bracket to the lip of the gunwale using 2 bolts. I should add that on the underside of the gunwale I will add backing likely in the form of thick plastic cutting board. Not sure if my description is sensible, I'll add pictures later.

Another thing I'm contemplating is...where should I mount the down riggers on my gunwales? I know they should be as far back as possible. I can't put then right at my stern as my boat has 2 seats that stick out from the stern 18 inches or so and are about knee height. I'm thinking they will make it hard to lean out on the stern side of the down riggers and attach the line clip and so on. I was thinking of mounting the plates about 30 inches from the stern. This would give me about 1 foot between the seats at the stern and the down rigger.

I'll attach pics when I can I'm not sure how much sense my written explanation is making...

Also planning to go with the 1085 (30" boom) downriggers.

[Spawn Sack]

Alright, finally I have some time to upload some pictures. Hoping for some feedback on my idea for a mounting bracket/plate for the Scotty #1036 plate.

To recap my gunwale is 4 inches wide and the Scotty plate is 5.5 inches wide. So it'll be hanging into my boat 1.5 inches. My original idea was to have mounting plates made the exact same size as the Scotty #1036 plate (picture attached). I made a cardboard cut out the same size as the Scotty plate and put it on my gunwale to get an idea of how it would look. Both the wife and I agreed looks a bit stupid, like "this is too big for my boat, but I'm trying to make it work."

Back to the drawing board. I thought it would look much better, and be a bit stronger I guess, to have a 45 degree bend at the end of the plate, and then where it touches the gunwale lip on the inside of the boat have another bend (45 degrees I think), and then have the metal go flush to the bottom of the lip. Sorry the picture kind of sucks I had to tape it in place to get the pics.

I plan to go with this plate. Plan is since 2 of the holes in the Scotty plate will "miss" my gunwale, I will have 2 extra bolts affixing the fabricated bracket/plate to my gunwale. You will not see these as the Scotty plate will bolt over top of it. Then where the metal ends on the bottom of the gunwale lip inside my boat to have 2 bolts there. Something like that. I'm not worried much about this stage. I'll be sure to use backing (likely thick plastic cutting board) and make it super strong.

Also, I've been asking myself WHERE on the gunwale should I mount the plate/downriggers? I know you are supposed to go as far back as possible, but I don't want the seat(s) at the rear of my boat to be in the way if I want to lean/reach out and fart with the line clip, cannon ball, or whatever. My current inclination is to mount them about a foot forward (towards the bow) from where the rear seats end. This is about 30 inches from the stern to the front of the Scotty plate. I reason if the downriggers are too close to the seat and I need to "work" on the stern side of the downrigger the seat will just be in the way and I'll end up half climbing over it. Pictures of the inside of my boat attached.

[canso]

your design looks much nicer than mine.
consider electric down riggers if ocean is in your future.
also marine grade aluminum will hold up to the elements and stay shiny longer. i used scraps

I added a second tip-up bracket for the prawn puller, and a 3ft piece of angle on the inside of the gunnels to support the fiberglass, you should be fine on the aluminum boat.

[firstlight]

Its too bad a tip up mount like Canso has for his Prawn puller doesn't fit right onto the gunnel?
With a good backing plate its all you would need.
Have you tried to fit just the tip up mount?

[Spawn Sack]

your design looks much nicer than mine.
consider electric down riggers if ocean is in your future.
also marine grade aluminum will hold up to the elements and stay shiny longer. i used scraps

I added a second tip-up bracket for the prawn puller, and a 3ft piece of angle on the inside of the gunnels to support the fiberglass, you should be fine on the aluminum boat.

Haha thanks Canso. I'm pretty good as designing such things. Unfortunately I do not have the tools/ability to bend metal and weld so I'll have to pay a fabricator to do it. Oh well it'll look sharp and function well. Right now I'm only considering the manual DR. Trolling will be 99% lakes.

Its too bad a tip up mount like Canso has for his Prawn puller doesn't fit right onto the gunnel?
With a good backing plate its all you would need.
Have you tried to fit just the tip up mount?

The tilt bracket would fit on our gunnel. However, I want to be able to swivel the down riggers in addition to tilt. I also like that the mounting plate + swivel plate gets the downriggers up higher on the gunwale...no hunched over so much. I also like that if you have the base plate you can get an adaptor allowing you to connect a regular Scotty rod holder. I'd like to put my Orca rod holders here for sturgeon.

http://www.scotty.com/fishing-gear-equipment/rod-holders/DownriggerRodHolderAdapter.htm

Still curious if anyone has any advise with respect to where to mount downriggers on the gunwale of my boat (pictures above).

[Spawn Sack]

Got my brackets made up today. They turned out awesome! First thing guy said when I showed him my cardboard template is aluminum will NOT bend that much, it will break, so I will have to make a separate piece out the angled section, and weld them together. I said okay as there wasn't much option. I had visions of an ugly bead of weld along the seam but to my surprise he ground the weld down nicely and you can barely tell it's there

I still haven't bought my down riggers, but I know I want to use the standard Scotty base plate with whatever I get, and add the swivel base.

Would highly recommend Balmer Fabrication in Abbotsford. Good guy to deal with and he does top notch work at a reasonable price.

 

[Spawn Sack]

Still thinking about where I should mount downriggers on the gunwales. Option A is about as far back as I can go. Pretty much flush with the edge of the "seat" at the stern. Any farther back than this is would be very hard, if not impossible, to get to the nuts on the underside of the gunwale. I forget the exact measurement but I think if I put them here the edge nearest the stern would be about 18 inches from the stern.

Option B is to give myself some room, about 10-12 inches, between the "seat" and the edge of the downrigger nearest the stern. I think this is a good idea as I can get my hip or crotch against the gunwale without bumping into the downrigger. I figure this will be helpful for attaching the clip to the line and so on. I don't really want to be kneeling on the seat and leaning out that way.\

Appreciate any feedback.