swivel rod holders

[riff_raff]

I don't think 3 versus 4 holes is the issue, rather it's how you mount them. Only benefit to the 4-hole style I'm aware of is they allow sloppier drilling. The 3-hole ones require a bit more attention.

Consider the rod braces I've attached ($40 at tightlines). That's the only way to really secure a holder, both from the top and bottom.

My personal preference are shallow (ie about 9 inch) swiveling rod holders of any type. Ultra-deep ones just bury stand up rods down to the reels, they are not any stronger. The rod holder just ins't the weak point.

What DOES tend to fail is the mounting surface. Unless you've got a good condition 1.25+ inch gunnel that is well secured it's gonna flex too much with big drag and a 7 foot lever.

Putting a back and top plate on the holder helps. They are easily cut out of 3/16+ thick aluminum and with a little experimentation the edges can be rounded at home to look really pro. Aluminum cuts well with wood saws, actually not so well with abrasive style metal saws. Edges easily rounded and polished with a grinder and sander.

Oh and "a couple" isn't enough. Take the number of rods you want to fish and add that number of holders per gunnel. 4 rods = 8 holders, 3 rods = 6 holders.. Serious fisherman have > 8 swiveling rod holders. The reason is on anchor you cannot control the drift of the balloons; rarely will they be toward the stern so you will need to fish them on one side of the boat or the other. If you want to start with 4 holders, plan ahead so there is room for more..

Best way I've found of actually installing is to cut the holes with a hole saw a touch larger than needed, then use a two part epoxy to seal the edges of the core material in the gunnel. Let the epoxy cure, then 5200 the bolt holes and the entire seat of the holder. Get the right fasteners, fine thread with nylon lock nuts is nice if you can easily reach the bolts, when you can't coarse thread and standard nuts with lock washers is fine.

Jon