swivel rod holders

[Mr. Sandman]

Going to add a couple zero deg swivels to the mix to go with a couple new bent butts that are set up so that I can go either stand up or rod holder fight. Most guys go with the LD marine holders. They are not flashy but rugged, I like the 4 bolt pattern. What others do you like.

[MakoMike]

I have Lee's on my boat. No problems.

[Mr. Sandman]

0, 15, 30 deg?

[thefishingfreak]

I have about 10 I think, maybe more. All are 0* the stand up butts are shorter don't forget.
I would get 1-15* Just for fighting off the back corner, or wherever you fight from, for slightly lower rod angle under full load,the rest 0* reason being for 0*when you swing the rods out of the way they will stay where you put them.
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[keeperreaper]

I have LD's and have not had any issues with them.

[Typhoon]

Love my LDs

My lee's rusted where the screw meets the metal.

[MakoMike]

I have 0 degrees on the boat for fishing 130 bent butts.

[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

[riff_raff]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

I have 0 degrees on the boat for fishing 130 bent butts.

That'd be 90 degree holders ..

Having some extra angle on your holders is nice to keep the rod well loaded with a fish down deep under the boat. Best way to accomplish that is definitely by getting more flexible blanks or rod butts with some extra angle on them (some shops custom bend the butts)..

What sucks with angled holders is fighting a fish with the reel at an angle - or when you go to spin the rod around into the boat and it's sticking straight up. One guy I fish with has all 15 degree holders and Chatham special (flexible ~8 foot 130 class rods). Just grabbing the line off the rod tip requires a boat hook!

One thing you can do that's sorta a compromise is to add a piece of cedar shingle under the rod holder to add some degree of extra angle in the direction you want. I did that on some of mine and it's nice. I just stained them with Sikkens and they look & hold up nice. Same could be done with whatever you can get in that size that has a angle on it.

Jon

[MakoMike]

Jon, I have mine in stalled with backing plates and the angle of the rod is just about ideal. I'm using the penn 130 bent butts which are pretty flexible, never had a problem on a big fish. As far as reaching the line, you should be able to swin g the rod to be able to reach the line, if not there is always a long gaff aroun d in those situations that you can use to reach the line.

[likwid]

Originally Posted by riff_raff

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.

Dissimilar metals don't play nice.

G10 makes the greatest backing plates known to man.

Oversize the underside backing plate, 1" washers, nylocks and you'll be golden.

[riff_raff]

Originally Posted by likwid

Dissimilar metals don't play nice.

G10 makes the greatest backing plates known to man.

Oversize the underside backing plate, 1" washers, nylocks and you'll be golden.

People say that but on my own boat after 5 years with no pitting to speak of I just don't think it's an issue; not with the aluminum I've used anyway. That's more of a problem you would see below the waterline.

Pre-made plates work OK for typical situations with good strong gunnels and/or if supported on the bottom.

Trouble is quite often what you've got under the gunnels doesn't make for a straight-forward install, the plates don't fit or aren't grabbing a strong spot. If you've got a machine shop at your disposal stainless all the way, otherwise aluminum works great and is much more practical to work with.

Aluminum can be trimmed nicely with a chop-saw while sitting on the dock. Holes (to accept the rod holder) can be ripped through it with an ordinary drill and home depot grade hole-saw to accommodate any angle.

At a minimum stainless requires an abrasive wheel, alot of sparks, is much harder to cut a round ~2 inch hole in, and can't be shaped so nicely without special tools.

Jon

[riff_raff]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

Jon, I have mine in stalled with backing plates and the angle of the rod is just about ideal. I'm using the penn 130 bent butts which are pretty flexible, never had a problem on a big fish. As far as reaching the line, you should be able to swin g the rod to be able to reach the line, if not there is always a long gaff aroun d in those situations that you can use to reach the line.

Oh the angled holder part with rods sticking into the sky didn't apply to what you had said. That's just what happens when you use the angled holders and swing the rod back over the deck, the rod tip ends up shooting for the sky, so you end up needing the gaff.. Kinda like what happens when you stick a bent butt into a regular 30 degree holder, ends up sticking straight up..

Ya I've got a Penn 130 class bent butt - the Aftco butt definitely has a bit more bend in it than a Pac Bay on another 130 class rod of mine, and the rod seems to have a bit more action than a run of the mill 130 class IGFA blank.

I still think butts with a touch more angle would be better. It'd be nice if they made butts strictly for running out of the holder versus something that was really intended for a chair.

On that subject, my ambition is to have a set of 80 class rods built on 130 ferrules, so I can swap rods (just the tops leaving reels on the butts) to match leader strength. It's hard to properly load up a 130 class IGFA action rod within working load of a 130 lb leader.

Jon

[likwid]

Originally Posted by riff_raff

People say that but on my own boat after 5 years with no pitting to speak of I just don't think it's an issue; not with the aluminum I've used anyway. That's more of a problem you would see below the waterline.

Pre-made plates work OK for typical situations with good strong gunnels and/or if supported on the bottom.

Trouble is quite often what you've got under the gunnels doesn't make for a straight-forward install, the plates don't fit or aren't grabbing a strong spot. If you've got a machine shop at your disposal stainless all the way, otherwise aluminum works great and is much more practical to work with.

Aluminum can be trimmed nicely with a chop-saw while sitting on the dock. Holes (to accept the rod holder) can be ripped through it with an ordinary drill and home depot grade hole-saw to accommodate any angle.

At a minimum stainless requires an abrasive wheel, alot of sparks, is much harder to cut a round ~2 inch hole in, and can't be shaped so nicely without special tools.

Jon

G10 isn't stainless. Its fiber reinforced epoxy.

Its tough as hell, tough to cut, doesn't absorb water, doesn't corrode, doesn't cause dissimilar metals issues, inert, did I mention tough to cut? Light, stronger than aluminum afaik, and tough as hell to cut.

Ask Sandman about cutting it, he used it on a bunch of projects.

Also it can be bonded with epoxy to create a very permanent solution.

[Mr. Sandman]

yeah I did...it is a great material. Costly but very effective. It is cured under extreme pressure and is remarkably stiff. It will dull your blades and bits quickly and the drill shavings actually caught fire while drilling. It is bullet proof to say the least. My cleats can now pick the boat up, no bolt will pull thru. It is a great backing plate material for places where you don't have to look at it. It is not attractive (esp with all the 5200 oozing out)

As for gunnel holders, most makers produce a heavy stainless plate with a handy rod leash attachment point so that is what I would go with there. I can't imagine using a hole saw to cut a 2.5" hole in g10 for a rod holder. Just buy the stainless plate that the rod holder manufacturer sells for that specific holder, it is like 20-30 bucks.

[likwid]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

I can't imagine using a hole saw to cut a 2.5" hole in g10 for a rod holder.

Needs to be done in a bench press.

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

As for gunnel holders, most makers produce a heavy stainless plate with a handy rod leash attachment point so that is what I would go with there. I can't imagine using a hole saw to cut a 2.5" hole in g10 for a rod holder. Just buy the stainless plate that the rod holder manufacturer sells for that specific holder, it is like 20-30 bucks.

From what I have seen the ones from the Mfg are waaaay too small.

[thefishingfreak]

Those factory backing plates are 1/16 if that you'd be better with fender washers I have one sitting on my toolbox here. Problem is even if you get that sucker as tight as mechanically possible in it's little 4 inch footprint, then you go put a 7 foot leaver in it and pull upwards of 60 pounds on the end. The gunnels going to flex. If flex is completely unacceptable then the best option is those brackets in the above picture to tie them into the hull.
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[likwid]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

Those factory backing plates are 1/16 if that you'd be better with fender washers I have one sitting on my toolbox here. Problem is even if you get that sucker as tight as mechanically possible in it's little 4 inch footprint, then you go put a 7 foot leaver in it and pull upwards of 60 pounds on the end. The gunnels going to flex. If flex is completely unacceptable then the best option is those brackets in the above picture to tie them into the hull.
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Given its basically 6 inch lever on the othe side of the fulcrum, you're looking at nearly 800lbs of force on your gunnels.

Think long and hard about those stainless backing plates and the construction of your gunnels.

[riff_raff]

Like I said guys, if you have a simple install with a very solid mounting surface and plenty of room to fit the backing plate just order or use something pre-made..

If the install is tough and you have a machine shop at your disposal use stainless, carbon fiber, or whatever those pre-made plates you are speaking of are made out of..

Otherwise if you have a funky install like many of us do, and do not actually own a machine shop, find a local metal shop and buy some 3/16 - 1/4 inch aluminum plate cut approximately to your needs. You can then bore a hole, trim to exact fit, and shape as desired with wood tools.

Jon

[riff_raff]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

From what I have seen the ones from the Mfg are waaaay too small.

Yep agree with that 100%. Certain places on certain boats they work fine, most places on most boats they don't.

Jon

[riff_raff]

[QUOTE=Mr. Sandman;910955

As for gunnel holders, most makers produce a heavy stainless plate with a handy rod leash attachment point so that is what I would go with there. I can't imagine using a hole saw to cut a 2.5" hole in g10 for a rod holder. Just buy the stainless plate that the rod holder manufacturer sells for that specific holder, it is like 20-30 bucks.[/QUOTE]

"Handy" as in way up under the gunnel where you can't see or reach them without crawling around?

Simpler solution is to use 10-20 ft. safety straps onto a cleat or the tube-work. Yes it can clutter the deck but then there's slack for "musical rods", moving from holder to holder as the drift changes or after a strike without needing to remove the safety straps.

Jon

[stiff tip]

for those who fished for $$ off chatham . some boats that fished wire w/ electic reels/rods used a custom extension rod holder with there angle or straight rod holders on there boat ? whats the poop?? or design close up .any help please ,who should talk to.

[big jay]

Originally Posted by stiff tip

for those who fished for $$ off chatham . some boats that fished wire w/ electic reels/rods used a custom extension rod holder with there angle or straight rod holders on there boat ? whats the poop?? or design close up .any help please ,who should talk to.

They're like an outrodder for tube n worm, but there's a cradle welded underneath to hold the reel level. I use them mostly for cod fishing with the electrics. One of my friends makes them up out of aluminum - I'll try and snap a pic when I'm at the boat.

You can always make up a bent butt wire rod, and run it out of a 0 degree swivel holder - it's a better way to go.
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[stiff tip]

thanks mike..i need some ideas on how they work and what it looks like.custom built or not

[Bourne Bill]

check your messages Dave

[Bourne Bill]

I make the custom rod holders that swing up from horizontal to vertical.

[thefishingfreak]

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[stiff tip]

mike..... please pm me your phone# lost yours.. i think i need to add 2 uni- rod holders like them on gunnels plus rod holder extentions for my straight rod butts needs. i'm gonna call bourne bill soon, he said he can help me. thanks dave

[stiff tip]

who in the area would have the swievel rod holders at a fair price?? lee, taco . etc . i'm gonna need two .i would prefere 4 hole ss models...thanks dave