Island Fish Lifter
Well-Known Member
I dont get towed in,I have back ups for my back ups. I guarantee I wont get stuck with dead batts.
Mounting Downriggers
- Thread starter SerengetiGuide
- Start date
Island Fish Lifter
Well-Known Member
holey sh..t charlie, what size boat do you have? You should have a generator if youre running that many accessories, actually, you probably do have one...
Charlie
Well-Known Member
There is one thing, I know for sure!
There has been those towed in!
And there is those that will get towed in!
If you live long enough... YOU will get towed in!
Of course, I guess you could chose to run in on your "kicker"!
And, I do have a genset! That's why I don't plan on being towed due to dead batteries!
But, I still will never say, "I won't get towed in"! [:I][B)]
T
The Fish Assassin
Guest
No, (touches wood) I've never put myself in a situation like that. Worst case scenario I hook up my 3rd battery and start up my main with that. Or if it's nice enough I'd just troll in and charge a battery along the way. I think alot of it has to do with common sense, it's taken me a long way (and back).
Take only what you need.
Island Fish Lifter
Well-Known Member
Yea, youre probably right.. never say never.. I have a small gen I carry sometimes, It'd be nice to have one of those little suitcase ones I can keep stowed all times.
spring time
Well-Known Member
that's why I have a electric start kicker motor even with a dead battery it's easier to pull start. then once going can charge a battery or fire up the big motor
Charlie
Well-Known Member
You don't need backing plate, if where you are mounting is ¼ inch or more in thickness, but if my gunwale was only ¼ of an inch, I would still use backing plates. Also, if you have an aluminum gunwale, be very careful, as I have seen them ripped off by downriggers!
My downriggers are wired to my house main bus. By doing this, I control which engine or engines charge the house battery bank, which also consists of my #2 battery. If you don't have a house bus you can run them directly from the battery selector switch, which also gives you the ability to charge either battery and run the downriggers from that charging battery.
Concerning running the battery switch in "both" position. I highly suggest you "Google" the recommended position, and when that should be done, and why you should ran in the #1 or #2 positions, but "never" in the "both" position! One main reason is if one of the batteries does go bad or is drained, the charged battery will transfer its charge to the drained battery! Can you say "dead in the water"? Another, is you could and probably do have miss-matched batteries, which can cause damage to the batteries, or at least reduce the battery's overall life?
I have twin merc 225's. The engines have 45 Ampere Stators. If they are idling @ below 1000 rpm they produce as little as 17 amps (each) of charge to the batteries, out of that 17 amps, one or both are trying to charge the house battery, as both engines are rigged to charge the house battery. #1 engine charges #1 battery, #2 engine charges #2 battery. At 1000 rpms they each produce 33 amps and at 6000 rpm, each produces 41 amps. So, while I am running/cruising and no amps being drawn from the downriggers… No problems! Everything can be running and the batteries will be charging, just fine.
See the Chart below!
Now tied to my house battery, I run all my radios, TVs, and electronics plus:
1. Three electric cannon, Mag20 downriggers, each rated at 25 amps (full load) and this alone can be as much as a 75 amp draw at once, especially if I use the 20-pound weights, they are rated for.
2. Norcold Refridgerator and Norcold Freezer (which is great for keeping bait frozen), with each using approximately 30 amp hours/day and less than 10 amps.
3. Fresh water pump.
4. Fish well pump.
5. Live well/Raw water washdown pump.
I watch what is running closely, while trolling, especially when I am only running one engine! Many times, when idling, I will turn my #1 battery off and run both engines in the #2 position, to provide more charge to the house and #2 battery. If everything is running, the engines do not stand a chance in maintaining, let alone charging the batteries!
If you think, my engines are going to produce enough charge to even maintain the charge in the batteries while trolling and using downriggers… You Are Nuts!!
I highly suggest you find the amount of power YOU are using; versus the amount of charge your engines are producing, or sooner or later you will find yourself, "dead in the water"!
My downriggers are wired to my house main bus. By doing this, I control which engine or engines charge the house battery bank, which also consists of my #2 battery. If you don't have a house bus you can run them directly from the battery selector switch, which also gives you the ability to charge either battery and run the downriggers from that charging battery.
Concerning running the battery switch in "both" position. I highly suggest you "Google" the recommended position, and when that should be done, and why you should ran in the #1 or #2 positions, but "never" in the "both" position! One main reason is if one of the batteries does go bad or is drained, the charged battery will transfer its charge to the drained battery! Can you say "dead in the water"? Another, is you could and probably do have miss-matched batteries, which can cause damage to the batteries, or at least reduce the battery's overall life?
I have twin merc 225's. The engines have 45 Ampere Stators. If they are idling @ below 1000 rpm they produce as little as 17 amps (each) of charge to the batteries, out of that 17 amps, one or both are trying to charge the house battery, as both engines are rigged to charge the house battery. #1 engine charges #1 battery, #2 engine charges #2 battery. At 1000 rpms they each produce 33 amps and at 6000 rpm, each produces 41 amps. So, while I am running/cruising and no amps being drawn from the downriggers… No problems! Everything can be running and the batteries will be charging, just fine.
See the Chart below!
Now tied to my house battery, I run all my radios, TVs, and electronics plus:
1. Three electric cannon, Mag20 downriggers, each rated at 25 amps (full load) and this alone can be as much as a 75 amp draw at once, especially if I use the 20-pound weights, they are rated for.
2. Norcold Refridgerator and Norcold Freezer (which is great for keeping bait frozen), with each using approximately 30 amp hours/day and less than 10 amps.
3. Fresh water pump.
4. Fish well pump.
5. Live well/Raw water washdown pump.
I watch what is running closely, while trolling, especially when I am only running one engine! Many times, when idling, I will turn my #1 battery off and run both engines in the #2 position, to provide more charge to the house and #2 battery. If everything is running, the engines do not stand a chance in maintaining, let alone charging the batteries!
If you think, my engines are going to produce enough charge to even maintain the charge in the batteries while trolling and using downriggers… You Are Nuts!!
I highly suggest you find the amount of power YOU are using; versus the amount of charge your engines are producing, or sooner or later you will find yourself, "dead in the water"!
I don't believe you should ever be have to worry about being towed in by having a dead battery situation. Isolate your main engine start batteries and leave them isolated. Those four point switches for crossing over batteries are deadly. Instead use an isolating charge switch which will automatically combine the batteries under charging conditions only and separate them once a draw situation occurs. That way your house batteries will run all your accessories and your main engine batteries are left well alone for getting you home.
Then you can include a simple switch for tieing the batteries together in an emergency situation, for example your main engine batteries get fried or don't hold a charge, but at least you are not flicking through a four point crossover switch.
With this set up I can just run my domestics down as much as I want and never have to think about my engine start batts. If you want to ruin all that stuff, all the time, 3 TV's etc....Then I guess you will have to get more domestic batteries or think about what really need to run.
Then you can include a simple switch for tieing the batteries together in an emergency situation, for example your main engine batteries get fried or don't hold a charge, but at least you are not flicking through a four point crossover switch.
With this set up I can just run my domestics down as much as I want and never have to think about my engine start batts. If you want to ruin all that stuff, all the time, 3 TV's etc....Then I guess you will have to get more domestic batteries or think about what really need to run.
Sea Ranger
Active Member
Who here likes to have their downriggers mounted near the back of the boat and who here likes to mount their downriggers near the mid section? I like to have mine near the mid section it leaves room to climb in and out and also makes it easier to swing the rigger all the way to the stern then without reaching I can attach the cannonball. Also helps to keep the center downrigger away from the main two downriggers. The one draw back is that it does put your lines closer to your prop. I've never managed to get the cable in the prop of the big motor but last year I did manage to clip the prop on the kicker. I put on a prop guard on the kicker and haven't had a problem since.
And remember....Keep your tip up!!!
And remember....Keep your tip up!!!
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
I vote for rear mounting. With swiveling bases you can easily attatch the weight by swiveling the arm forward. I only run two riggers though, I can see how you might prefer your configuration with 3. I would also always use a plastic backing plate, the cutting boards are cheap insurance against cracks or worse.
T
The Fish Assassin
Guest
I think as far back as you can get it, It will allow for sharper turns in the wind 
Take only what you need.
Take only what you need.
i have 3 batteries: 1 isolated for engine start and run, 2 in parallel for 'house' use. the switching on board has one on/off for each of these seperate circuits as well as a 'combiner' switch just in case i need to have all 3 batteries functioning together for some odd reason. the seperate circuit idea, house vs engines, is what you should be shooting for in wiring up your boats.
Charlie
Well-Known Member
Depends on the boat! I have 2 mounted midship and 1 off the stern! The ones mounted midship are over 15 feet from the props. If I get a strong wind or cross current, I just extend my booms! [:I]
But, what do I know?
... I know I won't run my batteries in the both position! [:0]
Island Fish Lifter
Well-Known Member
Charlie, you have waayyyy too much time on your hands..
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