rigger mounting

[tubbed out]

OK so i got the electrics , I didnt like where I mounted my manuals .... I am looking for pics of how you guys set up your ride ...I know as far back as possible,,,, want to make the right decision this time around

btw I am looking for mounts

 

[Dogbreath]

Not necessarily as far back as possible-try somewhere closer to the middle if you can.
If you're by yourself in the back corner monkeying with the gear a lot of things can go wrong in a hurry.

 

[scott craven]

depends a lot on your boat and how the gunwales are set up.
maybe post a picture of your boat, and you'll get a lot of
information on where and how to mount.

 

[totally tyee]

Another thing to consider is the length of the arm. How long are they? is it telescopic?

TT

 

[Bravefart]

Scotty sells an adjustable alluminum mounting bar to accomodate downriggers. The downriggers when installed face out from the stern.
Any pros or cons on this setup.

Davie

 

[wolf]

I have always put them as far forward as i can but i only fish in 30 to a hundread feet so getting into the kicker is no probelm one bonus is when my client has a fish on I swival them forward so now the riggers are completly out of the way facing the bow, when im setting gear i swival them backwards and im at the back corners setting the clip not reaching over the riggers and trust me when you do it all day and every day your back will get tired from always reaching over them.


Good luck Wolf

 

[tubbed out]

so I have mapped out the mounting spots and am looking for tips on the wiring .... Should I go straight to the battery ???? I have installed a cb and fish finder , they are already on the battery , should I add more to it or add a bus of some sort ....

 

[lpaulcarter]

You shouldn't really have anything but the main pos/neg cables and your bilge pump connected to the battery terminals, everything else should be wired to a bus with fuses. The more stuff you add to the terminals the better the chances of a bad connection that can lead to shorting. This can mean a dead battery, or worse, sparks in the bilge of the boat - never a good thing when there's fuel aboard...

 

[dog]

If you are going as far as adding a bus, I would think about adding a battery switch. I have not yet, but plan to.

 

[tubbed out]

a battery switch ??? I only run one battery . Maybe I sould go to 2 batteries with a perko switch ???

 

[daddystoy]

Absolutley with the two batteries and battery switch! I used to carry a second battery as a spare "just in case". But last winter I had it properly wired in with a battery (isolator) switch. Great piece of mind knowing that if one battery decides to die on you (and batteries have a habit of dieing with no warning) that you have that second battery to get you going. I don't run electrics but I here they draw a fair bit of juice. All the more reason to have a second battery. If you troll with a kicker that isn't wired into the battery then you will be sucking juice everytime you use your downriggers, vhf, depth sounder, gps, etc. while the main motor isn't running charging your batteries. With the second battery on an isolator switch you can use 1 battery for all the electronics while you troll and at the end of the day switch over to the other battery to get you started.

 

[dog]

I have zip electrical expertise, but I do plan to add an isolator switch for me, even with only one battery. I think that if you can isolate your battery completely from your electrical system, you may save the batt from some slow discharge due to small leakage from the whole electrical system while sitting, not running. But more importantly, I would like to be able to disconnect my battery in emergency... Once a wire bracket holding a rubber cased fuse connection in my outboard wore through the rubber casing and shorted to ground. It came close to causing some damage. My bud sacrificed some pain to pull it off. It also bugs me to think that if my main power cables from the battery shorted to eachother , they are too near my plastic fuel tanks. If I smelled burning plastic wire casing, I could turn the switch to off and prevent further heat from melting into my plastic tanks. It is just something I think every time I see the tanks.

 

[Fishinnut]

I run mine back as far back as I can and run the offshore mounts. These are aluminum poles with flats welded on them. The downrigger mounts to the top part. Basically a pedestal. They have one spring loaded pin to pull and they are out. i dont leave them on the boat. I also have a stainless ring around my prop on my trolling motor. Saves the DR cable and prop.