Scotty Rail Mounts

[Franko Manini]

Guys,

I have aft rails on my ThunderJet and use the Scotty Rail Mounts to hang four rod holders. I can never get them tight enough to prevent them from rotating, so I guess I have to use those little grub screws. My question is do you drill out your rails for the screws, or just tighten them down into the rail?

Here is the Scotty product...

Cheers,


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[ryanb]

I have no experience with those but how about a rubber sleeve underneath?

 

[kyjelly44]

grip tape on the rail under the scotty mount maybe?

 

[tubber]

Use a small piece of bicycle innertube and a big enough screwdriver. Also Powerlock rodholders (or anything but tubes) won't let your rod slip out if it does twist. I wouldn't countersink or drill my rails, because I may move the mounts around. A little twist doesn't bother me, as the best angle for one rod can differ to the next (downrigger to hali for example) and can be changed with a slight rotation of the base.

 

[Franko Manini]

Use a small piece of bicycle innertube and a big enough screwdriver. Also Powerlock rodholders (or anything but tubes) won't let your rod slip out if it does twist. I wouldn't countersink or drill my rails, because I may move the mounts around. A little twist doesn't bother me, as the best angle for one rod can differ to the next (downrigger to hali for example) and can be changed with a slight rotation of the base.

Maybe this inner tube idea will work. It's a pretty tight fit as it is. I also wondered about double sided carpet tape.

I really don't want to drill my rails or make little dents in them with the grub screws. But I have to find a solution as I had a rod go damn near vertical last time I was out looking for Halis. Fortunately, I had locked the rod into the Striker rod holder. As it turned out, it wasn't even a halibut, only a huge friggin skate.


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[Stoisy]

Taping will definitely work, even just some duct tape will do it. But putting some tubing might work as well and won't leave any adhesive residue if you want to move the mounts

 

[dmurph]

Inner tube works. Also important to make sure each bolt has same amount of turns or pressure when installing.

 

[wildthing]

hali with rail mounts really????

oh well you want to loose gear

but here is a little fix
drill the outer /under side of the rod holder and affix a short stabilizer bar that comes back down to your hull
then it can not pivot down

 

[Franko Manini]

oh well you want to loose gear

Of course I don't want to lose gear, hence the topic of conversation in this thread.

hali with rail mounts really????

But since you asked... No, when fishing for halibut, I typically put the rods in holders that are fixed to the top of the transom. In this case, a buddy needed his hands free for lunch and figured one holder was as good as the next. My thinking is that if the rail mount rotates I might as well fix it. Sure, I will try to avoid this in the future, but why not see if there is a simple solution that would prevent it altogether? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure right?

I'd rather find a way to make the rail mount work the way it should instead of cobbling some monstrosity together. It's the same as using a release clip on a tether to prevent line creep on a $500 reel. Shouldn't things just work the way they are supposed to?

There have been a number of really sensible and practical solutions put forward on this thread, and I truly appreciate each of them.

 

[mhbradley]

Franko,

We just added 4 to the rails of the TJ.. having the same issue.

Apparently some plumbing or electricians tape under the rail mount should prevent the slipping. We will let you know how it works out on our end.

In defense of Scotty, they make a wicked product, it was Franko and I that decided not to use the grub screws that were included with the package. If a user doesn't follow the manufacturer's instructions, one should expect varied results.

My 2 cents anyway.

 

[JAC]

I have 2 of them on my thunder jet and they have been working fine for me I tighten the **** out of them to make them stay put!

I also have the scotty plate on the outside and the rod holder mount inside the rail if you no what I mean. I thought it wouldn't put as much pressure on the mount and my cover fits over it better also.

 

[Califbill]

Wrap the rail with a piece of sandpaper. As to rail mounts with halibut. Just how much drag do you fish with in the holder?

 

[mbowers]

Can you rotate the rod holder so the rod is parallel to the rail? If it's a rail on the side then have the rod straight out the back. If it's a rail across the back then have the rod point out the side. That way there is very little torque from the rod to try and rotate the rail mount. Otherwise use very light drags on the reels.

It really is a weak engineering design to have a lot of torque from a long rod opposed by plastic friction on stainless steel. My rail mounts are for drink holders and unused rods.

 

[Nakoda boater]

We have rail mounts on a ThunderJet too, zero issues. Ours are mounted with the grub screws under the rail to obscure any dents left behind. We have had 20+ lb salmon on them in the past but no Hali. This being said I doubt you would loose any rods if one has their drag set right and the locking ring on the holder in place.

 

[Franko Manini]

Wrap the rail with a piece of sandpaper. As to rail mounts with halibut. Just how much drag do you fish with in the holder?

As noted earlier, this was a newbie managing the rod in this particular instance. I agree that his drag was set way too tightly. Nevertheless, it keyed me on to the issue at hand, so I am trying to address it.


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[Franko Manini]

We have rail mounts on a ThunderJet too, zero issues. Ours are mounted with the grub screws under the rail to obscure any dents left behind. We have had 20+ lb salmon on them in the past but no Hali. This being said I doubt you would loose any rods if one has their drag set right and the locking ring on the holder in place.

Yeah, I though about mounting them so the rail mount was below the rail. I don't really like the way the holder looks sticking up in the air like that. Just looks weird to me. I know, too fussy...


Franko

MILF (Man, I Love Fishing)

 

[mbowers]

Here's a tip on installing them. I use stainless acorn nuts and just the right length bolt to make a cleaner install. No fly line grabbing threads hanging down.

 

[Killer B's]

Never had a problem with mine. I did use Stainless lock washer.

 

[Sentinel]

Well its been a while since I've been here and had to re- register as site did not recognize my info anymore. Nevertheless I have played with the Scotty rail mounts and I have only found one thing that makes them Halibut proof. Cross drill for a 1/4" ss bolt through the top of mount and rail and fasten with a nyloc nut on the bottom . I put my Halibut rig in the holder with drag super tight and pulled hard from shop floor below on the 65# braid. No rotation whatsoever. Every other fix I tried failed. This is the only way I will trust $600 worth of rod and reel in the Scotty rail mounts. Also make sure and drill some drain holes for water if the cross drilling unsealed the rail. This way water will not enter and freeze, possibly splitting rail. If anybody wants a pic I can accommodate when I get home. Tight lines from an old US newbie!

 

[Nakoda boater]

Well its been a while since I've been here and had to re- register as site did not recognize my info anymore. Nevertheless I have played with the Scotty rail mounts and I have only found one thing that makes them Halibut proof. Cross drill for a 1/4" ss bolt through the top of mount and rail and fasten with a nyloc nut on the bottom . I put my Halibut rig in the holder with drag super tight and pulled hard from shop floor below on the 65# braid. No rotation whatsoever. Every other fix I tried failed. This is the only way I will trust $600 worth of rod and reel in the Scotty rail mounts. Also make sure and drill some drain holes for water if the cross drilling unsealed the rail. This way water will not enter and freeze, possibly splitting rail. If anybody wants a pic I can accommodate when I get home. Tight lines from an old US newbie!

Ya, post up a pic or two!