Re: Downrigger mounts on aluminum boats
I fish out of Charlevoix. Lots of 14'-16' boats (and many larger) use downriggers here to fish for salmon and trout. It is always a challenge to mount the downriggers in such a way that they are not in the way. You do not want to mount the downriggers too far back since that makes attaching the releases and handling the ball weights more difficult. There are many mounting brackets or plates available that hard mount to the boat. The downriggers can easily be removed but the brackets always stay in place. These brackets are nice but can be very expensive. Many here mount a "downrigger board" across the back of the boat to fasten the downriggers and accessories to. These can be anything from a simple pine 2x8 to a custom aluminum piece custom made for the boat. Some of these boards are hard mounted but most are removable. I made up one that is basically a box made from plywood scraps, painted to match the boat. My 16' Smokercraft 162 has a small casting deck in front of the motor. I installed a bow eye up through each side of the casting deck, near the gunnels. I put a "j" bolt through each end of the board which hook into the eyes to secure the board to the boat. When we are not using the downriggers, I can remove the board and all that is left is the two eyes. Be careful if you use a removable board though - some unscrupulous types realize they can run off with all your equipment in one trip!
RCS
