Im trying to put riggers on my 18 whaler to take out on days like today and last weekend when its flat even though it dosent happpen often. I dont have a t-top so i found some gunnel mounts. I dont want to drill holes in the boat so i though about just using 2 stainless steel clamp on rod-holders to clamp on facing outward to put the tubes in. What do yall think?
Kiddin right
Outriggers will put a LOT OF STRESS on them and I can not see clamp on rod holders even holding them
If serious about outriggers go with the gunnel mounts, we all have drilled holes in our boat but make sure you have the right angle and backing plates for the mounts
You could also look at those “outrovers”, they work like a big planer board and for limited use I am sure they are a lot cheaper and would work fine
Sea Pro 210cc
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge 1500 4x4 HEMI
Thats just funny right there, tprice’s the second options is what you want. Or just go with someone else.
Local Boy, Just having fun.
Well no lie before I got my current boat I used clamp on rod holders on teh t-top. The chap 30 dollar ones and a 6’ wood closet dowel. Worked pretty go but very ghetto lol.
Thanks for yalls input, probably just saved me a lot of money. since its such a small boat and would probably only be used 2 or 3 times a year ill either forget it and just troll ballyhoo with no riggers or make up somethin simple. Thanks again.
i’ve got clamp on’s on my boat and use them trolling for kings.
after install i tested them by putting a crowbar in them and hanging on them .
no slips or other problems and i wouldn’t hesitate to put some small outriggers in them.
Jeff Davis is my President
I think you’ll be ok. You are not talking about fishing these every weekend, and you’ll be using the smallest riggers you have available (it’s just an 18’ boat). I would be more worried about the pipe you’ll be clamping the holders onto than the rod holders themselves. Be sure your railing is secure and there is no threat of pulling it free from the glass (that would cause you way more emotional drama than drilling a few holes for real rigger mounts).
Personally, I have no problems drilling holes in boats. If you don’t like them, you can get a decent glass man to fix it and you’ll never know they were there.
I’ve got my boat set up pretty similar to what you are talking about.
My first attempt at this was just two stainless rod holders with the rods in there with no real support. After about 5 or 6 uses, the clamp on mounts did break. You need to figure out how to support them by a secondary means. Meaning, the holders for the base and then something further up the outrigger poles to support them. This way the bases aren’t taking the full force of all the bouncing and swaying.
Here is my latest solution that seems to work fine. I’ve secured two more rod holders to the top of my t-top and then put two more holders for the bases. This takes all the stress off the bottom bases and allows for this to work. But, being you don’t have t-top I know this isn’t exactly what you are looking for but I just wanted to show you that the idea will work, you just need to have another sercuring point on the pole somewhere.
I think clamp-ons will work fine for short poles as long as your railing is pretty beefy. You don’t need much spread, just enough to avoid tangling. Also, If you do mount them in the gunwales, you need to use sealed mounts, otherwise you will fill the whaler hull up with water as this does not communicate with the bilge. The boat will get heavy and need to be drained by drilling a hole in the bottom of the transom. The same applies if you want to add more in-gunwale rod holders.
I have a pair of Lee sciff outriggers that are 11 feet long in storage that I will never use. Would let them go cheap if you are interested. They would work great from a T-top and put alot less stress than the lightest 15-16’ riggers available today. You will get better performance from your spread mounted on the top, rather than the gunnels. They are un-screwed in the box. Can show you several options to mount.
P-Man