We are debating between hardtop mounted riggers and gunwale mounted ones. The main issue we are concerned with is walking space on the gunwale. However, gunwale mounts would be more sturdy riggers.
Personally, I think the gunwale mounted riggers look better… That’s what we had on a 31 Bertram when I was little so that’s all I know other than the hardtop mounts on CCs I’ve fished on.
In my opinion, gunnel mounted riggers are the way to go on any big boat. You get much wider spread and can run dredges off of them, too.
As far as walking around them, it has never really been that big of an issue for us.
I’m not sure what brand makes gunwale mounted riggers but I have to give props to Taco for their recent demonstration of superb customer service. I had all of the clips and bushings and some of the eyes on my old riggers start to all fail at the same time. It was so bad that they wouldn’t stay extended and would telescope back in. I sent them off for warranty service and got a brand new 18’ set in the mail. Sweet!
Thanks Taco!
26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream
If you don’t get real spreader type riggers on that boat, you are not a real fisherman. Simple as that.
A third option…
http://www.tackledirect.com/lees-tackle-jr-wishbone-outrigger-holder.html
http://www.tackledirect.com/rupp-sidekicks.html
You can drop a set of Bly 20ft carbon fiber poles into those bases and not take up your gunnel but still have the stiffness to pull a dredge from the first eye. Not a large dredge, but a dredge nonetheless.
Skinnee’s recommendation is substantially more $$ to look the best you can with 1993 technology. 
You may also have to have some metal work done to make the fold out bases work.
http://www.tackledirect.com/rupp-a1-0010-spl-tournament-ruppriggers.html
http://www.tackledirect.com/rupp-lift-out-ruppriggers.html
I would personally go with the wishbone rupp vertical mounts and carbon fiber 20ft poles (don’t need spreaders when the poles are so light and strong) unless you plan to do tournament billfishing and want to pull a serious dredge and be able to turn pretty sharp while dragging. The 30ft spreader poles and those style bases needed are quite a pain to deal with in rough weather. Been there and done that with a 32 luhrs express we had. Similar top and layout to your Bertram.
Take a look at someone’s carbon fiber poles before you drop a bunch of money spreaders and big folding bases to look like skinneeJ wants you to. He’s got carbon fiber poles on his own boat I believe after bending up a couple sets of Taco poles.
[:0]
Word on the creek is that his poles could not bear all the weight from the release flags he tries to fly on any given day…
Luke 8:22-25
My boat is a center console. If I could get 30’ spreaders on there, I would… I wonder why the million dollar sporties out there aren’t all switching over to 20’ carbon fiber poles!!!
Carbon fiber is the &@&$. The 39’ Contender I fished on in Venice had them.
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejMy boat is a center console. If I could get 30’ spreaders on there, I would… I wonder why the million dollar sporties out there aren’t all switching over to 20’ carbon fiber poles!!!
Because carbon fiber hasn’t been taken there yet.
It’s clearly superior technology if you’re in a class of fishing where you don’t need or cannot support 30-40ft rigger poles…
southern miss doesn’t have a superstructure or tower to swing supports out from to hold the weight of poles like that, so IMO he is still looking at poles that are 20-30ft long for this rig unless some type of upper support system is added to his boat to hold that kind of weight when swung out.
I was just offering an option that was in between normal whippy 15-18ft center console type riggers and full scale sportfisher riggers. I had a feeling he might need an in between.
Luke 8:22-25
Our outriggers need not be much taller than the Flybridge overhead cover. I imagine we could mount it to the hardtop, a lot like in this picture from a recent post?
That picture is the first one I thought of when I saw this post.
I would put riggers on the boat so tall, I would have to call air traffic control every time I went fishing…
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejI would put riggers on the boat so tall, I would have to call air traffic control every time I went fishing…
I believe the blinking lights on the tip tops would have to be red while at your slip and maybe white while you were moving?
Jerms works as an air traffic control guy. May want to PM him for the rules.
Luke 8:22-25