i believe this topic may have been covered already but my father and i are putting a 27cc polar back together and he got 18’ riggers for it. once extended they have a noticeable curve to them and seem flimsy. is it safe to run in somewhat rough conditions with them extended? and if they can be extended running what angle should they be locked at?
~LiVe LiFe On ThE EdGe~
180 GRADYWHITE
150 YAMI
I have 15’ taco grand slamers and we don’t run with them extended…they are aluminum, and while strong, they are realitively thin metal. We always pull em in if we are picking up and running somewhere.
Hey BC,
I run 18’ Tacos in GrandSlam 350 bases.
They state in the instructions - to retract when running and elevate to 45* position. They do sag quite a bit and ya need to watch that they don’t grab a wave when trolling. I found that Hal-locks keep the clips from migrating back to the boat. I also added a tiny stainless / plastic pully to the end of the rigger to make running the lines out easier.
The first mahi season my bases needed several adjustments. By Father’s Day the bases were in a box going back for internal repairs.
Got turned around quickly but something that expensive should not need to be returned. Luckily I was able to separate the bases from the soft top without damaging the ‘canvas’.
The cleats they provided for the rigging while retracted were useless. I haven’t shopped for an alternative method just yet.
The poles are in the garage unless I fish with at least 1 other person capable to assist with the deploying of them. (I don’t want to fall overboard and have to grab a teaser to keep from missing out on a day of fishing)
My old GW had 12’ Lees in the gunwhale and they lasted for years and they only got laid down when trailering.
good luck, dg
we have always run with them extended and never had a problem,i have broke alot of things on the boat but never an out rigger…
The 18 footers are garbage. I’ve broken 3 of them already. I did some research on the internet and a lot of people who bought the 18’s traded them in for the 15’s and were much happier. I’ll probably do the same when I am forced to by new ones.
I used to run with them “extended”, but laying down. Never had a problem.
Big Country- I have the 18’s on my boat and for a while it was constant pain figuring out how to rig them so they didn’t ever get tangled or flex to much when running. George Poveromo gave me the solution. Run a single hal-lock pulley off the long and one off the short on each side. You will be able to bring the riggers in no problem and wrap the excess line around your t top( usually up to the bow, back to the stern and then halfway up again. Clip the snap swivel on the t top canvas or something else. You can run with the riggers in and have everything organized and easy to undo or run with them out and have the line pulled down tight and clipped somewhere. Running the longs and shorts off individual pulleys rather than a triple or double makes the world of difference b/c you can stretch each line individually to ensure that the riggers stay tight and everything is organized. As skinnej says, they do flex alot and if you aren’t careful and organized they will break easy.
thanks for the input fellas. its greatly appreciated and will take all of it into consideration and will give some input once we get the boat running!
~LiVe LiFe On ThE EdGe~
180 GRADYWHITE
150 YAMI