I am putting together my first crate for my Native Slayer 12.5 and I saw an old thread where someone had mounted fold-down rod holders behind the seat. This got me thinking about expanding on that same idea but going quite a few steps further.

I want to mount 5 or 6 rod tubes to the back of an 18 3/4" wide rectangular crate. I want to mount them to a base in a way that would allow them to all pivot at the bottom to lay flat all at the same time with the rod tips pointing to the rear of the kayak. I want to add some sort of spring that would pull the assembly toward the "down" position and have a cord ran up the side of the hull to the seat that I can pull to bring them to the "up" position. I plan on using a couple of small j-hooks mounted to the track, one to hold some tension on the assembly while in the "down" position to help avoid rattling and another to hold the assembly in the "up" position when switching rods.

My goal is to have all my rods in the holders, laid flat when not in use. When I want to switch rods, pull the cord and stand them all up, swap rods, and then lay them all back down so they are out of the way. I fish in some tight spots with overhanging trees sometimes and also tend to make big overhead casts in some situations and thought this would help avoid snags/damage. I have seen the LaidBack Kayak Rack and this is exactly what I am trying to do. It's nice but seems a little over-complicated and I don't have a compatible crate for it.

My questions:
1. Has anyone here done anything like this successfully?
2. What did you use to make the rotating/pivoting rod holder base?
3. Am I completely overthinking this whole deal and searching for a solution to a problem that isn't there?


2020 Native Slayer Max Propel 12.5
Tank Well Width: Tapered from about 21" behind seat to about 20" a couple of feet back.

I already do something similar - but much more ghetto for my crate. I bolted the bottom of the rod holders to the crate... then run a bungee through the top that is off set to both attach the top of the rod holder to the crate and create some "locking" on the rod in the holder to hold it in place. Depending on the water i fish i adjust the angle of the rod holders to meet conditions from vertical to 45 degrees back. Never needed to move it during actual kayaking - but i could technically attach some para to the holders to pull them up and down - though i'd have to watch that the rods are so "locked" in by the bungee that they either prevent it from moving or damage the handles via bungee burn.

Multiple ways to do it. Potentially risky to do this on a large scale. Could do it on a small scale easily (one rod on each side of the kayak with a gear track and paddle holders)--see video

One way would be to mount five 1-2 inch strips of gear track (you can DIY a gear track see pic below) onto a flat level surface (ex: HDPE cutting board) that mounts with hinges onto the top of the crate.
Then, mount five gear track YakAttack paddle holders (see pic) onto the the individual tracks.
The entire system goes vertical or horizontal by pulling up or down on the back of the cutting board.

You could just buy the premade kayak gear track material in 2 inch strips (expensive)
or just make and cut your own to length. see video

If you make your own gear track pieces, you might have to buy T bolts that are thinner than the ones on most Scotty or YakAttack mounts (the head on those might be too thick to slide into the DIY track)

Easier and cheaper option (don't know how robust or durable these are, but might work well)

Use same HDPE cutting board hinge attached to crate to mount these rod holder clips (two per rod) I'd use the same ball bungee shock cords to double secure the rods in them.

Thank you for the replies. The hinged cutting board section is a great idea. I was way overthinking it and looking at all kinds of bearings and stuff to mount a rotating shaft.

I will post updates as I go in case anyone else ever wants to try it.

Keep in mind that screws don't really like to purchase onto HDPE.
Bolts through and then on the back side flat washer and a locking nut on the back side of the HDPE will work better to attach the hinge(s) that then attaches to the crate.
.....and then also to mount either the gear track or the rod clips whichever you like better.

After thinking about it some more and using the hinged HDPE board idea, I'd definitely use the YakAttak paddle holder to secure the bottom part of the rod with the bungee ball canopy cords (they look more robust than the rod clips).

You might be able to mount the Yak Attak paddle holder directly to the HDPE using a 1/4 inch X 1.5 inch hex bolt then washer then up through the HDPE, then just screw down the paddle holder (basically, the hex bolt takes the place of the T bolt. That way, you wouldn't have to mess around with mounting a track first--just directly mounting the paddle holder.

Then use one of those rod clips 20 inches or so above the paddle holder to secure the rod in two places.
According to amazon customers, size 6 and size 4 flat head bolts and corresponding washers and locking nuts are the fastener sizes that work with those rod clips.