[spoiler][/spoiler]Ok, I want to post this topic here if it's OK. If not can tack it elsewhere. This is my attempt at making a rod rack, The Rowdy way lol. Heck first thing was I wanted something I could remove easy enough and no holes in my boat. Tuff challenge right from the start for a bassboat.

I decided I could build said rod rack and mount it to the cleat of the boat. Heck this Triton has heavy aluminum backing plates all glassed in and is more than strong enough, I have lifted more than a few boats with straps from the 4 cleats on a boat. Why could I not be able to mount a rod rack, simple enough after getting the removable part, least so I thought...

Well as it turns out the cleat while works great for a rope to tie off your boat, doesn't work at all to mount a removable rod rack. So after I get the rod rack all built to fit the cleat on my boat, I get to build a better cleat that will serve double duty...

new stainless steel 316L cleat

Made this from some 13/16" solid stainless 316L round rod I have... I also took the 10-24 tapped mounting holes in the gunnel of my boat to a 12-24 size, bigger is always better lol... Here is the new cleat mounted to the stern, starboard side.

Mounted Cleat

Next had to rework my rod rack base to better fit the new cleat, which was not a big deal, just more of a irritation from the fact the oem cleat was not ever going to support a removable rod rack. Here is a pic of the modified base U-bolted to the new cleat.

base mounted to cleat

base mounted


Here is a view for the rack and how it's indexed on the stern, starboard side.






Then this last one has two of the actual rod holders I bought at Cabela's and I must say not impressed with them at all.
I have these pix all cropped down and they are losing what I wanted you guys to see. Least here on the rod holders and how I drilled and tapped them in this 2" aluminum tubing... I have more to do with better cropping of my pix. So more to come later.

Rowdy! Did you fab all that from scratch. Dude you have some mad skills! Very nicely done...

Wow, that is impressive!



You could lock me in a garage with a 100 power tools for a week and I couldn't do that. I admire you guys who have these skills.

That is a pro job for sure.

Thanks guys, I have somewhat had more trouble tacking up pix of all this than I have building the stuff lol. I am going to use it as is once or twice before doing anything else, but I am thinking I want something that might hold up the fish to shoot pix of before releasing them. I have ran into issues trying to do that before.

I am not so keen on the rod holders I bought at Cabela's either, I bought four of these and I don't really like how the rod comes in and out of it, I hope they work better than my first impressions are. I made some rod racks 30 years ago that are made for bank fishing. These have worked so much better, unless I really warm up to these with on the water testing, I may be buying some stainless bolts and some solid stainless round round rod and weld some of my own to replace these. Just thought these would be OK and something I wouldn't have to make... Guuurrrr

Some of the pix I have to tack up here might give some of you ideas to build or modify your own. I like to see and or hear what you guys like, want and/or need. We all help each other with stuff like this. Hope it's OK I put this thread here as you guys use stuff like this more than most I feel and was really wanting any input good or bad from you guys here.

These 6 pix are of the solid round 316L stainless I cut parts out of to make a cleat. These are just the parts before welding them up. I never thought the oem cleat would have never worked. Guess I could have figured this out on the lake with a few of my sticks in the rack, that could have been really bad. As it was, I bolted the rack down and gave the rack a tug and it wouldn't stay up right. So, here we go like this lol...

The raw aluminum will be painted just not sure what yet though, but in raw format as is, you get this nasty lead looking stuff all over you the more you handle it. Just need to see what changes I need before like powder coating or whatever I end up doing to seal this all off. I like the aluminum color enough, but not opposed to having it hard anodized a burnt bronze either. So you guys throw stuff at me on that to if you like plz...

Here it's in the beginning of fit up to the oem cleat, fab the angle of the break in the base and getting the angle of the rod slightly off the starboard tail and it placed just right for the anchor light to light this all up if out at dark thirty. Got me a new high performance led bulb on the anchor light stick too.

Rowdy, like I said, you have some skills when it comes to this stuff. I made some rod racks for my old boat out of 3/4" black pipe and they served me well. When I got my new boat I got a set of Mul-T-Bar rod racks and they are industrial strength for sure. The best, most adjustable design and paired with the smackdown rod holders I just love 'em. There are other good ones out there. Monster, Fish Bite, Bee Ready to name a few but I am really happy with mine. They were not cheap but they will outlast everything else on my boat, including the boat!

Second point, I am not a tinkerer as you seem to be. I want to fish, not build fishing stuff. I have been sitting at my desk tying rigs while on conference calls so I will have them ready when I hit the water but I don't have the patience to fab, test fit, fab some more... etc. I just wanna fish. I admire guys like you who can picture something in your head and them make it a reality...

CT,

I have seen the Monster rod holders, online only, like the look of those, these I bought are Driftmaster. These would not be such a problem if they were bolted down to pipe or tubing that is half the size of my 2" tubing, or maybe even some really nice heavy flat bar or some angle aluminum. I built everything here with hand tools, drill and a hand held bandsaw, sander and a welding machine. The rod holders I just thought I would buy lol, I am laughing about that now...

What is happening with these I drilled and tapped the tubing and once the length of the stud goes through 2" and then enough to lock in place with a nut on the bottom side, the rod holder doesn't have enough room left to get the rod in and out of the holder.

Now I admit on all my rod butts, I have "The Balancer" slipped on. These make the butt of the rod bigger and enough so these rod holders will not allow the rod to slide in or out, you need to use the cut to come in or out. I guess if push comes to shove, I could remove the rod Balancer, but these things are some really slick stuff once setup correctly and it really does the trick to balance the weight of the tip of the rod. Makes casting them much easier, but really changes the whole feel of the rod when holding it and trying to feel the slightest bites. With the Balancer on my Gloomis GLX sticks I tell everyone I can feel the fish looking at my bait lol...

So my problem with these rod holders is my own doing, by wanting the 2" tubing for the cross bar to mount the holders as well as wanting the Balancer on my sticks. So we will have a water test and see how these work. Ultimately the last thing you want is having a hard time getting the rod out of the holder while fighting a fish.

Rowdy, The Smackdown rod holders I use are wider and they come with a 8" stem. I think they would solve both of your problems...

Very nice work.

I made an easy backyard one a few years ago for my tin boat. I didn't want to drill holes in the boat as I was just playing with my drifting set up.

Mounted a seat pedestal base to a piece of 1/4" 3x3 aluminum angle. Then mounted the rod holders in the top of the angle. It fits is in the rear deck seat mount and spans across the rear of the boat. On each end of the bar I have a piece of paracord that I tie off to the factory boat cleats to keep it from spinning.

Works great as it also gives me a place to tie off my drift sock to the pedestal for drifting.

Thinking about refining it and redoing it, but have too many things going on to get into the shop.

I do want to change out the academy rod holders as they are a pain to get rods in and out of at times.

Well, loaded the boat and all sorts of stuff I didn't need lol, headed to the lake yesterday just before dark. Yep dark thirty, didn't plan it that way, it just happened that way. Yesterday was really nice day here, and last night was awesome as well, least till 2:00am, the humidity came up so abruptly that if it had started to rain I would not have gotten any wetter lol.

The rod holders are not going to ever win me over, I just had to go splash the boat and float around and get away and what better excuse than to need to see how my rod rack would work. It was all I needed. The rod holders are going away and something else is going to replace them. I wouldn't like them if they were bolted to flat surface and/or taller to make better clearance to clear the handle of the rod. That just about all I will say about them for now anyway.

I shot a couple of pix while there, the full moon and the night mode on my cell phone camera makes it almost look like day out, if I hold it still enough. You guys can have a look see at that since I never once even lost a bait, which was frozen shad. I was going to stay down there so of today as well to better hunt for our fair skinned fish, but things started to get so wet and hazy, I didn't won't to get caught up the lake into the river portion where I was in the dark and have really heavy fog roll in.

Just to many stumps and by 5:00am I felt the fog was right on me so I fished my way back to the ramp. It allowed me enough time to get all the darn stuff I just felt compelled to take, cleaned and put back up before it started to rain a little here. We need the rain really bad as the lake is just a few inches shy of 10' low, hence all those cedar stumps I didn't want to braille my way back to the ramp in the fog lol.

So bottom line, no fish pix, no story about even the one that got away lol. Just a great trip on the lake and a beautiful night.

Edit: well apparently the pix I shot last not are not allowed to be tacked up here for whatever reason. May be that night mode I shot these in and if not that, I have no idea lol. Sorry guys, I had two really neet looking pix...

^ maybe no pix but that is a story for sure!

Hey Rowdy, I am going to pm you my mobile number, and you can send me the pictures if you would like and I will post them up for you in this thread. I store my pictures on a SmugMug hosting site so I don't use the TXFF site software.

I am always nervous when I go out and it's dark! I worry about logs/timber, getting bit by a snake, falling in, my boat not starting and my boat sinking lol!

PS I think CT was right on the money with the Smackdown rod holders fwiw.

Nice job!

BCB,

Just got the pm, thanks for the offer. Heck when I first got on this site many years ago, I started using shutterfly and I have been ever since, but for some reason I still have problems lately getting things to tack up. I have usually posted a hyperlink to the pix but they were a good pic and I thought it was not using up the bandwidth of the tff, heck I sure don't want to jack that up at all.

Anyway I have yet to figure how you guys post some of the best pix for all to check out, then you guys really set the bar and catch all these freaking monster fish on top of that lol. I use to catch fish is all I can say anymore lol. Heck not even the story of the one that got away lol.

Anyway thanks for the offer