--- Quote from: Fiskari on April 03, 2014, 04:45:15 PM ---Gear tracks are a great way to experiment with what works best for you. Also you've had that boat a long time for no holes Barb! --- End quote ---
I agree that gear tracks are great, because you can change the location of rod holders both from one day to the next, and during a day, to suit your needs.
"Rocket Launcher" style rod holders angle straight up from their base. In many other styles of rod holders, the handle or butt of the rod sticks down below the height of the rod holder. If you mount one of the second category of rod holders on your left gunwale next to your legs or feet with the rod sticking out to the left of your kayak, the handle of the rod will stick down towards your feet, and may get in your way. However, if you rotate that rod holder 180 degrees, so the rod goes across your kayak and sticks out on the right side of the kayak, the rod will be rising up as it crosses your legs, and you will have plenty of room under the rod for your legs. It'll also be easier to get the rod in and out of the rod holder, because you won't need to reach way out past the side of your kayak.
These issues are illustrated by the following picture. As you can see, there is plenty of room under the rod mounted on the left gunwale for me to pedal my Revolution, even though the rod holder is pretty low, and isn't raised on an extender. I avoid raising rod holders on extenders, because an extender increases the stress on the rod holder mount or gear track. However, if I rotated that rod holder 180 degrees, so the rod was sticking out to the left of my kayak, the handle of the rod would definitely get in the way of pedaling. The rocket launcher style rod holder mounted on the right gunwale angles up from right at the gunwale. If I moved that rod holder closer to me, it would run across my legs too low, and would interfere with pedaling. So when I position a rocket launcher style rod holder so the rod runs across my kayak, I need to install the rocket launcher in front of my feet, or it would get in the way of pedaling. I could install the rocket launcher pointing away from my kayak, but then I would need to reach a lot further to get my rod into and out of the rocket launcher.
Fishboy:
Wow, Pete, are you geared up or what!
pmmpete:
--- Quote from: Fishboy on November 10, 2015, 08:04:56 AM ---Wow, Pete, are you geared up or what! --- End quote --- I’ve made a couple of improvements to my outfitting since the date of the picture shown above:
1. I replaced the Scotty Depthmaster downrigger with a Cannon Lake-Troll downrigger. I like the performance and operation of the Cannon better, and it’s way easier to shorten the boom on the Cannon than the Scotty. For a description of how I mounted the Cannon on my Revolution, and and explanation of why I mounted it that way, see http://www.yakfisher.net/smffiles/index.php?topic=9918.0 .
2. I replaced the Scotty Gearhead track mount, which kept twisting out of position, with a fixed position base which I made myself. For a description of this base, and an explanation of how you can easily make your own equipment which mounts on gear tracks, see http://www.yakfisher.net/smffiles/index.php?topic=9917.0 .
Here’s a picture of how the front of my Revolution looks now:
Here’s a picture showing what I have on the back of my Revolution.
Smitty:
Wanted to share how I installed my flush mount rod holder on my 2016 Outback. I felt like it was a long stretch to put it forward of the built in and I was trying to figure out how to use the space in the little built in tray on my left. The lowrance ready plug takes up a lot of space. I pulled the plug and realized that if I trimmed a corner off the flush mount base it would fit in the pre-drilled hole. So that is what I did. I did have an issue with the rod holder hitting the gunnel because it was so low. I ended up buying an 18" extension (30 dollars, way over priced) which corrected the issue. It now fits nicely and leaves that side clean when not installed. Turned out to be a fairly pricey rod holder, but it does look good and make use of the space.