Angling a downrigger?

Is there any reason why I could not angle the orientation of a downrigger (aft or stern) to reduce the distance of the arm and pulley from the kayak? I'm still a bit of a downrigger novice but I just want to avoid cutting down the arm like some others have. 

That's pretty much how I run my downrigger.  I like to have the line running as close to the side of the kayak as possible, so I just turn it a bit in the Scotty mount so that arm is pointing towards the bow.

This is what I would do if cutting down the arm isn't an option.

I agree with bsteves and Justin that you want to position the cable and pulley right next to the side of your kayak, in order to minimize the effect of the drag from the weight and cable on the tracking of your kayak.  Mounting the downrigger pointing forward or backward at an angle is the way to achieve that position.  You also want to locate the pulley and cable where you can easily reach the downrigger release when clipping in your fishing line.

When using a downrigger on a kayak, there is no reason for having a long boom.  A long boom increases the stress which the downrigger places on the hull of your kayak, it can get in the way of paddling and playing fish, and it can make it harder to reach your downrigger weight and release.  It's real easy to shorten the boom of a downrigger which has a cable spool which is mounted vertically, i.e. on edge.  On the Cannon Lake-Troll, for example, shortening the boom is a ten minute project.  It's pretty hard to shorten the boom of a downrigger which has a cable spool which is mounted horizontally, such as the Scotty Lake Troller or Scotty Depthmaster, because if you shorten the boom, the pulley ends up being positioned below the level of the cable spool, and the cable will be bent over the rim of the spool.  Some creativity and do-it-yourself skills are required to raise the pulley or re-direct the cable if you shorten the boom of a downrigger with a horizontal cable spool.

Pete pretty much nailed it, but I will add/clarify one more thing. Angling a full length boom forward or backward WILL reduce the side pull (help your kayak track straight), but it will NOT reduce the amount of stressful torque placed on your hull where the downrigger is mounted. The only way to do this is to reduce the length of the boom (i.e. shorten the lever arm).

What kind of DR do you have? Here's a pic of my  Scotty Depthmaster with the boom shortened. The DR line (80-lb braid) hangs just a few inches from hull. Works like a charm.

Shortening the boom was actually pretty easy. I'd be happy to give some details about how I did it, if you're interested.

Shortening the boom was actually pretty easy. I'd be happy to give some details about how I did it, if you're interested.

Revisiting this old thread. I just bought a Scotty 1050 to mount on my Revo 13 and would be interested in hearing details about shorting the boom.

1. How much to cut off? Stock boom is 23"
2. Which end did you cut off?
3. Related to #2, is the pulley plug easily removed?

My preference would be to cut off the pulley end so I don't have to drill another hole in the boom where it mounts to the base, but would consider it if cutting the pulley end is going to get messy (i.e. shoddy looking). Also, I've read that relocating the pulley higher is not necessarily required when using braid as it slides through the cable guide easily and therefore shouldn't fray.

Cheers,
Aaron

Shown below is a picture of how I raised the pulley on a Scotty Depthmaster downrigger.  If you have a downrigger with a horizontal cable spool, I think that using a cable guide to redirect your braided downrigger line into a lowered pulley will put a lot of wear on the downrigger line, and I think that it's better to raise the pulley so it's in line with the cable spool.  However, AlexB and several other members of the forum have apparently been using the cable guide solution, and haven't reported having any problems with it.  Hopefully they will see this thread and give you a report on how the cable guide solution worked out in the long run.

I've been using a Cannon Lake-Troll downrigger, which has a vertical cable reel, since 2014, and I like it a lot.  It's simple to shorten the boom on a Cannon Lake-Troll.  I posted a description of how I set up my Revolution for downrigger trolling with the Cannon Lake-Troll at https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=12575.msg138905#msg138905.

Thanks pmmpete, your posts have been invaluable in my decision to undertake this project. I seriously considered the Cannon after reading your posts, but ultimately decided on the Scotty because of the line counter and my familiarity/comfort of using the Scotty brake from many years of using Scotty electrics on PBs.

When you raised the pulley on your Scotty 1050 did you end up removing the pulley plug in the end of the boom or just cut it in the middle and reusing the plug portion for the short upper piece of the boom?

Regarding the mount, I am going the gear track route, but am torn whether to use a single 12" piece of GT90 or two shorter tracks on either side of the cup holder. I was originally leaning toward a single piece for greater rigidity, but as mentioned by G-Force in the NorCal forum (post linked below) it would in fact overlap part of the cupholder. While this wouldn't be a big deal and I could easily use two pieces of backing plate,  I'm now thinking the section of gear track that overlaps the back of the cup holder might obstruct the insertion of the stabilizing board of the mount that fits into the cup holder (i.e. I would be hard pressed to slide the whole assembly straight down over the T bolts).  Any thoughts and/or opinions are welcome.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=71837.0

-Aaron

SeatownYak, I did the Scotty Depthmaster modification way back in 2013, and I can't remember how I handled mounting the raised pulley.  I didn't take any pictures of that part of the setup while I was constructing it.  Sorry.

G-Force's setup looks excellent.  He did two things I would do if I was mounting another downrigger on a Revolution: (a) I would install the mount on a gear track, rather than using the sealed nuts inside the gunwale which I used, which were complicated to construct, install, and line up, and (b) I would use the Scotty slide-in base on the mount. to make it easier to take the downrigger on and off while you're on the water.  For example, before coming back in through surf you could slide the downrigger out of the base and stick it inside the front hatch of your Revolution.

If you want to install your downrigger mount on a single piece of gear track, you could cut a notch in the inside edge of the gear track for the block which goes into the cup holder.  But I don't think that using a single piece of gear track would be any more rigid than using two pieces like G-Force did. 

The area inside the gunwales of Revolutions is so narrow and arched that it's a challenge to install gear on the gunwales with nuts and bolts.  Consider using a gear track which has two rows of holes and can be mounted from the outside with screws, like the YakAttack 1.75 gear track.

Here’s my no-hole/no-cutting (for the boat and the downrigger) solution for my PA14

For my Outfitter, I cut the arm, used 90 Degree angle (Bimini top part), and found the need for a pulley wheel to make the the line lays right on the spool. Mounting a 4” strip of ABS plastic on the side of the kayak makes mounting stuff much easier.