Railblaza meets RAM

So, when I acquired my AI from Zee last year it came with a set of Railblaza mounts on the aka's.  At the time I didn't have any Railblaza products to use on these, so I removed them and put them on the shelf. 

Fast forward nearly a year and I finally put things together but with a twist.  I have been using RAM products nearly exclusively since I went with a Hobie.  I really like the adjustability that RAM offers so I have a lot of it.

I took one of the Railblazas apart recently and noticed that the two bolt holes look oddly familiar in gap.  I reached for a 1.5" RAM ball with a 2.5" base and held it over the Railblaza.  Damn if I didn't know any better I'd say I eyeballed that pretty good. Perfect alignment!   The only mod to the RAM base was to drill two of the holes slightly larger up to 1/4" to match the Railblaza bolts.

After dinking around with it a bit, I came to the conclusion it needed better bolts as the 1/4-28 x 2.5" Phillips head bolts were tough to get tight without jinxing the head up. This led me to 1/4-20 x 3" Cap head bolts along with a set of washers and Nylocs.  All stainless of course.  With that, it is always good to smear a dab of anti-seize compound anytime you are putting together stainless nut/bolt combos to avoid galling that can happen with stainless to stainless hardware. 

Anywho, back to the project.
I got things fitted up and put a wrap of grip tape down where I wanted the Railblaza/RAM combo to locate on the aka. Bolted everything down good and snug, mounted up a rod holder and pulled and tugged on it to see if there was anything I missed.

Nope!  All is good, now to do the other side.

Take a looky at the pics and see if this may work for you as well.

More...

Genius , absolutely  genius, way to stay on the ball. Not familiar with the boat are those mounted on the outriggers or "Amas" I think there called.   

And for the record you AI/TI guys, yes I lined the trampoline up to the aka and made sure that the Railblaza was centered between webbing/clip connections.   

Genius , absolutely  genius, way to stay on the ball. Not familiar with the boat are those mounted on the outriggers or "Amas" I think there called.

Yes and no. 

Yes they are mounted on the outrigger arms (aka), No they are not mounted to the outrigger itself (ama). 

Examples from the net of the normal Railblaza use.

Genius , absolutely  genius, way to stay on the ball. Not familiar with the boat are those mounted on the outriggers or "Amas" I think there called.

Yes and no. 

Yes they are mounted on the outrigger arms (aka), No they are not mounted to the outrigger itself (ama).

So I'm picturing them on the bars between the outrigger and the hull  can't wait to see that thing in action got to see one in the bay Friday.

Genius , absolutely  genius, way to stay on the ball. Not familiar with the boat are those mounted on the outriggers or "Amas" I think there called.

Yes and no. 

Yes they are mounted on the outrigger arms (aka), No they are not mounted to the outrigger itself (ama).

So I'm picturing them on the bars between the outrigger and the hull  can't wait to see that thing in action got to see one in the bay Friday.

Look up....

Genius , absolutely  genius, way to stay on the ball. Not familiar with the boat are those mounted on the outriggers or "Amas" I think there called.

Yes and no. 

Yes they are mounted on the outrigger arms (aka), No they are not mounted to the outrigger itself (ama).

So I'm picturing them on the bars between the outrigger and the hull  can't wait to see that thing in action got to see one in the bay Friday.

Shannon,
That was fun hanging out with you in Tillamook bay with the Tandem Island. Big winds for the maiden voyage, but great day. Caught 3 crabs too.
Craig,
Those railblazers re sweet. I also like the haka bench's. Did you already make those or did Bryce have them?

Genius , absolutely  genius, way to stay on the ball. Not familiar with the boat are those mounted on the outriggers or "Amas" I think there called.

Yes and no. 

Yes they are mounted on the outrigger arms (aka), No they are not mounted to the outrigger itself (ama).

So I'm picturing them on the bars between the outrigger and the hull  can't wait to see that thing in action got to see one in the bay Friday.

Shannon,
That was fun hanging out with you in Tillamook bay with the Tandem Island. Big winds for the maiden voyage, but great day. Caught 3 crabs too.
Craig,
Those railblazers re sweet. I also like the haka bench's. Did you already make those or did Bryce have them?

The pics of the yellow and red Islands were off the interweb for Shannon to get an idea where the Railblazas go.  Mine is dune colored and don't have hakas (yet).   

Very nice! I don't like "mounts on mounts on mounts" (ex. Scotty base on mighty mounts on a gear track). This Franken-mount, I do like very much! I have honestly never looked at Railblaza products just because I don't like the name. If I had an AI or TI I'd have been missing out!

Nice write up. Ill need to use this idea for my attachments.