heads up on gear tracks!

was fishing in the salt last weekend(very spur of moment trip)at sunset bay, had my rod in rod holder--- locked in while i went to light a smoke. looked back and rod with float was sinking about 4 foot under and  still in the rod holder( float was too light to float rod holder too.) the gear head tab broke sending my rig overboard. the tab or whatever its called was in the gear track, all else gone. so u might want to do what i`ll be doing and leash the rod holder down. i got very lucky and was able to fish my rig back. dam 3 dollar piece  of hardware almost cost me over 300 in rod/reel/rod holder!   this is a pic(thanks Neeko!) of me getting rig back with my other rod/reel, so happy/lucky to see it!

Glad you got it back.  I was using a Scotty rod holder on the Willamette two years ago.  It was the kind you yank the rod up and out when you get a fish on. I forgot to do the "rotate a half turn" you do with the Scotty rod holders when inserting into the base. I yanked the rod out and watched the rod holder fly up into the air and splash out of reach.  It was pretty damn funny, but pricey. Now I buy the locking bases.  I also leash the rods to the yak.

yup i leash rods but not while i am actually fishing em. i stuck it in the rod holder with fishing line and all reeled up, turned to light my smoke turned back and all was gone.

... the gear head tab broke sending my rig overboard. the tab or whatever its called was in the gear track, all else gone. ...

I can't really picture what part you're describing.  Can you maybe take a pic of it or post a link to a pic of the piece?

pic 1 is the whole rod holder rig.
pic 2 is new gear head on left and the one that broke on the right the tab stud sheared, i do not know why guess its time had come.

Ah yes, that makes sense.  Yeah, I use a pair of the Mighty Mounts and a regular Scotty base for my track mounted forward rod holder.  Much more solid, no need to over-tighten.  It does take up more space but I think it's a fair trade off for the strength it provides.

Being someone that fiddles with metal quite often and can see where stress risers could occur, I am surprised we haven't seen more of those bolts break already given the way folks load them up with so much leverage.
Those that use the long extensions below their rod holders are really working with borrowed time with that setup. 

If a stainless bolt get stressed, it won't relax unless properly annealed with heat. 
If they remained stressed, or get stressed back and forth they will work harden, reducing their ability to flex and eventually break. 

That minor rocking back and forth of the rod holder is telling you that something is continually being pivoted.
It may very well be just the play in everything, the rod holder extension itself, the Gear-trac base, or more importantly that tiny bolt asked to support all that leverage.

Being someone that fiddles with metal quite often and can see where stress risers could occur, I am surprised we haven't seen more of those bolts break already given the way folks load them up with so much leverage.
Those that use the long extensions below their rod holders are really working with borrowed time with that setup. 

If a stainless bolt get stressed, it won't relax unless properly annealed with heat. 
If they remained stressed, or get stressed back and forth they will work harden, reducing their ability to flex and eventually break. 

That minor rocking back and forth of the rod holder is telling you that something is continually being pivoted.
It may very well be just the play in everything, the rod holder extension itself, the Gear-trac base, or more importantly that tiny bolt asked to support all that leverage.

Yet another reason why I like the double mighty mount setup: two points of failure needed before my rod holder decides to go swimming.

Being someone that fiddles with metal quite often and can see where stress risers could occur, I am surprised we haven't seen more of those bolts break already given the way folks load them up with so much leverage.
Those that use the long extensions below their rod holders are really working with borrowed time with that setup. 

If a stainless bolt get stressed, it won't relax unless properly annealed with heat. 
If they remained stressed, or get stressed back and forth they will work harden, reducing their ability to flex and eventually break. 

That minor rocking back and forth of the rod holder is telling you that something is continually being pivoted.
It may very well be just the play in everything, the rod holder extension itself, the Gear-trac base, or more importantly that tiny bolt asked to support all that leverage.

Yet another reason why I like the double mighty mount setup: two points of failure needed before my rod holder decides to go swimming.

I'd still leash the rod holder as both of your bolts are going to see the same pivot point, and you may not know right away when the first one breaks.   

For some reason the ram mounts seem stronger.  But they are basically using the single bolt as well.

Ah yes, that makes sense.  Yeah, I use a pair of the Mighty Mounts and a regular Scotty base for my track mounted forward rod holder.  Much more solid, no need to over-tighten.  It does take up more space but I think it's a fair trade off for the strength it provides.

Ditto that.

For some reason the ram mounts seem stronger.  But they are basically using the single bolt as well.

Yes they do have a single point of connection, but the pivot point upon leverage is usually the ball itself. 
With that it's a double edged sword with RAM, as it is built with the ball as the pivot point, but also really can't get them cranked down tight enough in some occasions.  To me it is a safe compromise as I don't do the big extensions with my rod holders, so they hold solid enough for my use.

For some reason the ram mounts seem stronger.  But they are basically using the single bolt as well.

I used to use the 1.5" screwball with the single bolt as my trolling rod holder attachment point to the tracks for a while.  It failed right in the middle of a good salmon bite.  Hence, why I now use the Scotty base.  The screwballs are not meant for heavy use IMO.

"I use a pair of the Mighty Mounts and a regular Scotty base for my track mounted forward rod holder."

could u post pic of this setup?

"I use a pair of the Mighty Mounts and a regular Scotty base for my track mounted forward rod holder."

could u post pic of this setup?