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Posts: 410
Location: one foot over the line | Looking into the possibility of installing some of these on my nitro z7, mostly for rod holder purposes, other accesories, and an "oh %$#@ bar". In some areas i should have enough room to add some backing on the underside, which should make them very solid. In other areas i may not have that kind of room. I am wondering if anyone has installed any of these kinds of rails and how solid are they with or w/out backing? Any other pros and cons could be helpful also. thanks |
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Posts: 68
| I got mine from Cabela's and I must say they are of excellent quality. My boat is aluminum so not sure how much this will help. I used lock washers and nuts to fasten the rails down and they are pretty darn stout! On a glass boat backing is a superb idea. I would be a little leery of the set up on glass with no backing or nuts n washers.
PS- if using downeasters on the rails do yourself a favor and throw out the flimsy little rubber strips and go to the hardware store and pick up some clear vinyl(I think) tubing. Slit it, then wrap it around the rail, then tighten down your rod holders. They wont move on ya even trolling the heaviest of hitters! |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Having the downeasters move on the rail is the big advantage of rail mounting. You don't want them loose but you want to be able to rotate your rod angle fro tips in the water to tips high. Some movement in the holder will lessen strain on the rail mounts I would think.
Edited by horsehunter 3/5/2014 8:40 PM
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Location: 31 | horsehunter - 3/5/2014 8:35 PM
Having the downeasters move on the rail is the big advantage of rail mounting. You don't want them loose but you want to be able to rotate your rod angle fro tips in the water to tips high.
X2 on the DEs being able to rotate in and out of the water.
My Ranger rails were installed at the factory, and I have had zero problems, but it would be better if they were slightly taller… maybe a half-inch. If I was going to install new rails I would be putting a half-inch thick aluminum washer underneath the legs.
If you have a good machine shop near you they could easily machine them with counter sunk screw holes where they attach to the boat, and tapped holes for the rail mounts. You could have them designed so that the rails cover the boat screws so they couldn't loosen up.
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Posts: 410
Location: one foot over the line | Thanks all. I was concerned about the height issue also. According to their website, the clearance of the rail is 1.25 inches which seemed a little thin to me. Good idea with the washers. thanks again. |
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