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Looking for ideas on how to mount two cannon downriggers on my 1984 17 Montauk. Does anyone have any photos of mounts they have made or bought that have stood up well to some use?

They are manual so no need for power, but would like to attach them to the rail somehow and not drill any holes in the fiberglass. Thanks.

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Look at the last 2 pictures on my personal page.

I decided to go with the Scotty rail mounts that use the wood gunnel support. I typically use 10 pound weights and these mounts work awesome. The other alternative is to use the rail stanchion mount that both scotty and cannon make however you will be limited to a "T" section on your rail. Cannon does not make a gunnel support mount but I am sure you can modify it to work with cannon if that is what you prefer.

I like the rail mount with the gunnel support because almost all the downward force is transferred to the gunnel but I also like it because I can use the downrigger anywhere along the rail that I wish depending on how I want to set up my boat for that particular day. Everything tightens down rock solid and no holes drilled into your boat. I still prefer a Cannon Downrigger though...I hope I can get comfortable with these Scotty's soon. After using the cannon for so many years....these seem upside down and inside out but they did catch fish on the first trip out!!

I have 2 manual cannon downriggers for sale if you need them, with terminal swivels, rod holder, line counter, 24 inch composite booms, and 150' of stainless wire. They do not include the mount. $160 TYD.

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I have the Cannon Downriggers. From the factory they have a simple plastic mounting plate that does not swivel. Order a couple of those and figure on customizing. I would do something similar to JPB (he has Scotty's) and put a piece of material towards the outside of the gunnels railing to prevent it from swinging down (rigged on the outer portion of the Cannon mount). The mounting plate is a heavy plastic and you would have to drill it to accommodate a couple of U bolts counter sunk underneath. The U bolts would secure it to the railing. The non swivel mount is thick and durable that would allow customizing.

The trouble with the Cannon mount is it would be fixed. The Scotty's have the ability to swing up to get the arm out of the way. Without the swivel feature you would have to be careful with the Cannons. You might be able to use the swivels but they would be 4" above the railing.

I have 4 Cannon swivel mounts attached directly to my gunnels. They stand a good deal higher than the mounting plate mentioned above. Have them through bolted underneath my railing (1979 22' Revenge with teak gunnels). My custom railing is 17" above the gunnels.
Garris

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I have a custom mahogany unit that mounted on the rails and held 4 cannon downriggers. I will try to get some pictures of it and post them over the weekend.

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Thanks for the replies.

JPB, I already have two manual cannon downriggers but thanks for the offer on yours. I like that scotty mount with the wood support going down to the gunnel as well. Do you think it is possible to customize that mount so it will work with my cannon's? Hopefully this weekend i will be able to get my hands on one and see what I can come up with. Nice work on the fish, I have caught a few jigging but nothing using my downriggers yet hopefully this year.

Walt, that would be great if you can post some pic's like to get some more ideas.

Gchuba, I will take a look at those cannon mounts and see if they might just do the trick with some customizing.

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I have Scotty mounts on my 15 whaler, I will try and get some pics tonight before we leave for camping. Mine are made of Stainless steel and the mount is bolted to the top of the custom mount. I hang my scotty down riggers off the custom mounts with no problem, I also use an Ace Line Hauler on one for pulling prawn traps up 300 ft.

Ross

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I'm having issues with posting pictures. Tried to take pictures of the pictures from the 1980's and am just not happy with the outcome. I had two downrigger setups on my 1981 17' Sport. I used the first one for 3 seasons and then built the second and used it another 3 seasons fishing off of Chicago before I moved to Arkansas.

1) A solid oak plank sat on top of the side rails. Looks to be 1.5" x 8" by 8' long. Spacers the thickness of the handrail and another board under that. Clamped things together with carriage bolts. Not real elegant but functional. Mounted 4 Cannon manual downriggers on it; 1 outside the handrail and 1 inside on each side. Downriggers have 3' arms. This setup did put a slight bend in the handrails.

2) I used aluminum 1/4" x 2" in place of the oak. Added some pieces that went back then down to bolt to the transom on each side where the stern light mounts. This took away the bending force that was working on the handrails. I built a mahogany unit to cover the aluminum. The aluminum or mahogany by themselves would not have been strong enough. Added drawers and extra rod holders.

I can e-mail the pictures.

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Thanks again for the replies they gave me some good ideas to work with and try out.

Walt I believe I made my email address viewable so if you get some pics you can try email them to me.