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Bow railing vs. good fishing
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| Dogface |
Posted on 01/02/09 - 1:01 PM
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The PO of my Montauk 150 had the high bow railing installed. While it's safer, I guess, for family pleasure cruising I'm thinking it's gonna be a pain when fishing. I plan to try it though, just to see. My questions are these:
Are there bow mount trolling motors that will be compatible with the railing?
If I choose eventually to remove the railing, what's the best way to address the remaining holes in the gun whale? I was thinking just good quality sealant and plug the holes with round head SS Screws.
Thanks for advice...
Mark
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| Phil T |
Posted on 01/02/09 - 1:25 PM
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Mark - If you remove the rail, reinsert the bow rail screws with a dab of marine sealant (not 4200 or 5200) on the top of the shank and head so it oozes out a smidgen.
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| Grady95 |
Posted on 01/04/09 - 5:22 AM
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I fish primarily also with my boats. The bow rail on the Montauk for me is just plain in the way. I don't have it on mine any more. Some advantages of keeping it are that you can mount Perko rod holders on the rail for trolling, but you can just as easily do that on the side rails. One trick I have seen if you choose to leave the rail and use a bow mount trolling motor is to modify one section of rail so you can take it on or off as needed. Personally, for the effort and expense, I just take the rails off. You could get a low rise half rail system if you wanted something for passengers to grab onto while underway but again, you are subordinating the primary function of fishing.
Take it off and list it for sale! I'm sure it won't last long, and you can use the money to fund your upgrades. That's the nice thing about Whalers. They don't all have to be concourse restorations. Make it do what you want.
Good Luck,
Grady
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| Bob Kemmler JR |
Posted on 01/04/09 - 7:38 AM
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If you anchor a lot when you fish, it would be unwise to remove the railing. A stubbornly stuck anchor and snotty seas will have you wishing that railing was still there. I have gone back and forth on this very topic many times with myself and am going to keep mine on my 21. Might be a little tougher to throw the cast net, but the little offshore i will probably do is enough to make my mind up. I have talked to guys who tell me there are special mounts that allow you to keep railings and have a bow mounted elec trolling motor. I'll try and find that info for you.
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| flippa |
Posted on 01/07/09 - 7:23 PM
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I gotta agree with Bob to keep the rails. You will find it real handy when it is rough. I do alot of boating in rough stuff and use them constantly.
While they can be a pain at times, I would never loose my rails
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| bottomfish |
Posted on 01/07/09 - 11:57 PM
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I have a 1983 17' Montauk and had the same ideas about the rail being in the way. Thought about removing or modifying it but found a great way to leave everything in place and have a trolling motor as well. I bought the Minn Kota grafite shafted bow mount trolling motor. It has a small poly mount that you set the unit on and pin in place. To deploy just pull the lever and push the motor out until it clears the rail then drop in the water. To retreave just lift up to the rail pull under and slide in until it clicks back onto the mount. Very easy and light. All the weight is in the base and the motor no weight in the head or shaft making it very bow stress friendly. To remove just pull the pin and all that is left on the boat is a small poly block. Store in the garage until needed. Also the foot pedal has an 18' cord so it can be run from the rear of the boat so my boy can have the bow. Works great!
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| Dogface |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 9:52 AM
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Bottomfish and others,
Thanks for your input and suggestions. Actually the trolling motor mount was only part of my concern re: the rails. Another part is the possible PIA of landing fish thru/over those high rails. Maybe not a problem but those rails do seem really high. Most of my fishing will be inland lakes or Ca. Delta channels. The SF Bay does get rough to be sure but I have no plan to even go there, much less out the 'Gate'. I only bought the boat in Sept and have not really had a chance to fish yet as the Ca lakes are so low and I had a knee surgery which kept me laid up for a couple months. Up shot is, I don't know if the rails will be a problem or not...not yet.
I have contacted a local friend who is good at Stainless Steel work to possibly lower the rails some and eliminate the center portion over the bow entirely. While I have not made a final decision yet, that seems a decent option to help with the motor mount and landing fish, etc. Likely I'll try it as is first.
Mark
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| todd12 |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 11:16 AM
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Dogface,
If you do decide to remove the railings, take a look at my personal page and the photobucket link. I have a fixed bow mount minn kota motor.
Thanks,
Todd
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| Dogface |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 11:57 AM
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bottomfish wrote:
I have a 1983 17' Montauk and had the same ideas about the rail being in the way. Thought about removing or modifying it but found a great way to leave everything in place and have a trolling motor as well. I bought the Minn Kota grafite shafted bow mount trolling motor. It has a small poly mount that you set the unit on and pin in place. To deploy just pull the lever and push the motor out until it clears the rail then drop in the water. To retreave just lift up to the rail pull under and slide in until it clicks back onto the mount. Very easy and light. All the weight is in the base and the motor no weight in the head or shaft making it very bow stress friendly. To remove just pull the pin and all that is left on the boat is a small poly block. Store in the garage until needed. Also the foot pedal has an 18' cord so it can be run from the rear of the boat so my boy can have the bow. Works great!
Fish,
Can you give me anymore info on the motor you bought.. model number or web site with pics, etc. Sounds good. I have been lurking on another thread where motors are discussed and the 55 vs 70 lb thrust and 12 vs. 24 volt. Not sure my console has room for two more batts but the 24v seems a better all round choice. I'll be going to the Sacramento Sports/Boat show next week and can likely learn a lot there.
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| Bob Kemmler JR |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 3:38 PM
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Can't you just fish out of the back of the boat or walk the 14 feet or so from the front of the back to land a really big fish? My buddys rag on me for keeping the railings on my 21 project, but I just tell them if they were better fisherman they would be able to work the fish, not the other way around. lol
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| Dogface |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 4:18 PM
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True enough... The trolling motor was the bigger question and that seems to be solved...at least by many here.
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| Royboy |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 5:08 PM
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I have high bow railings on my 17 Outrage and they always seem in the way while fishing up there. This Summer I had the "opportunity" to fish without the railings due to a storm that dropped a huge tree branch on my bow railing, thus smashing it to smitherenes. It took most of the Summer to have a new one fabricated, and so I fished without it all Summer. I found it nice most of the time, except when out on the Great Lakes where it gets quite rough. We anchor for perch on Lake Erie, which is known for getting very rough very quick and this Summer was no exception. For those times, the bow railing was worth it's weight in gold. I also attach my planer board reels to my bow rails, so I was glad to get my rail back for that as well (I don't have side rails) . If I were fishing inland lakes only, and didn't use planer boards, I'd be inclined to go without the bow rail.
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| Fishmore |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 6:57 PM
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I fish in Northern CA Lakes and around the Bay area, and out to Pyramid lake in NV. I do not have bow rails on my 17. My friend however does have bow rails on his 17. My fishing style is trolling mostly and some casting, flyfishing and bait drifting. I rarely anchor. While in some ways I like the idea of having the railing for safety in rough seas standpoint. The thing I like most about not having the railing is ease of access at the dock and ease of access to pull up on the shore and step over the bow. My friend fished my boat a couple of times this year and is now thinking about removing his rail.
If I were you I would take the boat out a few times with the rail. Then remove it and go fishing a few times without it and see what works best for you. Once you cut the rail there is no going back so I would wait on doing the cut down if I were you. However that might be a good compromise.
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| scottfarm |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 7:08 PM
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There is no good fishing with the bow rail on. PITA to deal with anchor. If you are a real fisherman, take it off.
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| Tom W Clark |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 8:30 PM
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I tend to agree with Scott. Bow rails are great for some situations and lousy for others. Beaching the boat and fishing from the bow are two situations where you do not want a bow rail.
The sensible thing to do is remove it, seal the holes with caulk and store the rail. If you do not like not having it, then you can reinstall it or modify it to meet your needs.
If you cut and weld it now, there is no easy way to go back.
I have owned three Montauks. The first two did not have bow rails because the rails did not serve my needs. In fact they got in the way of them.
The first Montauk I bought new and I insisted I did not want screw holes where the bow rail was so the dealer had to order me a bare hull and build the Montauk from that.
The second boat I bought used and immediately removed and stored the bow rail. I filled the screw holes with gel coat patch paste and buffed the area out. You could not tell there had been a bow rail without a VERY close examination.
When I sold that boat, the new owner wanted the bow rail back on so I took it off the shop wall and reinstalled it. Everybody was happy.
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| bottomfish |
Posted on 01/08/09 - 11:29 PM
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Dog, I just pulled the motor and all railings off the boat tonight so I can't get a recent pic. Gonna flip her and remove the bottom pant. I attached a pic of it mounted on the boat. It deploys under the rail. Very easy to do.
Can't seem to attach the pic. PM me with your e-mail address and I will send you some pics.
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| WhalerDan |
Posted on 01/09/09 - 9:01 AM
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If you frequently boat alone, I think the safety factor of the railings is important. Gives you something to steady yourself when nature calls.
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