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Electric downriggers

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boggle

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So I'm pretty new to down rigging. My father and I have used the manual riggers on his boat with some success. I get the whole process & how to set up rigs. He just bought a new boat and we want to get electric downriggers. My main question is what do I need?? Obviously the downriggers & weights, what else?? I've done a little research, but I know there are some veterans on here that can help me out. Thanks!

TyeeTanic

TyeeTanic

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Well for starters, the obvious thing is power, and that will be one of two of the biggest jobs in installing an electric rigger.  Firstly you should get a plug and receptacle kit for the electric downrigger. This way you can unplug it and even take it off the boat when it's not in use.  You will have to run the right gauge wire to handle the amps and distance - can't remember what amps, but I think 30A is what I based my cable on, with a 20A inline fuse. The cable can go directly onto your battery auxillary posts, and the fuse should be on the live wire (red), as close to the battery as possible (say 1 foot from post). Run wire to wear you want to put the receptacle and secure. Make sure receptacle is in a place where the rigger cable can reach the receptacle without it being tight (pulling).

 

Do you have a place to mount the rigger? Are you considering a pivoting/rotating seat? I would. If ou want to adjust the angle of the rigger, it's best to have a rotating seat.  These are made specific to the brand of rigger you have (what do you have?).  You can also mount the rigger on a track with a rigger mount pedastol. You should think about what is going to be the easiest and give you the strength to handle as large a weight as possible (I don't like anything less than a 12 lb weight, hopefully your rigger can handle that).  Ensure it's mounted in a strong place, reinforce if necessary. A few guys have seen their riggers sink down to the bottom of the lake, with half their gunwale attached. Major repairs to do after that.  Also mount it in a way that it doesn't obstruct anything like other rod holders, your engine, your canvas (should be able to close the canvas up if you have one, even if you take it off, make sure the swivel base which says on does not obstruct it).

 

That's probably enough for you to digest for now ... we can talk about rigger snubbers, connectors/clips, cable, etc another time.

J.D.

J.D.

Posted
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If it's in your budget, the best method is to mount a section of track. This allows movement of riggers and rod holders as the setups change during the fishing season. I use different rod holder positions in the spring for shallow board fishing than I do for riggers and wire divers later in the season.  Nothing worse than mounting riggers and rod holders to the boat, only to find out later they are not in the right location. Tracks offer infinite changes to the setup without drilling a ton of holes.......... ask me how I know..... ;(  ;(

 

Just my $.02

  • 2 weeks later...
boggle

boggle

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well for starters, the obvious thing is power, and that will be one of two of the biggest jobs in installing an electric rigger.  Firstly you should get a plug and receptacle kit for the electric downrigger. This way you can unplug it and even take it off the boat when it's not in use.  You will have to run the right gauge wire to handle the amps and distance - can't remember what amps, but I think 30A is what I based my cable on, with a 20A inline fuse. The cable can go directly onto your battery auxillary posts, and the fuse should be on the live wire (red), as close to the battery as possible (say 1 foot from post). Run wire to wear you want to put the receptacle and secure. Make sure receptacle is in a place where the rigger cable can reach the receptacle without it being tight (pulling).

 

Do you have a place to mount the rigger? Are you considering a pivoting/rotating seat? I would. If ou want to adjust the angle of the rigger, it's best to have a rotating seat.  These are made specific to the brand of rigger you have (what do you have?).  You can also mount the rigger on a track with a rigger mount pedastol. You should think about what is going to be the easiest and give you the strength to handle as large a weight as possible (I don't like anything less than a 12 lb weight, hopefully your rigger can handle that).  Ensure it's mounted in a strong place, reinforce if necessary. A few guys have seen their riggers sink down to the bottom of the lake, with half their gunwale attached. Major repairs to do after that.  Also mount it in a way that it doesn't obstruct anything like other rod holders, your engine, your canvas (should be able to close the canvas up if you have one, even if you take it off, make sure the swivel base which says on does not obstruct it).

 

That's probably enough for you to digest for now ... we can talk about rigger snubbers, connectors/clips, cable, etc another time.

Thanks for some solid info. What company do you trust for the pivoting downrigger seat?? That is definitely what we are looking for.

Firechief48

Firechief48

Posted
Posted (edited)

For what it's worth I ran main power from the battery switch to a fuse panel (Bluesea) at the rear of the boat using #6 wire. The panel has a main fuse with 6 individual 30 amp fuses which I hooked one rigger to each fuse using #10 wire. The size wire depends on the length of run. Definitely use plugs on each rigger so you can take them off if you want to. Mine I rewired using trolling motor harnesses.

Edited by Firechief48
King Slammin

King Slammin

Posted
Posted

For what it's worth I ran main power from the battery switch to a fuse panel (Bluesea) at the rear of the boat using #6 wire. The panel has a main fuse with 6 individual 30 amp fuses which I hooked one rigger to each fuse using #10 wire. The size wire depends on the length of run. Definitely use plugs on each rigger so you can take them off if you want to. Mine I rewired using trolling motor harnesses.

I did something similar. No switch on my boat but I ran 6 ga from pos and neg to a fuse block and ran each rigger off the block. There's a 30 amp inline fuse on pos lead to block as well. Plus I have 8 fused places left to attach other accessories with out cluttering the battery terminals.

I also strongly agree on the track. Get as much as you can afford. I'm a multi species guy now with my new boat and I can take the equipment off in less than 5 minutes if needed.

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