Homemade Planer Boards & Mast

[antney1]

Why it is I don't hear of people making homemade boards out of pressure treated lumber ?

[rolmops]

Why it is I don't hear of people making homemade boards out of pressure treated lumber ?

If you want your boards to be running deep and strong,you want them to soak up the water once they are in it.That also means that you should not paint them. Cedar wood will soak up lots of water and it will not rot. that is why good boards are cedar

[Chinook1981]

I built these boards, painted them with 5 coats of water-based and they sit nice and low. I used old (30-40 year old) pine boards. They are quite a bit more dense than the new FSC crap. I have to say that in the rare instance they have to be pulled in during the middle of a trip, it is a pain in the neck, but its still better than fighting fish and inline boards all day. I cut the angle by hand with my grandfathers original hand saw...

I've used a variety of clips so far and don't yet have a favorite. I guess I prefer offshores with a shower clip the best so far, they are very easy to see. I think the right answer is whatever works best for you.

[Chas0218]

Well my alligator clips with shrink wrap actually worked pretty good. I do add an extra wrap around 1 side of the clip and she released a lot better. Without the wrap it would release on waves when it was choppy out. But they work like a charm and cost me about $0.75 a piece.

[ Post made via iPod ]

[fashionever]

I spool from inside a sliding bolt. The bolt hit the mast and stop the rotation of the spool.

[Sk8man]

I made mine back in 1976 (without the benefit of the drawing:>) The only thing I added is a long thin strip of lead (melted into a shallow sand mold) along the entire the base (bottom) of each board so they would stay upright no matter what the water conditions. They worked great but I finally went with outriggers instead which kept people away from me and from running over the boards:>).....and I never went back to them. I've used outriggers since 1979 :>) and... yes I'm an antique :>0

[Thun]

I wonder if you could use those folding table hinges instead of allthread rods to connect the boards. If you screwed them into the tops and bottoms of the boards then you could collapse the boards and fold them together. They're 9 1/2 inches fully extended and brass plated for rust. Just a thought?

 

http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/FURNITURE+HINGES/Table+Hinges+-+Shelf+Hinges/9-1|2%22+Folding+Leg+Support

[Chas0218]

If you ran 3 boards that would work but mine are a good 16" apart.  Being that close might make the boards unstable in larger chop and when a board flips it isn't a good thing....ask me how I know.

[Thun]

Chas0218

 

Thanks for the advise and I think I'll heed it. I'm going to stick with the original plans, why tamper with success?

[Little Crappie]

Bought like a 20pk at the dollar store and spray painted orange, lost a few over the season but still have tons left. Also just wanted to say I used the plans to make a homemade planner mast and boards and after a couple uses feel like McGuiver... And saved a couple hundo on much needed fishing investment.

[muskybob]

I just went thru this thread again & have to say I can't believe the great ideas you guys had for the boards, mast, releases, etc.  Keep them equipment ideas coming. We would all like to save a buck when something homemade works with no problems. GREAT JOB!!! 

[FISHIN' ADDICTION]

I am planning on making a set of these but was wondering if the cut that pulls the board away from the boat is 60 degree or 80 degree. The plan looks like it says 60 but I have seen a couple people say 80

[jobsite]

_{Here is my take on a planer board mast...}

_{Made this for a friends Lund last spring for a Lake O brown trout trip.}

_{We needed something easily removable, as the boat is used for many things, not just trolling.}

_{The galvanized pipe is held in place with two "u" straps bolted to the front bow wall and then a screw through the strap and pipe to keep the pipe from twisting while in use.}

_{For line, I used braided mason line. I believe its rated for 220 pounds or so. Plenty strong and visible.}

_{To hold the line, I used a couple empty line spools. I didn't have any threaded rod to mount them in line across the pipe, so I used two bolts and placed one slightly higher than the other. I added washers and wing nuts to be able to loosen and tighten the spools. I also added a small bolt with threaded coupler as a handle for winding the line. You couldn't reel in a planer with this, but it makes it easier to wind the line after its been pulled in by hand.}

_{Above the line reels, I placed two cleats to hitch the line onto when the planers are deployed. This keeps line from peeling off the reels in the waves.}

_{At the top, I put in two eye bolts, heavy springs and small, swiveling pulleys. The springs help take some of the shock out of the line on rough water.}

_{Simple dog snaps were used at the end of the line for quick detach.}

_{All parts were bought at Lowes. I think it cost me about $25 or less.}

_{We were using my Big Jon Otter Boats and this mast set-up worked great.}

_{We used my cooler with rod racks on the sides to hold the planer rods/reels. Worked out quite well.}

 

 

 

_{Proof that it worked... yeah, it was a bit chilly.}

Edited March 15, 2014 by jobsite

[mightyhunter]

nice work trophyseekeer, wish I had seen those to give me some ideas before I converted my bigjon manual to electric. I was Lucky enough to find a guy selling 2 bigjon downrigger motors on here, took some trial and error but turned out great.. If I knew how to psot pics I will share to.

[zadvorney]

I am fully inspired.  Thanks to everyone who gave such helpful information.

[Phisherman585]

Finished mine last week. Very happy with it. Works great.

[hookedupf7]

This is going to be a winter project for me. Thanks guys. I was going to spend the money and buy one, but this looks easy enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Patriot]

I am planning on making a set of these but was wondering if the cut that pulls the board away from the boat is 60 degree or 80 degree. The plan looks like it says 60 but I have seen a couple people say 80

This is the corrected plan. The problem was the 19 1/2" hole should have been 19 1/4". It's 60 degree cut.

planer board plan (2).doc

Edited March 14, 2015 by Patriot

[Gruntman]

Someone mentioned in this thread that car door window motors are a good inexpensive option.  Another great source is car seat motor assemblies.  More powerful motors, relatively inexpensive at your local auto wrecker.

 

Edited to add: awesome thread!  Thanks to all for the info.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Gruntman

[dgfidler]

I thought I'd share my unique 'spin' on the board plans. I wanted collapsible boards, but I wanted them to collapse totally flat. I put my woodworking tools that I rarely use to work for this project. I probably went a little overboard with these boards, but I think they're cool and they work well. I've managed to pull four jet40's per side on Lake Erie and hope to pull a 10 color and cuda sized torpedo diver per side on Lake O this year.

The boards were constructed by ripping four 8x29 inch cedar boards into three pieces and then laminatating it back together trapping 1/2 inch cpvc tees to act as hinges. When laminating it back together, the middle piece needs to be exactly the size of a 1/2 inch cpvc tee. Here's what the glue up looked like:

A 7/8 inch forstner bit cuts a hole that exactly accepts a small piece of 1/2 inch cpvc. This is the key to being able to build boards like this.

I put little bevels on the rear mid piece to give the rear end of the board a little 'kick' in an attempt to make them pull a little harder

There's a removable piece in the rear to put a noodle on for additional visibility. No one can accuse me of running boards that are not visible!

I had to add an aluminum cross bar on the top because they folded closed on their maiden trip while trolling. That was not a pleasant experience . It's secured by brass threaded inserts and knobs.

They fold completely flat which was my goal

I borrowed the painting scheme from another site. Basically, I painted them white, put some diagonal masking tape, then added orange.

[Chas0218]

I would throw a pin or small screw thru the PVC joint just in case the glue lets go. Did you use epoxy to glue them together or the PVC glue? The PVC glue isn't strong enough.

[dgfidler]

I would throw a pin or small screw thru the PVC joint just in case the glue lets go. Did you use epoxy to glue them together or the PVC glue? The PVC glue isn't strong enough.

Since it was cpvc pipe, I used cpvc primer and glue.  The same stuff used for plumbing.  I would never dream this glue could fail.  I thought it 'solvent welds' the pipes together.  I know this will hold plumbing joints water tight for decades, but the typical pipe in a home doesn't get bounced around in waves for six hours per session either!  If it falls apart, I'll scavenge the hardware and rebuild them, this time using a heavier wood like white oak for the bottom third to make them ride lower in the water. 

[steelie21]

Thought I would share what I made after reading this post. I had an old Willie planer mast with no base. I didn't want to Mount it permenently. I bought the fence post as suggested here and some ½ threaded rod and made this to fit in my seat pedestal mount. I have not tried it out yet and was wondering for those of you who have this set up does it work well? I would hate to see it come loose and smash my windshield. I did wrap a bit of electrical tape at the base to tighten it up. Should I put a strap around it to the bow cleat to put back tension on it? Let me know your thoughts.

[on the lam]

For anyone who hasn't seen this post before or who might be interested in building the planer boards from the plans Musky provided. I built those boards out of cedar approximately 15 years ago. I still use them today. They pull harder than any other if have used (on other boats) Ottor boats included. ZERO maintenance, cheap and effective. Thanks Bob.

[garrymny]

I made my spools (reels) out of toilet flanges. One plastic and one with the stainless steel ring, which spins. Glued them together to make the reel. you need one plastic and one with the steel ring to make one reel.  I could not find the electric wire spools that were heavy duty enough when I built mine.