A New Twist on Downrigger Mounts

I wanted to fabricate an H-Rail mount for my Scotty Depthmaster downrigger. I followed the lead of others, bolting a piece of breadboard material across 2 H-Rail Universal Mounts. But then I got to wondering why the arm needs to point out perpendicular to the side? By rotating the base 90-deg, and sliding the DR in parallel to the rail, I was able to keep the cannonball closer to the centerline, minimizing the "tipping moment". I had already cut the arm short for my previous install, but find that the new geometry provides more flexibility with regards to moving the ball forward or back on the port or starboard rail, without sliding the universal mounts. The only downside I have discovered so far is that the digital depth readout on the DR will be upside down in 2 of the 4 possible configurations. Attached are pics in my driveway of the arm pointed both directions and the vertical "plumb-line" shot showing how close to the hull the ball is now.









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Oops - wrong pics posted and I cannot edit original post from my phone. But I think you should get the picture. DR can slide into base pointing forward or backward.

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Jim_MI. Your solution as posted above, is very good based on my experience of Hobie kayak down rigging for the past 6 years.

After I bought my PA-14 in 2013, I was using the Scotty Depthmaster as it has some really good user features, but since I was sometimes fishing at depths of 110' to 130', manually retrieving the lead weight, with a "fish on" was a real pain!

Since I still had a 12 volt DC, Cannon Mini-Troll electric downrigger I used on my old 18' Jetcraft, I wondered how much current draw and battery would it require to use on my PA-14.
So, I found it drew about 3 A DC recovering the ball and a 18 AH battery would be more than enough to power the downrigger.....I bought a 18 AH, SLA battery from my local ACE Hardware store and mounted the Cannon as shown below. My new battery was installed under the front storage tub and the PA never knew it had the battery there due to the generous capacity of this kayak.

The end result was all I expected and what a difference it makes, to improve the fishing experience from greater depths. All I need to do is take care of the fish on my line while the lead weight is being recovered automatically!

If you can afford the cost of an electric down rigger, IMHO its worth every penny!

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

As always, very nicely done, Doc. Is that a rotating base plate?

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Yes, its Cannons base that allows for 45° adjustments.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Doc, what is the combined weight of your downrigger, weight and battery?

Grizz, Total is about 26.5 pounds.....the down rigger weight alone is 4.25 pounds.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Thanks, Doc.