PA14 Downrigger mount

Howdy all, I’m fabricating a mount for a Scotty 1060 on my PA14.  I can up with this layout, just looking for input, as I’m sure there are things I’m not thinking of…

Anyone think of why this wouldn’t work?

Thanks all!

I'm sure the PA14 has a buttload of primary stability, but: It's generally wise to keep the heavy things as close to your centerline as possible.

I'm sure the PA14 has a buttload of primary stability, but: It's generally wise to keep the heavy things as close to your centerline as possible.

Thanks Captain O… want to tell me the kayak isn’t made for a downrigger next?


Any real world experience with mounting a downrigger like this on a yak?  Rail mounting a 1060 just doesn’t seem like a good idea.   

We're still calling these plastic boats 'kayaks'?!

You could prolly fashion something up using a concept similar to this:
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=88609.msg1009286#msg1009286

No cupholder on the PA14, you could instead use a bolt through your deck. Just use a ton of backing. And maybe even some fronting. And don't come looking for me if the hull fails due to stresses unforseen by the hobie engineers.

Maybe some other PA14+DR users will pipe up.

Here's how I have my 1060 mounted onto my PA.  Been using it like this for the past two years with no issues, mostly with 6lb and then 8lb balls.

I wouldn't be comfortable having it so far outboard like you have it, gets in the way of landing fish that way too.

If anyone is interested I just posted a video on Sat of the way I just finished mounting an electric Scotty (1099) on my other ride (Outback).

Hey Kevin!   I do like your mount, but it seem like it would be rough on the rail.  Next time I’m in the store, I’ll come talk with you.  Thanks!

Sure thing, I'm there on Thursday's, Friday's, Sunday's and Monday's.  It does cause the rail to rock a bit but not that bad if you have the boom angled back like I do.  Would be far worse if the boom was perpendicular to the kayak!

I've got a couple ideas on how a better mount would work but haven't prototyped anything yet.  One big factor for me is to be able to get it on and off in less than a minute as I car top so have to strip everything off when I put it up top and then put it back on when I get to the water.

The stress on a downrigger mount like Kevin Redden's could be reduced by adding a vertical support attached to the bottom of the mount which sits on the floor of the cockpit of the Pro Angler. The mount would be even more stable if the vertical support was attached to the floor of the cockpit with an easy-to-loosen or remove handnut, rather than just resting on the floor.

Because Kevin Redden installs his Hobie H-rail universal mounting plates upside-down on his H-rail, his downrigger has to be positioned inside the H-rail.  If you wanted to install a downrigger centered over the H-rail or in some other location further from the centerline of the kayak so you won't bang your leg on the downrigger when pedaling, you can position the downrigger base where ever you want on the right-side-up universal mounting plates.

BRich, check out my post at https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=12575.msg138905#msg138905, which describes how I set up my Revolution for downrigger trolling.  It may give you some ideas about how to set up your Pro Angler for downrigger trolling.

I own a 12' Pro Angler 360, but I haven't been tempted to add a downrigger mount to it because it's so much slower and more work than my Revolution.  If I want to troll, I do it in my Revolution, not in my Pro Angler.

With my setup I found that when I used it on my old PA12 my leg just brushed the brake handle of the downrigger.  With my current PA14 which has an extra inch on each side it doesn't have that problem.  I've found that most of the rocking on the h-rail seems to be on the outward side of the boat when reeling it back in so I'm not sure a brace to the kayak floor would help.

You can't see it in the pictures I posted but I have a little 2" wide by 1" deep piece on my baseplate jutting out past the outside edge of the kayak which I drilled two holes in and shoved some 6" bolts down which rested against the outside of the kayak which did help stability somewhat but were starting to chew up the part of the hull they touched so I stopped using them.

I know one other guy here that has an completely outboard setup similar to that above and he uses a Scotty gimbal on the bottom at a 45 degree angle that rests up against the side of the kayak, he says that works pretty well but I've not seen in in person.

I did talk to the plastic guys I got the marine board from (Tap Plastics) to see if there was some kind of epoxy or glue I could use to hold a couple pieces together at a 90 degree angle securely but apparently while this plastic is good for a lot of things it will not glue together.  I think I'm going to start looking into some threaded inserts and see if this stuff will plastic weld.

I did talk to the plastic guys I got the marine board from (Tap Plastics) to see if there was some kind of epoxy or glue I could use to hold a couple pieces together at a 90 degree angle securely but apparently while this plastic is good for a lot of things it will not glue together.  I think I'm going to start looking into some threaded inserts and see if this stuff will plastic weld.

Get a piece of aluminum right-angle stock, cut braces from the stock, and bolt them to the two pieces of plastic you want to assemble at a right angle to each other.  An example is shown below.

Now why didn't I think of that!  Good idea.

I took the same path as Kreddin for mounting a 1060 downrigger on my PA14 and Outback kayaks.  Seems like I am regularly buying cutting boards for kayak mods......   Hats off to PMMPETE for the aluminum angle option!

I did mine with a cannon DR.   The boom was cut short for less tipping leverage. 



This was originally on my PA, and the only mod to make it fit the outback was cutting the PVC a little shorter so that it would fit in the rod holder of the outback.