New Gear how to rig

General discussion not related to Lake Champlain.
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keithm87
Posts: 641
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:28 pm
Species: Trout and Salmon
Location: Central VT

New Gear how to rig

Post by keithm87 »

Last year I tried to make a planer mast out of fence post... worked ok but not as I would have liked. Fast forward and I am the new owner of a dual reel Big Jon mast (manual) with 2 new otter boats and the added half keels that people say make them track truer. I will also in the near future be working to buy a bow mount trolling motor based on reading some posts here and on LOU. I really liked the sounds of how bottom dollar had rigged his boat. So now I have to put it all on the boat. Normally the very front of the bow is my favorite place to sit and cast if I am just drifting around, feet in the water. But seems that I will have to change that for the trolling motor. But the question is should I also put the mast up there as well? Or has anyone successfully mounted a big jon mast in a seat post (springfield style). I have seen some posts of people buying a seat post, and putting nylon shims inside and pins to hold it. has anyone on here done that?
nhjim
Posts: 90
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:04 pm
Species: coldwater

Re: New Gear how to rig

Post by nhjim »

i have a berts 6' on the bow of my starcraft was able to fit the bracket right behind my bow mount trolling motor to take advantage of all the height i could. make sure you back the bolts with some thing to reinforce the mount pc of decking or thick ply. i have heard of the seat mounts but have not seen one but you would be losing height also. i was toying with adding the second keel on mine as well but started hearing about them pulling too hard on a mast system that is not turnbuckled for reinforcement. some of the other guys may hop in and give yay or nay on this and would be interested also. the single keels seem to drop back then tighten backup and honestly i think it adds alot more action to the spread than just a piano wire tight straight pull. good luck
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keithm87
Posts: 641
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:28 pm
Species: Trout and Salmon
Location: Central VT

Re: New Gear how to rig

Post by keithm87 »

Yeah the torque was why was was thinking seat post and some straps to keep it upright. I got the keels because I figured if i didnt i would end up wanting them. I may try them without the keels and see how they run, but I really like the tight line to keep things from tangling. I think I will try buying a seat post and if that fails I will mount on the flat section of the bow.
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