I don't want to be a wet rag in this discussion, but I've always wondered about having those rod holders being in the way at times. Now, if they disconnected or folded down after the rods were removed & placed into the spider rig holders ... that might make them a little more tolerable.

Times I figure they might be more "in my way" than a help in getting the rods "out of my way" are:

When fishing around standing timber
When boat is docked in a slip (esp stationary dock w/low water conditions)
When getting in/out of the boat at ramp or dock slip
When fighting/playing a big fish (along that side of the boat)

Other than that ... and if I had rods that long & a boat setup that would allow such a thing to be mounted ... that'd be a DIY project I think even I could handle. And that's coming from a guy that took shop class in Jr High ... and most projects undertaken ended up as pencil holders or book ends

... cp