Mounting Rod Holders

Hi Folks,

I recently purchased a 2011 Bass Tracker Pro Team 175 TXW and want to add some rod holders to it. I am thinking about either the Driftmaster T-250HC or some Hi-Teks. My question is where should I mount the base?

A dealer told me that most people drill into the red aluminum sides. I hate to do that and would rather mount to the gray carpeted floor. However, I am not sure how to access the area under the gray carpet to add a washer and nut underneath, and I know it is filled with foam. If I mounted a base with wood screws, would it pull out? If there are any other fishermen out there with a bass tracker and rod holders, I'd love hear how you have mounted yours and perhaps see a picture.

I have attached a picture of the end of my boat for reference. Thanks for reading this post and for your replies.

JMan

Attachment 127365

First go with HI TEC. They will come with mounting screws. I doubt you can acess under the deck but the mounting screws should hold with no problem. My advice is to get you a piece of plywood about a foot square. Mount holder of your choice to it. Get in the seat and move it around until you find the most comfortable place for you and the type of fishing you are going to do. Once you do that you can remove from ply and set your base and install. I can't believe they told you to drill through the gunnel to mount your holders.

Whichever one you get .... sit in the seat & figure out where you NEED to mount the bases, so that you can reach them without having to lean forward any great distance, or be "bound" in your seat by them being too close. Take into account the height/weight/reach of whomever is most likely to be in that seat, besides yourself.

They're likely going to be somewhere close to the inside edge of your aluminum gunnel. My Hi-Tek base plates are against the gunnels on my 16' ProCraft ... and your TXW is about 9" wider than my boat, so you've got a few inches to play with. And you don't want to mount any bases where they're likely to be a trip hazard, either.

Here's a pic of my buddy Carl, easily leaning over to let out line on one of his poles, from the back seat of my boat : (note: his left foot & blue towel are on one of the rear compartment hatches ... so we didn't have all that much room to choose from)

Attachment 127370

We decided that was the optimal place to mount the bases, for several reasons : it did not present a tripping hazard - it didn't force him to face towards the rear of the boat (where he'd have to turn around to talk & be heard, or see the DF mounted in the console) - it was out of the way of the rear storage hatches - easily reached (even for a good sized fellow in winter gear) - and even with the T-bar still in the base, it was out of the way of me (& my head) getting in/out of, or sitting in the drivers seat.

As to whether or not the screws will hold in your alum floor .... :dono
I'm just trying to help you understand how to figure out where the optimum placement would be, so you won't have to measure/drill more than once !!

... cp :kewl

SEE MY THREAD BELOW trolling motor fasteners these work well anywhere you cant access underneath !!

I've got an 04 PT175, and I've got a driftmaster T250 (?) mounted right beside the rear elevated seat position in the wood, pulled cranks and planer boards from this holder for a year, no issues. If you mount it where I did, you can reach underneath the floor and above the gas tank to use nuts and bolts as I did. No issues. I fish solo 99% of the time but this rod holder can be removed in a minute, the base plate stays, and then someone can use the rear elevated seat position. I also have driftmasters mounted up front on the bow as well on the rubber footpad/step with no issues. You can gain access to under the bow plate via removing the TM plug cover and the carpeted piece by removing 6 or 8 screws.

Hi joekiller,

I think your thread didn't come through, but I am interested in reading about the fasteners.

Hi Gents,

Thank you very much for the replies and great advice. Cray, I am glad to hear you think the Hi-Tek's will hold when mounted to the floor. Crappiepappie, I like how you have yours mounted. Did you use the mounting screws that come with the Hi-Tek's or did you do something special?

Again, thanks to all for your replies. I'll let you know what I end up doing.

Hi folks,

Sorry for the delay. I forgot about this post, and just now noticed a lot of people have viewed it.

I ended up up getting the Hi-Teks, and I absolutely love them. I've had them installed for a few years now and have not had any problems. In the pictures, you can see I put them at the rear at an angle with the back of the boat. They are out of the way, and that angle helps me to better spread out my rods. During the pre-spawn period, I can pull 6 planar boards back there and not get tangled up too much. During the summer, I usually pull 4 cranks. If I bought some longer rods ( mine are all ~ 7 ft), I could pull more.

I also purchased two extra mounts and put them at the front. When I've had a partner with the boards, I've put one holder in the front and one in the back so we each are able to see some action. I need to splurge and get two more holders for those mounts. Then, we could easily pull 4 in the front and 4 in the back and not get tangled up. But, there are so many fishing things to buy and not enough money :).

As as far as installing them, I used the screws and instructions with the holders. When you screw in the screw, use a good cordless drill. Get in the boat and push down with all your weight. You don't want to strip the screws. I almost got into trouble with my first. It was tight going in and the bit started slipping.

I hope this this helps someone, and again, I highly recommend the Hi-Teks. They are awesome. Thanks to Scott for making them!

Thanks

I have the same boat and my spyder pole holders are mounted the same as yours. I side pull cranks with a 6,9,12 and 16' poles with no problems with stainless sheet metal screws.