Thanks again to all that replied to my previous post. As suggested I now include pictures of the boat to help on advice. Just to remind you:

"I have finally managed to convince my wife that a boat is a great idea. Had to make some coprimises over functionality so eventually went for a nice Bayliner Capri I manged to pick up for a good price. I now have to try and turn it into the fishing boat i really wanted (bit of a Trojan horse I agree but as she is never likely to visit this site I think I am safe to admit it!

Anyway, I now want to fit a downrigger - I guess I could tell her it is for towing or something - and therein lies my problem. I want to go for a Scotty 30' manual with a rotatable, removable mount. The way I see it I have 3 options.

1. Put it on the wall where the stern and starbord meet. I only have enough room for three of the pre-drilled holes here though.

2. Squeeze it onto the starboard wall. Only two pre drilled holes here but again I guess I could drill my own but the will be a 2' overhang this way.

3. Put it on the swim step. I have left a set of pliers on here and then gone through ferry wakes at 35 mph and they have stayed there so I am guessing that the 'motion of the ocean' will not be a problem. It would also be the easiest installation but it just feels a bit weird having the downrigger and rod effectively outside the boat.

I went down to the boat today to fit the mount but just as I was about to get drilling I thought I would ask you guys for some help/a reality check before I start drilling unnecesary holes in my new pride and joy!

I think I am leaning towards the swim step for ease of installation and stability. "

Having read the posts I am now more keen on some sort of plank set up. All advice gratefully received!

Pictures are at:

boat pics

You already have pole holders drilled into the gunnel, why not use a gimbal mount? If you have Scotty DR's, use the pole holders included with the Downriggers, or go buy pole holders that will mount on the arm, and you are good to go.

Wow, that is a tough one. You definately want all four screws mounted because there is a lot of torque on the mounts when you are bouncing a 12 lb weight at the end of a 30" arm. You also need to be able to reach it easily to raise and lower, which you will do a lot. There are some gunnel mounts available from Scotty that you might be able to make fit on the vertical side of the boat under the padding with some modification. There are also some aftermarket pedistal mounts that might have a smaller hole pattern. Check Outdoor emporium, Auburn Sports, Teds and bring measurements. They might have some ideas.

Yep, there is the difference I talked about between '89 and newer, you have to top to the transom to mount anyting to. You have a rod holder on one side, put in another one on the other side and use gimbal mounts as Skyguy suggested. Then, mount some surface mount Scotty rod holders aft of those vents, or cosmetic doo dads and you're all set. The nice thing here is when you remove the downriggers and rod holders, all you see it the rod holder mounts, not too obstrusive at all. In fact, you'll never know you have a fish killing machine when you're out pulling tubes!! One word of advice- when you let your DR ball down, tighten the clutch just enough to stop the ball. That way if it hangs up, it shouldn't rip your downrigger off, instead it will start stringing out cable and you can turn around and pull the other way and it should come loose. You can get those flush mount rod holders anywhere, just get a stainless one or it will rust.

Thanks a lot guys. I have seen the gimble mounts but as I was the one who fitted the rod holders I am not sure how much faith I have in them to hold much more than a rod!

The Scotty ones I saw also clearly stated that they should only be used to rish from the back of the boat, not the side, so that less stress is put on them. That in itself is not a concern but I think I will have to go for the 60' arm to reach out over the swim step and obviously that will put additional stress on my 'untested' handy work!

Here is a thought that has just occured to when looking at the pictures again. I might be able to use one of those DR rail mounts and squeeze it onto the rail that can be seen on the swim step (first pic)? Might be worth a shot . Anyway, thanks again!

Back of the boat, side, front it doesn't matter. If the downrigger is mounted out 90 degrees or so, the same stresses are applied to it no matter where it is mounted. Put it too far back and you better your chances of tangling in the prop!