2320 Rod Storage Ideas . . . sanity check before building

[EDGEWATER]

Still 20" of snow on the ground here so I'm thinking about boat improvements.

I've been looking for a good solution for storing my trolling rods inside my pilothouse but haven't seen anything on the market that I really like.
I started to design a holder that fits behind the bench seat on my 2006 2320. I wanted a clean installation that makes good use of the limited space available.

I made a couple of measurements (best I could) and made a CAD solid model of my boat hull and back of storage compartments under the bench seat (transparent gray part).

I did an extensive internet search for some flat holders to fit in this location and came up with Teak Isle's 4-rod holders (white parts). The rods are retained by shock cords - not shown.

My plan is to machine some upper and lower flanges and support posts from inexpensive PVC. I'll by the (2) sets of 4-rod holders from Teak Isle and glue and screw them into grooves machined in the round support post.

The post /flange assemblies will be glued and screwed at the bottom but allowed to telescope on the top side to achieve a tight fit to the hull. I might use a screw in the flange to load against the post if needed.

I modeled up the 4-rod holders, posts and flanges into an assembly that I can position inside my virtual hull.

Looks like I can get away with some short #10 domed head self-tapping screws to secure each flange to the hull.

To me it looks s like a good solution. The hull model is close but not perfect. Difficult to measure and reproduce in CAD. Tried asking Parker for some drawings but seems they don’t have any (to share).

Rods are 6'6" Penns with 309's

I’m looking for a sanity check - What do you guys think??

 

[pelagic2530]

that looks COOL!!! only thing i would say is, do you have the clearance to get the rods in and out easily? im not familiar with your boat, but i would hate to put the work in and bust a rod tip trying to get them in there.

 

[Bryan 2530]

I think you got too much time on your hands. Is that Solid Works?

Seriously, how are you going to put the reel end in first if you cannot reach behind the bench seat? The rod tip is not going to support that kind of weight an/or the reel and handle are going to snag stuff on the way in.

I'm not real familiar with the 2320 so I don't know how much access you have.

 

[EDGEWATER]

Too much time ... no ... just too much snow. Business is a little slow right now so I got a little time to look into stuff like this.

Right now I just kind of stuff all the rods back there. Pretty much of a mess. I do have some access between the bench back and seat to allow me to support and guide the rods into position.

Also - the bow end holder is located forward of the end of the bench seat providing a little more accessability for maneuvering the rods into position.

Yes - SolidWorks.

 

[Keith FDNY]

I think that is a great idea and will look great,maybe if there is a way that you can either put the bench seatbacking on a folding hinge or like a cottor pin style to remove it to get rods in and out nice and easy,i think that would be awesome way to do it with you projects,thats just what i think someone else prob. will disagree like always!!!HaHaHa but your idea is great i can say that,i was tring to do something like that longtime ago and got those same rod holders you have just in storage now,so i just got a 7-foot dock dock and made it easy!!HaHa but i have seen a few ideas on here that guys have done and at 1 time some 1 sent me a template of what they did i cut it out and never followed through with it.It was the cotour of the undercabin walls just couldnt figure a way to get it to hold on to the boat walls.But run with your idea i like it alot!!!

 

[R & R]

I mounted the same racks on my 2520. I bought some half inch square stainless pipe and used 1/2 inch stainless angle angle irons top and bottom to mount to the fiberglass. For strength I cut round starboard plugs that fit inside the pipe and screwed them down to the deck for added strength and put the pipe over them before screws through the angle irons. The square pipe should save space over the round pipe you show in you diagram.

I found that the racks won't adequately hold the rods when the boat bounces in rough seas. I overcame this by drilling holes in the rod brackets and installing loops of shock cord with 1 inch balls to hook around the reels to keep them seated in their slots.

If you need clarification on any of this pm me and I'll explain. Ron