Installing rod holders

[1bandit]

One thing You can never have to many of is rod holders. I went ahead and added another 1/2 dozen this year.

I like to tape the area off and measure twice before Drilling. Make sure you have the clearance under the gunwale and move any wires or hoses that might be near where you plan to drill.

I clamp a wood template over the gunwale. This makes drilling more accurate and protects the finish should the pilot bit brake or the hole saw skip out of the hole. This works especially well when drilling angled holes.

Lay the rod holder next to your drill to help approximate the drilling angle. The reason the template has 3 holes is because one is 30 deg, 15 deg and 90 deg.

After the holes are drilled use a counter sink bit to ease the edge of the gelcoat. This will prevent spider web cracks in the gelcoat when you tighten up the bolts.

For the large hole I use a small router and a 45 deg chamfer bit to relive the gelcoat. You could just use sandpaper instead.

Ready to bolt down the rod holder. Through bolts are preferred over wood screws if you can access the underneath. Lee makes some backing plates if the gunwale need reinforcing. Remember to line up the bottom of the rod holder so the cross pin in the bottom is parallel of perpendicular to the gunwale.

Edited March 29, 2010 by 1bandit

[Captthw]

Don't forget the sealant !

[crash1371]

looks good

[DFreedom]

Nicely done Sir.

[auguste]

Thanks for posting

What do you use to seal the end-grain of the wood before installing the rod holder?

[1bandit]

Thanks for posting

What do you use to seal the end-grain of the wood before installing the rod holder?

I use epoxy to seal the wood around the large hole. The screw holes I use 5200. The boat in the pictures did not have any wood in the gunwales so I used some clear silicone. I would be more concerned with sealing if I lived where freezing could be an issue