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Big Jon planer reels


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I have a Wellcraft 210 Coastal and the rails appear to be about the same height. I run otter boats and I have had times when the line just drags in the water depending upon wind and wave conditions. I am putting on an arch this year partly so I can run the planer line up higher. Short answer, you can do it (I did for 6 years and caught my share of fish) but you will be happier if you mount them higher than the rail.

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On my old 24' Penn Yan we had a set of home made planer reels that we mounted to the bow rail. We ran 'em that way for years. Only problem with it was when we ran our boards waaaaayyyy out to the side the tow line would drag and the releases didn't like to slide down it. We solved the line problem by running 250# Power pro (it's a lot more slippery than standard tow line), and we never really had a need to run the boards out so far that the lines would rag. My Dad welded up a short little boom to mount the pulleys on to raise them up in the air a little bit more. Worked great. You can sort of see them in these pictures.

If you can get 'em higher up in the air you'll be happier, but it'll work if you have to mount them to the rail.

September302004004.jpg

September302004001.jpg

You know, I really do miss that boat!

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I'll be honest with you. Thats a great boat and it would be very easy for you to walk to the front of it to deploy and retrieve your boards if you placed a mast up there. Another good thing about a mast that far forward would be that your tow lines wont get into your rods on turns. I'm sure you can make it so the mast isn't up there all year, although I run boards every time I'm on the water.

The mast will also get the line up in the air so it wont slap the water and your releases will slide down better. You don't have to walk up to the front all the time to set your releases either. Cut a small section to pull the line in from the back of the boat and tie it into the railing where you rig.

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