Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

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John21:6
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Joined: October 14th, 2017, 7:11 pm
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Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

Post by John21:6 »

The vertical rod holders on the center console of my bay boat are made out of cheap nylon and are about 9” deep. The rod holders are secured with self-tapping screws. After a few years of use, the vinyl pin that keeps the rod handles from going all the way through the rod holders has broken out of four of the six rod holders. I’m thinking I want to replace the rod holders with stainless steel rod holders. However, most of the rod holders I see online are only about 7 or 7 1/2” deep.

Does it make much difference going with a 7” rod holder instead of a 9” rod holder?

If I get new rod holders, and the screw holes don’t align with the existing ones, what is the best way to patch up the existing holes before drilling new holes? Epoxy? Marinetex? Something else?

Is there is a reason why I shouldn’t use lock nuts with stainless steel washers instead of self-tapping screws?
Last edited by John21:6 on September 27th, 2020, 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
silverking
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Re: Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

Post by silverking »

The aluminum or stainless are much more durable than the PVC. Tube depth depends on the butt length of your rods and whether the rack design includes a notch that reel stem slides into to lock. Another consideration is split butt rods. If they drop too far down into the tubes, the butt cap tends to hang up unless you're careful when you pull them out. You can always modify by drilling into solid tubes and adding a stainless bolt with lock nut for a butt stop.

Boatoutfitters.com has a range of options and prices. You could also have some custom made by Metal Fabrication of Tallahassee. They can even do powder-coating. There are several USA-made options at reasonable prices on eBay, like these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Rod-Rack-3 ... SwbRldH20a

If you have access, stainless steel bolts with lock nuts/washers is always preferred to screws. They will hold better. As far as filling holes if the new rack doesn't align, gel coat repair is not difficult, just time-consuming. West Marine or marine stores sell repair kits and you can add tints to get a close match. Marinetex is a quick alternative and will hold but may not match the colors exactly.

Hope this helps.
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Juan
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Re: Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

Post by Juan »

What model boat do you have? Have you tried searching for the original replacement holders? If they're mounted on the console, most also have a drain cap on the bottom to allow water to drain to the bilge so they need to be a close fit. I'd try to find replacement holders of the same size and with the same bolt pattern before filling and drilling new mounting holes. When replacing mine, I couldn't find any stainless holders with the correct bolt pattern but found PVC replacements in both black and white so if your boat is a Sea Pro, I can hook you up at a cost of about $7 each. :-D
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John21:6
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Re: Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

Post by John21:6 »

Juan wrote:What model boat do you have? Have you tried searching for the original replacement holders? If they're mounted on the console, most also have a drain cap on the bottom to allow water to drain to the bilge so they need to be a close fit. I'd try to find replacement holders of the same size and with the same bolt pattern before filling and drilling new mounting holes. When replacing mine, I couldn't find any stainless holders with the correct bolt pattern but found PVC replacements in both black and white so if your boat is a Sea Pro, I can hook you up at a cost of about $7 each. :-D
I have a Robalo 206 Cayman.

Ideally, I would like to avoid having to drill new screw holes for new rod holders. However, very few manufacturers post detailed measurements about their rod holders or the bolt pattern for their rod holders. I would purchase the OEM rod holders, but my hope is that if I upgrade from nylon to stainless steel I won’t need to replace them again.

Because I can’t find replacement rod holders in town, I am going to have to buy something online and drill new screw holes if I have to. The big question I have not resolved is whether there is any real difference between a rod holder that is about 7 1/2 inches deep and a rod holder that is about 9 inches deep.
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Juan
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Re: Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

Post by Juan »

John21:6 wrote: I am going to have to buy something online and drill new screw holes if I have to. The big question I have not resolved is whether there is any real difference between a rod holder that is about 7 1/2 inches deep and a rod holder that is about 9 inches deep.
As SK stated, the depth will depend on your rod butts. Personally, I'd want replacement holders of the same length, angle, bolt pattern and diameter (so the drain cap will fit.) If you had and were happy with 9" holders, I doubt you'll like 7" holders and your reels might be higher and not as well supported in the shorter holders.

You could pick up a plastic Attwood holder at Walmart for about $6 to see if the bolt pattern aligns... if the bolt pattern is slightly off, I'd order these.. They're the only one's I could find that fit my console perfectly and they're 8 3/4".
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John21:6
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Re: Rod Holder Repair and Replacement

Post by John21:6 »

Thanks, Juan. I'll pick up a cheap Attwood rod holder at Walmart to verify the screw hole pattern. If the pattern is a match, I'll look for some stainless Attwood rod holders. I tend to use my bay boat for offshore fishing more than anything. I'm often carrying heavier grouper rods that I think will break nylon rod holders again and again. Changing out the rod holders is not something I want to repeat as I'll need to remove all four batteries from my console to access (and add) the lock nuts and washers for the most forward rod holders. My rod holders are on each side of the console seat as opposed to the console itself.
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