Aluminum Downrigger Board

[salmon_slayer06]

I'm building a aluminum board for the boat. I can't decide on what width I should get. 6 inch wide or 8? Its channel aluminum that I'm going to use. Anybody have one rigged already on there boat that I can get some ideas from? Its going on a 27' sportcraft.

[phishon]

I had one made up 2 years ago... made out of 3/4 inch aluminum.. 8" wide and 10 feet long... I have 4 big jon's mounted and it works great... I dont think I would change a thing on it.... I space the riggers evenly across the board and with the swivel bases they work out perfect. My board is mounted on a 28' Thompson... I had to have one brace added to the mid section to get rid of a minor bouncing problem... but with the mid brace it's nice and rigid.... Good Luck.

[salmon_slayer06]

Do you think 6 inch is wide enough? I'm mounting 3 cannon mag 10s on this with 3 braces. I thought about the plate idea but some one talked me into useing channel aluminum because its lighter and more rigid. I called factory steel and they want 220 bucks for a 10 foot peice of 6061 T6 channel 6 inch by 2 by 5/16. I could get it through work but theres always a delay and takes time. Thanks

[phishon]

I would think that the 6 inch would work fine.. I just wanted a little more board space..the plates on the swivel bases are 4-5 inches wide... I have seen lots of boards that are 6 inches and seem to work fine...with all the bracing materials as well as the 3/4 inch x 8" x 10' cost me $330. Good Luck!
:fish:-On

[limige]

how is going to be mounted to the boat? if you go with 6" you have more of a chance it will twist, the wider you go the more stable you are.

there are ways to get around it, if you use 6". three braces as mentioned above or four... have the braces welded to the outsides of the channel instead of underneath, this will make it act wider. are you ordering it through work?? they will get a discount rather than you buying from the steelmill.

[Falco]

I have bought aluminum from this place several times. They only have 6" channel 6061 listed up to 6 feet, but if you call them they will usually work with you on custom sizes. It looks like it would be considerably less than $220.

http://www.speedymetals.com/

[Hemidan]

I'm not sure if this will help you or not.Not the best picture,but go to my photos and click on it and make it larger,hopefully it gives you an idea.I not sure what size I'm using(6" channel)

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/539/medium/100_2078.JPG

[salmon_slayer06]

Yeah, thats nice. That ain't going nowhere. I'll let you know what I come up with. I can try and get the stuff from work. Thanks for the input.