Lund Explorer 1800 rig for big water

[fldoc]

I just purchased an used lund 1800 explorer. I will use the boat mostly for inland fishing but would like to mount two downriggers on the gunwales to fish lake superior. It has a SportTrak gunwales. Lund has a SportTrak downrigger mount. I was reading a few posts and got the impression one must be careful to make sure the gunwales will handle the stress created by downriggers. Will they be strong enough to handle downriggers with an 7/8 pound ball? Or should I look into something different?

[jimcr]

Make sure that there is a plate on underside of the gunwale to support the weight. How deep would you be running your riggers, a 8-10 pound ball is fine for shallow 10-30 feet. If your going deeper I would suggest a 12lb ball so you minimize the blow back . I have 2 cannons mounted to the corners on my Tracker and 2 mounted 1/3 of the way forward. The side riggers need more support because of the lenth . with 4 ft booms running 12lb balls you have a lot of tork on the riggers.

Tight Lines

Jim

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/2/3/7/7/m_img_1975.jpg' alt='m_img_1975.jpg'>