Planer Mast

Roaster · **Posted:** Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:17 pm

Hey All, with the big ladies about to move in, I figure I would rig up a planer mast system for my boat. I'm not big on putting holes in my boat, so I am trying to use existing seat post holes for my contraptions. Before I get to work on something, just wanted to get the opinion of the experts as to how much pull is exerted on the mast from the big boards and if you think the post hole from the casting deck seat on a 16.5 foot boat would be able to withstand the force. The boat is a year old and stored in my garage other than when its on the water so all the wood should still be good. I made a 4 rod trolling spread for the rear deck post hole that i ran 4 small boards off of, and it has't seemed to cause any ill effects, but was just wondering if anyone has done this, or if most people aren't cheap like me and just go buy the system for a couple hundred bucks.

Jim Lyon · **Joined:** Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:12 pm **Posts:** 423

Roaster...i have been through it and before and i would strongly suggest for a small boat angler to go with the small in line boards. The mast big board combination is a pain in the butt. The bigger boards and masts work well on larger boats. i have fished in Erie with the FLW guys and they all use the inline boards

DanElliot · **Joined:** Mon Apr 08, 2002 8:59 am **Posts:** 4332

I ran the mast system too and it had its pros and cons. On the pro side it was good if you had lots of guys in the boat with you to help spread out everyones lines. The same can be done with inline but can be chaos at times if boards get tangled. The other time I liked them was in rough water. With inlines, rough water can ruin the action of your crankbait as the boards are almost always jerking/jumping up and down waves. The con side of things is its more work to set up and tear down masts,especially if you wanted to jump around to different spots, cant get the same effect on your baits when trolling " S" turns and trying to trigger strikes on the turn. Its much easier to pick up and move with inlines. I ran the mast in my boat seat hole on the front deck and never had a problem with it putting too much stress on the post hole. Good luck out there

mblaney · **Posted:** Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:58 am

I made a mast that fit into a seat post. I used 1.5" aluminum square tube and it fit perfectly inside the seat post. I have tether straps that run forward to the bow cleats to take the strain (don't trust the base itself!). I found that it also needs to be tied down - the seat base will find its way out when on plane.

I am undecided if i like the large or small boards better. I like the simplicity of the in-lines but they ruin sensitivity and I don't like them with a fish on. The big boards are great because they are not attached during 'fish-on' but more overhead to set up.

I built both kinds myself - the large boards are actually aluminum sheet with foam flotation - very light and compact but I have a 'galloping' problem with them. Need to fix that before October...

greenlantern · **Posted:** Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:50 pm

I have a 17 ft Cestliner, bought a seat basepost, welded on 4 feet of aluminum tube and then the aluminum shaft from an old putter, the pulley screwed into the hollow shaft from the top. Built a board from plans on this site. It works well. Make sure the mast is tall enough to clear the top when it is up, a comfort in late November. An extendable boathook lets you pull the line into the cockpit while staying warm and dry.
Just fish after that.
Greenlantern

Roaster · **Posted:** Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:24 am

Thanks for the responses. I will probably look at making something, but more than likely I will just keep using inlines since there was no real glaring response about how much better it is to have the mast. Thanks again.

Kinetic · **Posted:** Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:43 pm

16 1/2 ft Legend X 68"wide. Have a dual board mast with bow tender line which I much prefer over inline boards in particular for bite detection & landing fish. Set em out once for the day your done, not much work compared to inlines should you have enough releases.

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Planer Mast

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