Downrigger mount 2015 Revo 16

Well, after overanalyzing things forever I finally decided to bite the bullet and get a downrigger and utilize the cupholder method. Thanks in advance to all the info posted here before me by pmmpete, nowhereman, chopper and others.

I found a pair of older Scott downriggers on CL that were cheap and had the clutch system, which I've had before and wanted this time around too.  Switched out the stainless to 100# braid.

Cupholder mount was using some old 1/4  starboard material I've had laying around for more than a decade. I cut it to the height I wanted and length (2xpiexR) to custom form into the shape of the cupholder by heating it with a heat gun, then bending it and inserting it into the cupholder holding it until it cooled. I then cut up some nice hard 1.5" maple to west marine epoxy and screw into the top to form the base of what I'd screw the platform into later.

The platform was a piece of scrap that I bought from TAP plastics for $3.50.  Besides the downrigger and the braid, really the only thing I had to purchase. I decided to shape that so the downrigger sat aft and outboard so it was super comfortable to reach (no leaning) and also did not rub in any way on my leg as I can't stand that sensation when cranking out 15 miles.

The platform is secured on the left with a piece of Paracord and a SS shackle that is sized so it locks the platform down super tight clasping to the hobie screw down padeye for the centerboard latch. On the right side I used a custom Bungie I created that goes from a padeye underneath the base to another that I customer fabricated to screw into the after bolt hole for my carrying handle.

Between the platform being secured to a custom molded cupholder fitting, and the two inboard/outboard latches, this thing is rock solid. The outboard Bungie still allows me to store my paddle, which was important since there is no port side paddle securement on the Review 16 (dumb move by hobie).  I added some gorilla duct tape around the base of the cup holder to make that slightly tighter and prevent any slipping, that worked great.

The downrigger itself I only modified by bending the arm in to come as close as possible to the hull to minimize starboard lean, which was heavy before I did that.  I also fabricated a super short retrieve handle on advice from chopper from a pvc fitting.  I've fished this 4 times now, and am loving it and see no need for further changes. Running a 4# ball for now, may switch to a 6 but we shall see.

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Sweet set-up!

Appreciate the pictures and explanations.  I followed the post and finally finished my cup holder down rigger setup on my revo 13.  I used duct tape around the pvc pipe to make it fit snuggly on the cup holder. 

Really came out great!  Thanks for the write-up!

Cool! Haven't stepped up to mounting downrigger yet but this method looks good!

Slick! I'm throwing a Cannon DR on an adventure; the Cannon DR has a higher center of gravity so I'm wondering how much lean it will have.

As presently configured, how much lean is a 4lb ball causing on your boat? 4lb is good in Puget Sound, but 6lb is gooder.

Set up the downrigger so the end of the boom is only an inch or so from the side of the hull -- this will limit the amount of torque/lean that the downrigger will put on the boat. PmPete runs the Cannon DRs without a problem.

Cheers,
Brad