FINCHASER Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 Ive spent a lot of time considering a Ttop and have pretty much decided against one due to the way I fish (lots of casting from front & rear of boat) as it would inevitably get in my way lots of times and Id regret it. Would be nice though to have some of the tops benefits such as a place to mount VHF, nav light and even an LED light bar for night running which I do a lot. So ive been considering getting a custom grab rail made similar to the one in the photo below... itll actually be identical except itd be taller (about as tall as the tips of my 7' rods when in the console rod holders). So Ive been thinking about the negatives of doing this and so far there are only 2 that I can think of...1 clearance under bridges BUT I currently do not go anywhere where this would be an issue and 2 getting a console cover to fit. I'm going to contact the guy who did my cover but I'm sure he can adopt a design that would work so wanted you guys opinions on what you thought and if I'm missing anything?? I even think I could get some canvas made to attach to the top of the rail and put 2 poles in the outermost rocket launcher rod holders that the other side would attach to in order to get some removeable / stowable shade out of it like those that attach to ttops (pic below) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamaskeet Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Other than to mount a radar antenna, I don't see a good use for an extended console rail. Obviously, you don't keep your boat in a garage, but maybe someday? i just don't see enough advantages, but I will admit that I'm not the most creative guy in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfcoast Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I say go for it. I added a burn bar and had them make a small platform as well that I can stand on and sight cast from in addition to it holding my LED light bar. I will be doing something similar to what you describe for the shade as well. Here is a pic (scroll down to the 4th post) of one similar to what I will be doing. http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1979266 There are pics of my burn bar and LED light bar here http://mbgforum.com/topic/2603-led-light-bar/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 11 hours ago, Gulfcoast said: I say go for it. I added a burn bar and had them make a small platform as well that I can stand on and sight cast from in addition to it holding my LED light bar. I will be doing something similar to what you describe for the shade as well. Here is a pic (scroll down to the 4th post) of one similar to what I will be doing. http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1979266 There are pics of my burn bar and LED light bar here http://mbgforum.com/topic/2603-led-light-bar/ That's very cool GC and very similar to what I want to do, thanks for posting. I really could use the lighting for the long runs offshore at night snapper fishing, Ive been wondering if there would be any significant light glare off the forward deck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Don't mean to derail the OP, but any light mounted on the console will created lots of glare on the front deck. I use to do lots of night fishing and found the only place to mount my light was on my trolling motor. I found a detachable rail-clamp mount made for 1" tubing, so it fit on the shaft of my trolling motor and kept the light right at the tip of the bow. I put a 12 volt plug in the anchor locker. I the light was a wireless remote and the control fob laid on my console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted October 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 17 hours ago, Gulfcoast said: 4 hours ago, SCFD rtrd. said: Don't mean to derail the OP, but any light mounted on the console will created lots of glare on the front deck. I use to do lots of night fishing and found the only place to mount my light was on my trolling motor. I found a detachable rail-clamp mount made for 1" tubing, so it fit on the shaft of my trolling motor and kept the light right at the tip of the bow. I put a 12 volt plug in the anchor locker. I the light was a wireless remote and the control fob laid on my console. I dunno I think its going to depend on the light... a spot beam might work fine... it obviously must be tolerable as theres lots of boats running them with a lot more deck real estate out front than I have (big CC's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfcoast Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 On 10/27/2016 at 2:04 PM, FINCHASER said: The way my light bar is mounted up high on the burn burn works great and without much if any glare. I use it all the time. In fact I used it this morning running to Baffin in the dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulligan Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 Quote The way my light bar is mounted up high on the burn burn works great and without much if any glare. Up high I think is key. I did a lot of night fishing out of an old boat I had. I made a light bar that straddled the console and used the rod holders so it could slip in and out. It had two floods on the side and a spotlight in the middle. It was tall, 7-7 1/2', off the deck and I did not notice any glare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted October 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 Thanks for the info GC / Mulligan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 I made a shade like this for a customer alittle while ago . I added afew rod holders to the leaning post and a couple of straps attach to the grabrails on the sides of the console . 60 mph no problem . A light bar could go above the canvas . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted November 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 That's a cool idea outlaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pmckh Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 19 hours ago, THE OUTLAW said: I made a shade like this for a customer alittle while ago . I added afew rod holders to the leaning post and a couple of straps attach to the grabrails on the sides of the console . 60 mph no problem . A light bar could go above the canvas . Is that top just sitting in the rod holders on the leaning post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted November 1, 2016 Report Share Posted November 1, 2016 I made a shade like this for a customer alittle while ago . I added afew rod holders to the leaning post and a couple of straps attach to the grabrails on the sides of the console . 60 mph no problem . A light bar could go above the canvas . Actually , I added two more rodholders on the outside of the leaning post and then made a nice armrest for added strength . Hope this helps . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.