Hi quobbarockhopper

I'm quite new to running outriggers from my boat, which is a 6m quintrex. If I have understood your post right you are planning to mount then either on top of or with a hole through the gunnel of you boat just aft of the numbers on the hull.

I have mine mounted in approximately the same place and my outrigger poles are 15 ft in length and telescope down to 5ft. They are made of hollow fibreglass and do not weight all that much.

To hold the outriggers I use stainless rod holders which go through the gunnel and have cross pins in the base of the holders, a corresponding slot is in each of the outriggers to keep them located as desired.

My rod holders are approx 1 metre  aft of the outrigger holders, now when I sought advies from a couple of people about rigging things up in this manner I was told that this set up was not favoured because in their eyes having a 50mm hole in the gunnels would not be strong enough to support the outriggers in a bit of a sea. Well I have run mine in 1-11/2 m seas without any distortion or cracking to the quinnie gunnels. and the boat has not suffered from any great changes to stability. Note I say great changes, because you do notice that the boat has changed a bit in stability but it is not to any great or endangering effect, but it has changed and you no doubt will notice it when you go side on to a sea, although I have not had the outriggers dip into the water as some said would be a risk. And I must say if my boat rolled that much I would lower them quick smart to bring stability back to a comfortable level. I use my outriggers when bottom bouncing as well as trawling. By busing fishing rod holders for the outrigger bases I saved a big heap of dollars and I don't believe that I have compromised boat structure or stability to dangerous levels.

Hope this helps a litte bit.

cheers

Meglodon

If you are setting it up seriously then reelax reef 450 bases are the nuts, have used slot in types and they are fine if you are only using them once or twice a year. 5-5.5m poles are the go as longer ones put a lot of pressure on the base.

If you want to try a cheap set I have my old poles which are fully rigged black pete ones which I will sell for $300. You will then need to get a set of bases from Black Pete marine which i think are only about $50. Mine are still on my boat as I don't want to leave big holes.

I've got these

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Outriggers-11ft-Mini-game-boat-black-poles-/300433881800?pt=AU_Boat_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f3413ac8#ht_684wt_905

and they seem pretty good. No need for much bigger I reckon, especially if they are only a casual use thing.

Quooba that positin for mounting will be fine use aalluminium bracet in the back side to spread load 5-10 mm bigger the better your poles shoul not over hang the transom by 2-3 feet max lay them along the gunnel to determine mounting position use lock nuts on the bases.Collapsible poles are easy to store make sure they are reall lokked in when full height .i would allso reccomend you run tag lines  for less drop back to your main line reduces set hook time.Glass poles have nicer action than alluminium and reelax would be my pick

I have the escapin tackle 4m ones and they are pretty good so far.

Not sure the size of your boat but 5 or 5.5m appears a bit long to me.  I'd be looking more 4 to 4.5m.  Reelax is quality but not cheap.

http://pakula.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=116&Itemid=240

I have some reelax bases i would be willing to sell

they are gunnel mounts so will do the job for you - let me know if you are interested i would take 200 the pair for them

cheers

Clint

That setup Lucky Tim put you onto looks the goods.. I have the same setup and they work great.

When you are installing them, remember to put some marine ply on the back of the mount surface as it does take up some of the flexing and reduces the load on the bolts/immediate area around the mounts.

Good luck

thanks guys for all the advice and offers- has cleared up a few things for me and will be getting them sorted in the near future.... stay tuned for updates/ reports

cheers again, any other advice you guys think would be helpful, Im all ears

have been doing a bit more research... has anyone heard of/ used this brand? (Henderson)

http://www.escapin.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25&products_id=1191

they seem a fair bit cheaper than the rest of the brands, am guessing there might be a reason for this...?

cheers again

2 reviews on them on this post. Yes, they seem pretty good so far.

haha... your right... cheers