How High Should I go...

[trigger243]

Well  I just ordered two reels for two new planner boards masts.. I was going to go with 7ft on each side of the boat, which would be about 8ft above the water.. Then I found a way to have telescoping poles..

Can anyone tell me is going 12 ft above the water going to extend my range of my double boards.. I have only run 7ft booms before now..

Thanks for the information

Trigger243

[SpoonPullers.com]

[Erie Adventures Sportfishing]

Trigger, 12 ft booms will not double your range.  In fact, it will not increase your range much, if at all.  If you boat is under 30 feet it may prove to just put excess pressure on your fiberglass/ wood (or whereever the mast is mounted).  It depends on what your running off them, bvut if you're running medium to heavy set ups of the boards, you should be fine with 7 ft.  If you are running very light rigs, a few more feet will help get them down, but 12 ft above the water is quite high.

[dadnsonfishn]

Trigger243, I think that is a great idea.  Not only have I had sucess running 8 ft waves with the offshore orange boards inline with your line, but also I have found the lower you go, the more resisitance to the rod.

My 2 cents from what I have experienced.

cheers

[Uncle Buck]

you'll put excessive strain on your gunnels unless you properly brace/support the masts...

stick you arms out to the side of your body... get someone to push your arms back

now do the same with your elbows touching your torso....

same thing but worse would happen with your gunnels

[trigger243]

Ya  12 feet might just be to much.. I have the poles vertical through two pipe standoffs mounted to the side of the boat. They're about 28" apart and the lowest one is 6" off the floor so there would still be a lot of strain on those..

I'm gonig to stick to 7ft.. I'm getting about 50-60 ft away from the boat before the lead gets into the water and starts affecting the doubles boards.

I may try some testing with a 10 ft mast.. see if I can get an extra 20 ft or so more for the spread

Thanks Againg for your advise to all that responded.

Trigger243

[getitwet]

I'm trying to figure out the question.  The common misconception is that the baits will run better if your mast is higher.  The fact is the higher the mast coupled with the right boards will make for the best set up.  You have some charter captains taking it to the extreme in Wi. by using 23ft mast and running 10 slide divers off each side at once (seen It)  

I have an 8ft mast on the bow that is at least 12 and more like 14ft off the water running 500lb spectra with Kittrick boards and it stays tight as a  guitar string.  That what makes a good board system.  There are a lot of guys running the self reeling mast out there and if your board gets that much slack in it you or either turning way to fast or your boards aren't pulling hard enough.

The right combination is the key but make sure you fasten the bolts down well, there is a lot of pressure on these set ups.

hope this helps
Yvan

[trigger243]

I'm running double large boards and have a pretty good pull on them.. I was thinking about raising the mast to get the line out of the water more and therefore allowed to run the boards further away from the boat.. Seams like changing boards might be a better way to go as it will bring the boards forward and the lines a bit out of the water.

Thanks Guys.

Trigger243