Backing for Berts Rod Holder

[propman]

Just got two Berts Rod Holders W/ 12" track. My question is how much backig plate should I use to mount it on my boat, The boat is Alm. and I am going to use 1 X 6 wood decking to put under the track on the bottom side of the rails, do I need to make it longer then the tracking plate, I will be running dipsey off of them. Thanks Propman

[Paulywood]

The longer the piece you can get under there, the better. It will help disperse the force of the fish hitting that dipsey rod. I have 5' worth of tracks on my boat and I ran backer plates (engineered deck boards) the whole length of the gunnel. But there is no standard ratio or anything, just whatever you can fit.

[tgafish]

Agreed. The more the better. My steel plate backing extends 2 inches around and the gunnel still flexs.

[Just Hook'n]

I ran 1/4" aluminum on the top and bottom of all my mounts and tried to make them a little longer than what I was mounting.

The same size is just too risky with the rocking of the waves and when fish hit.

[Priority1]

NEVER use treated lumber on an aluminum boat. The chemicals used to treat the wood are highly corrosive to aluminum. This has been discussed on several boat and fishing sites including this one. Wood decking is treated lumber. I think the composite Plastic Wood decking is OK.

I have found that for fiberglass or aluminum boat that cheap plastic cutting boards make great backing plates. They will last forever, are tough as nails and can be cut with wood working tools.

[Smells Like...Fish!]

Skip the treated wood for sure! Also be sure to make the backing plate a different size than the item you are mounting. When the backing plate and mounted item are the same size they can act like a punch and can rip thru what they are mounted to. I use a larger backing plate to distribute the load as far as possible.

[Hotdog71]

What they said- I used the cuttingboards. They were easy to install and wont rot out.

[Adam Bomb]

1//4" aluminum is a great backing plate. Will not rust, strong, works very well.

[Killin' It]

Adam, were would I find this, I need to put plates under my tree's

[Priority1]

Dave you can probably find pieces on eBay, or any metal supply place.

[Killin' It]

God I wish I was more handy

[MY2SONS]

Adam, were would I find this, I need to put plates under my tree's

www.speedymetals.com I've used these guys before. Very fast service, and cheap prices. They will even give discounts to returning customers.

[Adam Bomb]

A local metal supply shop or even scrap yards have useable metals.

[Smells Like...Fish!]

Look for a machine and fabricating shop in your area. They will be your best friend if you need something custom made or repaired! They will usually sell you scrap that works for backing plates.

propman:

Rix Enterprise, Inc.

5891 Saraville Rd.

Creal Springs, IL 62922

Ph. 618-996-8237

Fax 618-996-8238

http://rixenterprise.com/index.html

Dave Ash, Here are 3 in Holland:

Impact Fab Inc · Website · (616) 399-9970

3440 John F Donnelly Dr · Holland

http://impactfab.com/

Diversified Welding & Fab Inc · (616) 738-0400

12813 Riley St · Holland

Larry Brinks Machine & Fab · (616) 396-2052

239 S Waverly Rd · Holland

[sslopok]

I used 3/4 inch oak under the gunnels with my 17 inch bert tracks. It is pretty much the same length as the track and a little wider. I wish I could have used a much longer piece, but I didn't have much room to work with. On the driver side track I could only get the washer and nut on the 3 bolts on one side of the track. The other 3 I didn't have enough room to get at them. Lund sure made it hard to access under the gunnels. The bolts without the washer/nuts are really tight in the oak but I am hoping they hold. I can just see half my boat being ripped off by a king. Just don't know how to remedy the situation without unassembling my boat.

[magnumdeke]

I just put in 1 x 6 oak treated with Napa fiberglass resin and glued it in with 3M 5200, Tough as nails real solid, I had great access underneath so I ran it all the way up to my console on both sides, works great for having a spot to screw my wiring up to also!

[cary mac]

Dave look up sparta sheet metal. They are in walker.They will cut and drill out to your specs or sell you raw pieces.

[PofC]

Dave

I am trying to remember if Ace in zeeland has Aluminum pieces ,I now you can buy Steel tin pieces up to 3 or 4 feet there(The New store),Also Lowes has some pieces. Don't forget to get to know your companys Maintance staff,They my have scrap pieces or maybe able to help with drilling holes and such.