[WilliamH]

I am about to build a bucket / milk crate type of storage system. I need to see some pictures to get some ideas.

What works? What doesn't work? What would you do different?

Also, how do you transport multiple rods from vehicle to boat? One at a time? Do you have some type of fancy rod carrier?

Thanks

 

[Bret]

On My milk crate, I tie wrap pvc in each corner.. make sure they are secure..
As far as transporting the rods.. I found some velcro straps that will allow you to keep them together fairly snug. That works for me.. I am sure some of the others may have better ideas.

 

[ALW]

Some milk crate designs were used on the BigE April trip. They tended to blow over. It was a calm trip. They might need some weight or a larger base.

 

[Bret]

Some milk crate designs were used on the BigE April trip. They tended to blow over. It was a calm trip. They might need some weight or a larger base.

I keep my lead in there to keep it in place.. also you might bring some bungees to secure everything against the rail..

 

[txseadog]

Some milk crate designs were used on the BigE April trip. They tended to blow over. It was a calm trip. They might need some weight or a larger base.

I have found if you lash 2 crates together the stability is greatly increased. If you are by yourself just ask the person next to you, I've never been turned down. Also, make sure to use enough bungees and try to attach them to the top of the crate and as close to the deck as possible.

 

[Gunsmoke]

I'm thinking of designing an aluminum pipe setup around a 162 Qt. igloo. I figure I could easily get 8 welded rod holders around the cooler. It would have four legs with rubber feet. Two or three horizontal pipes radius fit around the cooler at equal spacing the cooler. The highest horizontal layer being right below the cooler snap shut for easy access. The rod holders will be welded to these. The igloo would be off the floor about two inches with aluminum pipes to support it. A radiused carring handle on each end, and possibly removable pneumatic casters for rolling to boat. I figure it would probably run about 1200 or so from a good aluminum fabricator. Would this be a problem bringing on the Big E. It would be about 26 x 46. That way, I have my food, drinks, ice and rods all in one place.

 

[galveston1602]

storage for a rig like that on the big e might be tricky if you arent the first one on the boat. Im just thinking of a location wide enough to hold the cooler and allow walking with enough vertical clearance for rods.

seems like you may be on to something though, as storage is always needed

 

[Gunsmoke]

I figure the rods would be placed in after the cooler finds a home. Do all the coolers go on the top deck? I've never been on the Big E but have a trip planned. I was planning on putting this on the top deck. I'm not going to have it made if you guys that frequent the Big E think it won't work. The rod holders would be welded at 90 degrees as to not hog space. I would put bungie cords from the bottom horz pipe to the rings on the reel seat to keep them from popping out. I might be able to weld 10 rod holders on it. 5 on front, and 5 on back. There is a guy outside of San Antonio called Pro Line Aluminum frabricators. Their weld joints are better than pipe welders of Florida. I had him make me a tower 10 years ago, and it still looks new.With this rig I could bring a friend with me on future trips and we could share the new device. There is no way it would tip over with the cooler full. I think 5 rods a person is enough.

 

[Minnow]

This topic reminded me of Ralf a.k.a Flounder from Allcoast board.
Those of you that went on TAG (Texas Allcoast gathering) tuna trip in 2000 maybe 2001 will remmember him.

He had a nice rod rack made of 4 rubber suction cups. Two on top section attached to rod holder and two on the lower sections just like on the photo.
It worked real well on the Dolphin 60hrs trip. Deep_Blue_Gulf do you remmember this rod holder?
I think that's one of the best rod holder i have ever seen on party boats.


I have the link to the company that sell those suctions cup on my old computer, I will try to dig it out from garage and post it.

 

[DeepBlueGulf]

Minnows,

I do remember it! I have only seen Flounder once since that trip, he showed me all around San Diego once when I was there. The lucky dog works right across the street from Squidco and goes there several times a week at lunch.

Gunsmoke, The smaller milk crate rocket launchers work pretty well, you just need to take some small rope to tie it off to the handrail and you'll be fine. If you decide to do the ice chest rocket launcher, make sure to take into consideration the height of the rod holders as some of your rods might not have enough clearance from the hardtop, or may not bend enough to clear the hard top to get into the rod holders. The other thing to consider is that your rod tips might hang on some of the framework on the bottom of the hardtop if your icechest gets tossed around by a big wave. The Big E is a great boat, you'll enjoy fishing it.

Tom - DeepBlueGulf

 

[WilliamH]

So these rod storage devices are kept next to your spot on the rail or am I missing something here?

 

[Minnow]

yes, this device will stick to flat surface on the wall of the boat.
This rod holder system doesn't take much space and it can hold up to 6 rods.

I need to find the name of the product and website that sell this.
I will go though my old hard drive tonight and try to find it.

 

[Gunsmoke]

I'm assuming that the upper deck roof is 7'. If the tallest rod I have is 5'8" and I weld the rod holders 2" off the bottom that give me 5'10" to the rod tip. Even if the roof joist is 5" I should be in good shape. What I need to know is are all the coolers kept on the upper deck? Would building this cause a problem with other fisherman on board? I don't want to piss anyone off. I just want a secure place to put my rods since there aren't enough rod holders on the top deck of the Big E.

 

[ALW]

There are many rod holders on the Big E. It seemed like one every 6 inches aft the the covered portion of the upper deck. There is a lot of motion and rolling up there, there are very few places to tie anything down. I did not see any one keeping rods under the covered portion of the upper deck. In heavy seas I would expect to see things sliding around up there. If the Big E requires that people use the upper deck instead of the galley for their gear there won't be much room for giant coolers. There are benches completely around the upper deck aft of the cabin. There are benches aft of the covered area lined up like church pews facing the back. They take out 70 or 80 fishermen on the one day trips. I wouldn't think more that two or three rods are needed. I used my Penn 50 VSW and a Calstar tuna stick for the the whole trip, I would just bring a back up for that. Most of the YF and BF are small but occasionly there is a big fish.

 

[Gunsmoke]

Once again, where are you supposed to put coolers. On their web site, they tell you not to bring a cooler bigger than 120 quart. On another forum, the deckhank named PeeWee was posting. I asked him about the cooler size. He told me that I could bring a 300 Quart if I got someone to help me load it on the boat. He said size didn't matter. If you have 40 people on a 52 hour trip, everybody needs a big cooler with food and drinks especially this time of the year. Where do they go?

 

[ksong]

I wouldn't think more that two or three rods are needed.
I used my Penn 50 VSW and a Calstar tuna stick for the the whole trip, I would just bring a back up for that. Most of the YF and BF are small but occasionly there is a big fish.
One jigging rod
one popping rod
one bait rod, plus one backup rod for each application

They are already 6 rods !!!

 

[Gunsmoke]

Maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing about rod storage. If 40 people each bring 4 rods that's 160 rods. I just did the virtural tour of the Big E. On the top deck I counted 20 rod holders total. 10 on the port and 10 on the starboard sides at the stern end. That's it. If you are only allowed to have one rod while fishing on the fishing deck, that leaves 120 rods hanging around somewhere.

The fishing deck is loaded with rod holders, but what a nightmare that must be if you are doing the shuffle and trying to move 120 rods that are in the way. Any advice on the subject from people that have fished the 52 hour trips would be helpful.

I just remember reading about all the problems and complaints on the memorial day trip. The galley was so full of equipment that you couldn't sit down. Deckhands throwing rods on the deck that were in the holders at the fishing deck level. People hogging the stern to cast spinners, etc.

 

[ksong]

If the Big E does many multi-day trips, they should have many rod holders available to the customers as long range boats out of San Diego.
Some cod party boats in New England have rod holder racks on the upper deck to store unused rods.

 

[WilliamH]

WOW!! What do you do with the squid?

 

[Ragman]

Hey Gunsmoke,

All coolers go up on the top deck. There is bench seating about 3/4s the way around that area and most coolers will slide under the benches. There is also bench seating in front of the stairs from the main deck to the upper deck.

On top deck, coolers and crates usually are separate (the crates w/rods usually are kept next to the stairs' rails).

Kil posted a great photo of what crates are used, if any.

The pics on the tour were taken before they added another 80 rod holders.