Adding tower w/ Rocket Launcher (inexpensively)...

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pjbrownva

Junior Member
So, I found an aluminum DIY tower w/ rocket launchers that is CHEAP (about $175 delivered on Amazon)

tower.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018830AFA

In the reviews, most people liked it. Some complained about needing to take your time as you cut down the pieces, de-burr them and assemble it.

It uses 1.25" aluminum tubes. The rod holders themselves are plastic (which I DON'T like) but I've decided to give it a go.

In my mind, I'm already working on modifications and upgrades... such as adding stainless steel rod holders in the sides and also along the top.

I'm also planning (or at least hoping) to get rid of the plastic mounting hardware and replace it with stainless steel.

I know this won't match a $1500 custom build rod rack. What's somewhat amusing is that I think I'm spending just as much on accessories and hardware upgrades as I am on the tower itself. More rocket launchers... upgraded hardware, flood lights (spreader lights) a new anchor light to mount on top of it. Aluminum clamps to mount the spreader lights... etc

Anyway, my rationale is that it'll give me a good, safe place to store rods while I'm fishing, and keep them from getting messed up or broken.

I'm open to ideas, and happy to post here as I go through the planning and installation for this project. :-) :sun:

-Phil

Found more info in a catalog and on the manufacturer's website:
rocketLauncher.jpg

https://oceansouth.us/shop/rocket-launchers/ma-100/
 
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For the price it is worth a shot I would think, It is not clear to me yet where the feet would mount on the gunnel. Looks like you need a flat surface which I think is already taken up on by my bimini mounts.
 
if you are a lake fishing guy it'll do...maybe.

If you run in the ocean with 20#/30# class outfits up there, it'll shake apart.

I'm guessing they used plastic rodholders to keep weight down and keep the price down. It would need to be a lot beefier to handle metal rodholders.
 
Big plans... we'll see how well they work!

SkunkBoat said:
if you are a lake fishing guy it'll do...maybe.

If you run in the ocean with 20#/30# class outfits up there, it'll shake apart.

I'm guessing they used plastic rodholders to keep weight down and keep the price down. It would need to be a lot beefier to handle metal rodholders.
Click to expand...



i agree that it should be beefier. I don't plan to put 30# class reels in it... that's just asking for trouble. I also don't plan to troll from it... at least not from the top. It's mainly intended to get unused rods up and out of the way.

I've also ordered some clamp-on stainless steel rod holders to put on the sides... I'll see how sturdy those seem to me. Maybe I can troll from those...
ss rod holders.jpg


Regarding the mounting, I'll have to see, but I believe that I can put the base vertically or horizontally and set the eyes accordingly to go in to it. I've also ordered some stainless steel bases...
stainless feet.jpg
I'll have to wait and see if the unit itself can be adapted to use stainless steel feet.

I've got a new anchor light and spreader lights with aluminum clamps.
stern light.jpg
The spreader lights shine white or blue, you can switch which is pretty cool.
spreader lights and clamps.jpg

I'm constantly moving unused rods from the stern rod holders to make room for fishing, and never have anywhere good to store them... I'm afraid that at some point I'm gonna break a rod, so hopefully this will prevent that from happening.

I'll also need to figure out a better place to keep my rods while trailering.... I don't like having them stick up really high in my current rod holders... the clearance seems too low to me, especially for tree branches, etc.

I'm considering one of those strap-like rod holders for my SUV....
fishing rod holder strap.jpg
and actually, just now, it occurred to me that I could rig it up inside the boat for trailering.... that would keep the rods down, untangled and safe from bouncing around.

:-)

Anyway, lots of goodies to come... (and I'll post photos and updates)... that's how I plan to keep busy this fall and winter!
 
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Update...

The strap rod holder works really well.

I love the tower too, and the spreader lights are pretty cool.

I'll try to get some photos this weekend and post them up.

You can shake the rod holder some, but I want to check and probably re-cut the pipes to make the width a little narrower.

I agree that a beefier setup would be preferred, but I think this one will work out well, as long as I know it's limitations!

More to come...

-Phil
 
Spring is in the air here in VA... I'm getting excited...

Another week or 2 and I'll pull out Fish Beware, and get back to work, prepping for Spring fishing starting in April.
 
Gladly. I have so many plans, ideas and projects that I've created my own "build thread" where I'll post plans, updates and info on the work, changes and mods I'm doing to my V20.

I'll post the update there now. Here's a link.

Fish Beware build thread...
 
Yeah please post some pics. I would love to see the setup. I have a ray marine element 9 and would love to add some radar to it but am hesitant since the towers are so expensive. So would love to learn about your setup
 
So, the tower that I put up I didn't care for. It could shake too easily, and I don't think it was beefy enough.

I thought about, what happens if a big swell throws someone off balance, and they grab the tower to catch themself.... and the thought that I didn't know if it would hold was scary!

I have since learned that a tower should be cut about 3/4" wider than the mounting feet, that way you pre-load the tower when it's installed, and that can help with shaking.

I gave away the tower to fishing buddy, and found a "tower-in-a-box" from Atlantic tower on Craig's list. I saved about 1/3 off of new, and it had never been installed, so it was worth the 2 hr drive each way to pick it up!

Here's fish beware with the rocker launchers I gave to my buddy.

Fish Beware Rocket Launchers copy.jpg

Even if I had known about the pre-loading trick, I'm still not sure that I would have felt comfortable putting a 20 lb radar up there (like the Raymarine HD Color 18" Radome)... Maybe something lighter like a raymarine quantum. Which only weights 12 lbs.



On a positive note, the tower LOOKED good, it held my spreader lights and VHF antenna just fine, and having the rocket launchers to get my rods up out of the way while fishing were all a big plus... so for less than $200, I can't say DON'T get it... I just decided that it wasn't right for me.

The atlantic tower is SOLID... No worries there... but it cost a LOT more too!
 
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