RAM-119SW Fly Fishing Rod Holder Conversion
I love Saltwater fly fishing but have never been very happy with the rod holders that you can purchase off the shelf. the Scotty Fly Rod Holder works well, is very simple, but on my Scupper Pro I don't have any Scotty Rod Holders or bases, and I wasn't keen to add more stuff!
I already have RAM Mounts behind the cockpit on the Scupper Pro and although RAM do a fly rod holder I wanted something that was a little easier to use, I use RAM 119 Tubes when trolling and bait fishing and enjoy their simplicity, they are probably the most versatile rod holders available.
The new RAP-119SW has a slightly different fitting, less components and no springs to lose unlike my existing RAM 119's, they are also made of a plastic composite rather than aluminium.
The idea was to deepen the reel grove on the composite RAP-119SW. I drew a line on either side of the tube, then a line joining the two about 8cm up from the base using a white chinagraph pencil. A Dremel with a little abrasive cutting disk was used to cut down both lines and across to cut out the waste, this was slightly problematic as the plastic gets so hot that it rewelds behind the disk so running through a couple times was necessary.
Marking the cut lines with a chinagraph pencil.
Ready to cut.
Cutting out with a small cutting disk.
Once cut out, I used a sharp craft knife to chop the melted plastic off the tube, this was relatively easy to do without chopping into the tube and making a mess.
I then changed to a sanding disk tool on the Dremel and started to tidy the sides of the slot and shaping an angle to accept the fly rod and reel. I wanted the rod/reel to be gripped lightly but still being able to slip the rod in and out easily without damaging the cork handle. A few attempts were required to get the slot shaped properly, but it works well.
Angling and smoothing the cut out with a small rotary sanding tool.
I removed the chinagraph pencil lines with a little lighter fuel on a cloth.
Next stage is to add a strap to secure the rod, had a good suggestion on the forum of using a section of plastic pipe with a slot cut in it, this could be spun round to lock the rod and reel in place, but I wanted something a little more secure so decided on a strap.
First thing required was to remove some of the leash retainer on the back of the RAM mount, so out with the chinagraph to mark the area to be removed.
With waste removed, but retaining the rod leash retainer.
To hold the webbed strap in place permanently I didn't want anything that could damage the cork on the fly rod handle, so drilled a hole central of the strap position.
Before placing the plastic rod through the holder one end was heated and flattened against a block of wood to spread the base. The rod was then positioned.
I used a heated scewer held in a wet rag to burn a hole through the strap, the plastic rod was then pushed through and the end flattened with the hot scewer. I blackened the end with a permanent marker, because it looked nicer!
The clips used were off an old rucksack (never throw anything away me).
To keep things tidy I used a plastic clip as above, again off the same rucksack, these clips are availble from B&Q, hardware stores, or hiking stores.
Job done.
Rod pulled up against the strap to ensure the butt does not slip out.
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