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Inflatable Fishing Boat: The Best Cheap Mini Fishing BoatsAn inflatable fishing boat is a great choice when you are looking for portability. My collapsible Zodiac inflatable boat allows me to carry my boat in the back of my truck when traveling with my camping trailer. I certainly wouldn't be able to do the ocean fishing trips I do with a cartop aluminum type boat or a folding boat! If you want to fish deep for salmon or halibut, some downrigger mounts and boat fishing rod holders are a must. This will require some customizing. On the two ocean trips I completed in 2010 I refined my custom mounts and now have a slick system that I can still take apart to carry inside my truck box.
Above is the prototype I made out of wood to test out my design ideas. The downrigger mounts needed to extend over the tubes further, or I would need longer downriggers. I made an exact replica of the new bracket design I wanted out of wood, as a model for the welder to copy. I had the fishing boat seats (trunk) and downrigger mounts made out of aluminum to stand up to ocean salt and to keep them light weight.
Here it is with downriggers installed on a trip to Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 2010. The downrigger brackets have key hole slots in the side and there are T shaped nuts on the sides of the box. I simply line up the holes and push the bracket down to secure it. I also put one bolt into the bracket to secure it. The bolt has a large plastic head so it can be quickly attached and detached when desired. It is a bit of work setting it up, but the downriggers can be mounted and all set up in under half an hour. I admit it..... too much work for my liking to set it up for the afternoon, but it is great for longer trips where I don't need to take it apart each day.
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