outrigger for 265

drbatts

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2008
Messages
825
Reaction score
171
Points
43
Location
CT
Model
Express 305
When I bought my 265, it did not come with outriggers. I believe that the Lee Jr. were the standard from Grady. Can anybody with a 265 confirm this for me. Also what size poles are you guys using thanks in advance.
damian
 

Walk The Line

Active Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Westbrook, CT
Lee's Jr with the wishbone mounts were the std. I had mine installed after I bought it too, and I went with the 19.5 ft x-strong poles. Some on this forum prefer the hardtop mount riggers made TACO, but most dealers recommend that the hardtop be reinforced to accomodate the load, which makes that option much more expensive.
 

jekyl

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
542
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
70
Location
Townsville Australia
Same here mine came without and was interested in the taco top mounts but I have to say the Lee juniors are (in my opinion ) easier to use trouble free and look great.
I fitted mine in about half a day with my son helping ; a little bit fiddly but definitely not hard , particularly if you have used outriggers a lot and uns derstand what they are there to do........I still had to manufacture backing plates for the cabin sides.
 

gradyfish22

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
1,225
Reaction score
3
Points
0
Location
Port Monmouth, NJ
I have lee jr's with the wishbones, they are the 18inch spread model I believe, and look great on the boat. They do make passage forward a little tougher, but to me they are easier to maintain and I think they personally are more durable and easier to use. I believe my poles are 18 or 19ft, not sure off hand, it would show on the Grady catalogs on their website, I think 18 was standard through. I have mine double rigged and also added a center rigger, we troll 8 rods off my boat when conditions permit. Personally I've used hardtop mounted riggers and on an express or walkaround I'm not a fan of them, on a CC that is different due to space and mounting locations. I like having my halyards low where I can reach them instead of off the hardtop, on a 265 they are tough tto reach. I double rigged my center rigger and those lines are tough to reach, but I rigged them so you can unclip them and move the line to the center of the boat and reach it better when moved aft to attach to the clip and deploy it, then reclip it, keeps you from standing on the gunnels like you would have to for a hardtop mounted rigger. I also feel the lee jr's flex less due to Grady's holder's they incorporate on the hardtop, they are a lay down accessory on the site, I think they are roughly $150 a pair, I was just on lee's site today ordering parts for my hardtop rod holders.

As mentioned above, the hardtop will need a bit of reinforcement to do it right, and in the end the lee jr's will end up beng cheaper to install. For a serious offshore fishermen a wishbone would be perfered over a hardtop rigger anyday, I don't think I'd ever get hardtop mounts unless it was on a CC.