Bow Mounted Life raft on Marlin

[Meanwhile]

I'd like to place a Life raft on the bow of my 2007 Marlin. For those that have done this, how did you secure the cradle? I'm not sure of the build on the top cap, can I use screws or through bolts? Perhaps blind bolts with a toggle?

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

I had a 6 person Viking raft launch itself from their cradle mounted on the roof, in heavy waves, and it deployed nicely after breaking 3 rods on its journey overboard. Luckily no one was hit. The arms on their cradle were bent, with one broken off. The strap did not hold. I suspect one of the arms had a crack develop and I did not notice it. Word to the wise, another item for the checklist.

 

[Fishtales]

I struggled with this too with my Marlin. I saw some boats in the north west that have done this, but just didn't like the look. The mouting scheme picked up the raised edge under the bow rail and the cabin roof (fore of the hatch). It just looks awful to me, takes away from the bow (view and walkaround use). In the end, I could not go through with it. I didn't take it further, but if I were to mount a raft, I would do it on the hardtop. Grady says the top isn't strong enough though. I don't know the hard top frame is quite sturdy and I think you could pick up points above the frame.

I ended up with a valise and keep it in the mid berth area,

Good luck and if you do it, put some pics up.

 

[Meanwhile]

Bump.

There must be someone that has done the bow mount on a Marlin.

Did you through bolt the thing? I hate to start drilling without knowing exactly how the bow is built.

Next will be a call to Grady, but a photo of placement would be a big plus.

Randy

 

[Meanwhile]

From Grady:
The top side of the deck has ½” marine plywood coring encapsulated in fiberglass.

I post this in case the question comes up again.

 

[journeyman]

A member here, freddy063, has (had?) a life raft mounted at the bow of his Sailfish. It may or may not be what you're looking to do with your rig. Search his images, there are a couple of them.

 

[freddy063]

I have a sailfish and mounted my raft on the bow. I made my own brackets to connect to the cradle, it's a OK setup that leave the weight off the hardtop. Can you zoom in on my pic to see anything, having trouble posting picture on here for some reason.

 

[Meanwhile]

I have a sailfish and mounted my raft on the bow. I made my own brackets to connect to the cradle, it's a OK setup that leave the weight off the hardtop. Can you zoom in on my pic to see anything, having trouble posting picture on here for some reason.

Did you drill through the top deck? That is the part that stalls my thought process.

 

[journeyman]

Did you drill through the top deck? That is the part that stalls my thought process.

Here's one thing that would cause me to pause drilling anything in that area. I don't know what's inside Freddy's Sailfish but I'm assuming you have the molded cabin roof liner like my '08. As you probably know, they are prone to cracking. Some on this forum have had good luck getting them fixed, some I've read have not. I have not had any issues to date, KNOCK KNOCK... I would think that by drilling holes through it, if that is your intention, you may potentially increase the chances of it happening. Just a thought...

 

[freddy063]

I didn't drill in the top of the deck, all the mounting bolts are drilled in the side walls 1/4 inch bolts with big rubber and fender washers. I will try to post better pictures tomorrow.

 

[MA208]

I went with a valise packed 6 man and put it in the aft fish box. Less room for fish but I bring a cooler anyways. Fits nicely but barely and still accessible but not automatic.

 

[Meanwhile]

Thanks for the responses.

I sell tuna commercially if I don't have clients, so a valise raft will not work. I had a 6 person Viking raft on the top, but their cradle failed, and launched the raft at 25 knots. Luckily no clients were hit, I did lose a few rods as it went overboard.

After talking to other skippers I learned that a failed cradle is not that rare.

This is the reason I want to mount on the bow with a custom float free cradle. I'll not use a hydrostatic device, I'll use a rated break free link. Those are authorized and can be obtained at a raft packing shop. Should the boat turtle, it is likely to deploy by falling free. In either case fouling in gear is an issue.