Oversize cup holders in the gunnels of a 228?

[luckydude]

I'm thinking about adding 4, each just forward of the rod holders that are stock. Partially because I want a place to put my drink (I carry around one of those big stainless cups with a straw filled with water) and partially because they are nice to drop the weight in from your halibut rig, hold a downrigger ball, etc.

Has anyone done this, is it easy peasy or are there some gotchas?

I'm thinking these guys or some other 316 stainless:

Whitecap 316 Stainless Steel Cup Holder w/ Drain

The Whitecap 316 Stainless Steel Cup Holder is built to be durable and includes a drain. Shop boat cup holders and more at Wholesale Marine.

www.wholesalemarine.com

 

[coldpizza]

Have you thought about these? I am thinking about them on my boat. Not sure how it will fit on the gunwale, yet.

 

[luckydude]

Have you thought about these? I am thinking about them on my boat. Not sure how it will fit on the gunwale, yet. View attachment 25179

I thought about those and decided not, I've already got 2 rod holders per side. Plus I put a 5 holder rocket launcher on the hard top so I have plenty of holders for an albacore spread (I'm green still, not gonna run more than 5 lines, maybe add some meat hooks but that is it).

You can get that style in slanted rod holders as well, can't remember where I saw them, but they exist.

Me, I just want cup holders. I ordered some that look a lot like the Grady ones, we'll see.

 

[Legend]

The 316 SS is the way to go. More mney but they look much after a year or two. I had a few of the inexpensive ones and they looked tarnished or spotty after a year in salt enviroment.

 

[glacierbaze]

You are getting bolder, those are some big holes?

 

[DennisG01]

You're on the right track - easy peasy. "Paint" the core with epoxy for extra protection. The plywood will soak up the resin quickly - keep doing it till it's not soaking in so fast (stays shiny). Also, "ease" the cut edge of the gelcoat - it's not "required" to do that - just "best practice".

 

[Fishtales]

Have you thought about these? I am thinking about them on my boat. Not sure how it will fit on the gunwale, yet. View attachment 25179

If I were cutting holes, I'd look at getting the most versatile solution. One that can hold drinks and do other things. The dual purpose gives you flexibility for a gimbal mount for a filet table, a bar table (men do sometimes sit at the dock!), grill or whatever else they will be selling us in the next few years. It's wood under the glass so all you need is the correct holesaw, powerful drill and bits.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

These are similar to the ones that you posted, but I like them a bit more as they have LED lights to light up the inside of the drink holders... although I'm not sure how long they would last.

Amazon.com

 

[luckydude]

If I were cutting holes, I'd look at getting the most versatile solution. One that can hold drinks and do other things. The dual purpose gives you flexibility for a gimbal mount for a filet table, a bar table (men do sometimes sit at the dock!), grill or whatever else they will be selling us in the next few years. It's wood under the glass so all you need is the correct holesaw, powerful drill and bits.

Good points but I really want what I want. I'm gonna use them for drinks and for a place to stick weights/lures as I'm rigging, or just storage.
Cup holders work great for that, cup/rod holders are gonna be not so great, stuff will get lost down there.

 

[luckydude]

You are getting bolder, those are some big holes?

3 5/8 inches. I sent Grady an email asking if there were any issues with a hole that big, we'll see what they say.

 

[glacierbaze]

I think I would want to know what the dimensions are on that piece of plywood that you will be drilling through. You may be able to see it glassed in underneath the gunnel. Since a cupholder is not reinforced with a backing plate, like a rod holder is, you may be essentially cutting that piece of wood in two. I would not want to do that anywhere near a stress point, like where your pot hauler is gunnel mounted.

 

[luckydude]

I think I would want to know what the dimensions are on that piece of plywood that you will be drilling through. You may be able to see it glassed in underneath the gunnel. Since a cupholder is not reinforced with a backing plate, like a rod holder is, you may be essentially cutting that piece of wood in two. I would not want to do that anywhere near a stress point, like where your pot hauler is gunnel mounted.

That's a good point though on my 2020 228, there is no backing plate for the rod holders, they just used washers. I know because I replaced one that I bent trying to haul up a crab pot tangled in something (I suspect a commercial fishing net).

I just spoke with a friend who knows boats way better than I do, he looked at my boat and said "put the rear one half way between the two rod holders" and then I'd put the front one as far forward as I can before the gunnel starts to tip up a bit. He also said "diamond hole saw".

Thoughts?

 

[glacierbaze]

Rod holders are 2 or 2 1/8 hole. On my last two Gradys, '93 and 2000, the rod holder holes looked like someone cut them with a hammer and chisel, and some of the bolts had very little wood on the hole side. They should have put backing plates, just to cover up the sloppy work. When I added 4 more on each boat, the holes were so snug, I had to drill releif holes on each side for the gimble pin to go through, and tap them in with a rubber mallet.
Look underneath 2 or 3 times before you drill, and again after you drill the pilot hole. Mask the area larger than the hole, and run the hole saw backwards until you are through the gel coat.

 

[luckydude]

Rod holders are 2 or 2 1/8 hole. On my last two Gradys, '93 and 2000, the rod holder holes looked like someone cut them with a hammer and chisel, and some of the bolts had very little wood on the hole side. They should have put backing plates, just to cover up the sloppy work. When I added 4 more on each boat, the holes were so snug, I had to drill releif holes on each side for the gimble pin to go through, and tap them in with a rubber mallet.
Look underneath 2 or 3 times before you drill, and again after you drill the pilot hole. Mask the area larger than the hole, and run the hole saw backwards until you are through the gel coat.

I've heard enough Grady stories in my time here that I think they tried a bunch of stuff, when it turned out to be the wrong answer, they changed. Modern Gradys seem over built and designed to last for 30+ years and still be nice. Not saying they are perfect, but they suck a whole lot less than 99% of the other boats.

My rod holder hole, that I've seen, just the one that I replaced, was cleanly cut. I will say that the under the gunnel stuff, whatever it is, is soft, the washers were bent a lot as they pulled into it.

I'll be careful Glacier, I've got a diamond hole saw coming, I'm hoping I come back here and you go "well done".

 

[glacierbaze]

If you do it yourself, and are happy with the results, that is a job well done.

 

[DennisG01]

Lucky, this is a super easy install - I can't tell you how many times I've done this myself or the guys at my shop. What you'll want to do is measure the width UNDERNEATH to make sure you have enough clearance. This will also give you a chance to double check that there's nothing in the way (wires, for example) that you need to work around. Don't overthink it - it's just a hole Since it sounds like you're new"ish" to this kind of stuff, tape the gunwale and then start the hole saw in reverse till you get through the gel and just into the glass. That will help to avoid gel cracking. A "slightly" bigger hole saw is ideal. You may want to have a helper watch as you're drilling to make sure you're going as perpendicular as possible or even use a square. The slightly bigger hole saw helps here, in case the hole isn't perfectly perp. Just make sure the hole saw isn't too big!

As far as forward/back goes and where to drill... put them where it makes sense for YOU. Just double check underneath. And don't forget the stuff I said earlier.

 

[Fishtales]

Good points but I really want what I want. I'm gonna use them for drinks and for a place to stick weights/lures as I'm rigging, or just storage.
Cup holders work great for that, cup/rod holders are gonna be not so great, stuff will get lost down there.

Got ya. The gunnels may not be wide enough anyway. Add to the improvement list :>)

 

[Mustang65fbk]

If guys on here can mount their Scotty downrigger base plates at (5 1/2" x 5 1/2" per Cabela's) to the gunwales then I don't see why there would be an issue at all with cupholders with an ID of 3.5" or an OD of 4 3/8". Here's a couple pictures of GG members with Scotty downrigger plates on their 226/228's.

Anyone set up a 228 for salmon fishing?

Just got a 96 228g for salmon and sea bass fishing in monterey ca. Thought it was a good deal at 18,500 but turns out the motor needs new heads to the tune of 10k I hope to have a long lasting seaworthy boat for awhile. Now for the fun part setting it up for Salmon fishing sometimes to 300ft...

www.greatgrady.com

 

[SkunkBoat]

Don't overthink it - it's just a hole

HEHEHE Don't underthink it either.
Make sure you center the hole based on the width UNDERNEATH not the width on top.
Make sure you consider the OD of the flange when you have your hole center.

 

[glacierbaze]

Four 1/4 inch bolt holes, mounting your typical downrigger base, removes a total of 0.196 in.² of plywood, spaced several inches apart. Drilling a 3 1/2 inch hole removes 9.62 in.² of wood, in one spot.