Manual Downriggers - Horizontal vs Vertical Reels

[pickardjw]

Looking to invest in some downriggers for my 14' aluminum boat and I'm wondering if there are any distinct advantages for reel orientation. Will mostly be running lighter balls for kokanee but they might see some mack trolling action as well. I'm thinking horizontal because they are going on swivel bases behind the rear bench seat in the boat and horizontal seems easier for a seated position. Curious to hear people's thoughts, or has everyone gone electric already!?

[metlhead]

I have vertical Penns on both my boats. They save a bit of space along the rails. No problems so far. If you have a lot of room along the rails, it may not matter.

[Stein]

I had cannon vertical manuals for many years and liked them better than the scotty horizontals.  Not sure exactly why, but they seemed easier to crank fast, we would use 15# balls at 90-120' for chinook, so speed and ease of cranking was a big bonus.  They were also easy one hand operation where the brake and crank were all one instead of having to switch levers to work them up and down, much more intuitive especially when you have other people on the boat that want to help.

That said, if you can go electric, do it.

[MADMAX]

I’m a Penn manual long boom guy
Works for me

[GWP]

I have one Scotty horiz I would sell with a 5# ball, mount, and a spare end pully for $50 if you are interested. Works fine.

[C-Money]

I really like the Cannon Vertical manuals. Great downriggers. Used scotty horizontals a ton on friends boats and they are great too. I will agree with above stating you can crank up balls faster and easier with the vertical Cannons.

[jeffro]

Manuals work but suck….
Once you go electric you’ll never look back

[Mfowl]

Small boat, light duty, go with the Scotty horizontal. Bigger boat, heavier weight, the Cannon verticals are great!

[lokidog]

Much easier to reel vertically and takes up less space on a small boat. I like the release mechanism on the Cannons.

[jamesfromseattle]

I'm still a manual guy.  I find that the vertical styles are easier to operate with one hand, which is nice in a small boat.  Favorite manual downrigger is a Penn, but I don't think they make them anymore.  Really easy to use on a small boat.  Compact, powerful, and simple design.   

[pickardjw]

I think with the vertical I'm concerned with the logistics of reeling when it's located behind my seat. The alternative would be putting them in the middle of the boat on a 2x6 but we have the middle seat removed and a carpeted deck so I don't really want to block off all that walking around space.

[Stein]

Not sure why it would be a problem.  I had a vertical on my 14' smokercraft and had zero issues with cranking.  The one issue to consider is that if you have the boom out on a small boat, it will create a bunch of drag and you may end up going in circles.  I ended up having to run it more out the back then side since I only had one at the time.  Bigger boats don't have nearly the same problem but on that one I literally couldn't keep from a sharp turn even with the motor full over and enough throttle to go 3.5 mph.

[GWP]

Not sure why it would be a problem.  I had a vertical on my 14' smokercraft and had zero issues with cranking.  The one issue to consider is that if you have the boom out on a small boat, it will create a bunch of drag and you may end up going in circles.  I ended up having to run it more out the back then side since I only had one at the time.  Bigger boats don't have nearly the same problem but on that one I literally couldn't keep from a sharp turn even with the motor full over and enough throttle to go 3.5 mph.

Been there, done that, in my 12' camping boat. Quite entertaining to find that out on the water trying it for the first time. Dipsy diver was not quite as bad.

[pickardjw]

I did read about turning issues. Hoping a streamlined weight rather than a ball will help with that as well. If not, they're already mounted at the rear of the boat and on swivel bases.

[pickardjw]

Secondary question: any opinions on swivel bases between the brands? Looks like Scotty has the best, can't tell if Penn even sells one.

[h2ofowlr]

I have both and find the vertical manuals are easier to crank up vs to he horizontal Scotty.

[h2ofowlr]

Secondary question: any opinions on swivel bases between the brands? Looks like Scotty has the best, can't tell if Penn even sells one.

I have swivel bases for both. Scotty is 4 wing bolts to remove.  Penn is one larger bolt to remove.  Penn swivel will take 4 bolts to mount to something and will stay on boat unless wing nuts are purchased and used.

[metlhead]

I have Penn swivels for my large boat. I made flat brackets for my sled and can swivel the riggers by loosening the single bolt.

[lokidog]

Cannon swivels are very easy to use.

I had downriggers on a 14' Sylvan aluminum boat, they acted like the vanes on an arrow, crazy hard to turn. Oddly, the same downriggers on my 12' Zodiac inflatable did not cause the same issue, I reeled in many, many salmon on that little boat.

[MIKEXRAY]

That's funny after reading this whole thread as I have 2 Cannon vertical manual downriggers mounted on Scotty swivel bases. I don't mind the manuals as I only use them 3 or 4 times a year , never done horizon but seems an awkward motion to me.  I used an old solid wood thick cutting board to make the adapter to mate up the two brands. The scotty bases work perfect in my application with easy pivoting and solid locking.