Scotty High Performance Downriggers

[Happy Gilmore]

If you have Scotty HP Downriggers be sure not to wash it down. Johns Sporting goods just said its my fault for washing my Downriggers with fresh water after being in the salt water. He said it washes off the grease that water proofs the expensive units. He said it was my fault for spraying the hose water on the units.

[pickardjw]

What does the manual say? Rinse with fresh water is the 1st maintenance step in the manual I found.

Vendor probably doesn’t have any role in a warranty claim. Manufacturer packaging often has a note in the packaging that mentions this. Not familiar with that shop but I always go straight to the manufacturer for a warranty claim.

If my Vortex bino’s take a crap I don’t contact Sportsman’s Warehouse, I contact Vortex.

[SeaRun1]

When your boat goes into saltwater everything gets rinsed when you get home.  I have been washing mine off with a hose since I was a kid and never had a problem.  Those hp models are not cheap.  Why are they not sealed off from the environment?  Scotty is a company with long NW saltwater salmon fishing roots.  I am interested to hear what Scotty has to say about this when you call them.  Also seems like the company you were talking to really dropped the ball (pun intended) with customer service.  Good luck.

SR1

[EnglishSetter]

That looks like salt.  I suspect you're rinsing them with too much pressure, driving salt in.  Same thing happens to reels.

I've had the non HP model for 20 years.  I rinse them off, but with a gentle "shower".

Let us know what Scotty says.  Scotty uses specific vendors as their repair stations.

[Happy Gilmore]

I rinse everything. Do not use a pressure washer. The dealer in Everett said it happens all the time. So, buyer beware with the new HP model.

I went in Englunds in Westport and he said hes sold three in the last week to people with the same exact problem.
.

[KP-Skagit]

What does the manual say? Rinse with fresh water is the 1st maintenance step in the manual I found.

Vendor probably doesn’t have any role in a warranty claim. Manufacturer packaging often has a note in the packaging that mentions this. Not familiar with that shop but I always go straight to the manufacturer for a warranty claim.

If my Vortex bino’s take a crap I don’t contact Sportsman’s Warehouse, I contact Vortex.

Scotty themselves generally stand by their products so I would go straight to them. Not applicable for this situation but they will not stand by anything related to a ball hanging up. I had a brand new DR ripped off the side of the boat last year when the ball hung up and the swivel base tore in half. Never spooled an inch of cable despite being factory present. Also, the base broke before the cable. All I got was a discount on a new dr.

[EnglishSetter]

What does the manual say? Rinse with fresh water is the 1st maintenance step in the manual I found.

Vendor probably doesn’t have any role in a warranty claim. Manufacturer packaging often has a note in the packaging that mentions this. Not familiar with that shop but I always go straight to the manufacturer for a warranty claim.

If my Vortex bino’s take a crap I don’t contact Sportsman’s Warehouse, I contact Vortex.

Scotty themselves generally stand by their products so I would go straight to them. Not applicable for this situation but they will not stand by anything related to a ball hanging up. I had a brand new DR ripped off the side of the boat last year when the ball hung up and the swivel base tore in half. Never spooled an inch of cable despite being factory present. Also, the base broke before the cable. All I got was a discount on a new dr.

I don't think Scotty puts a lot into a "factory preset". 

I adjust mine to just hold my ball (20#) at scope and speed (up to 300' and 2.5 knots).  They're not a very sophisticated drag and can take a lot of "start up torque" to get them moving.  A small adjustment (60* on the nut) has a large effect on the drag. 

[Crunchy]

that looks bad.  I am in the market to upgrade from the 1106s to the newer HP models.

[BigCutty3]

While the new Scotty’s sure do rip that ball up, they are not the work horses that the old ones are.  We’re still running the old ones we’ve had over 20 years and they have been serviced for a variety of things but they have ungodly hours on them and still going strong (we don’t touch them with a hose btw) but I have plenty of friends with the new ones.  One went through 3 counters in a summer, and by the end he was ready to go back to the old ones.  I’ve caught a lot of fish bringing up my ball
Over the years.  If I was fishing real deep a lot (200+), I might switch but it hasn’t effected my catch rate, still consistently out fish the pack with all their new whiz-bang.  We’ll see how many are still in operation in 20 years, I’m not sold yet. 

[GWP]

I rinse everything. Do not use a pressure washer. The dealer in Everett said it happens all the time. So, buyer beware with the new HP model.

I went in Englunds in Westport and he said hes sold three in the last week to people with the same exact problem.
.

Wow! That sucks!
When I transitioned from fresh only to salt only (for now) I sure got a surprise how bad the corrosion issue is. My first clue was two non salt poles and reels I used in the salt, lightly rinsed, got out two weeks later to find the reels totally frozen up, and the screw heads popped off when I tried to remove them to get inside. Great.
Bad that Scotty's would do that!

[hookr88]

Just got a Scotty HP back from Sportco. Scotty has very specific guidelines on “hang up” damage. The warranty does not cover it. One of the sales associates told me to write full service on the repair work order, the Downrigger wouldn’t raise. I wasn’t real sure about that as a full service is $90, so I also wrote warranty repair. So I picked it up today and was charged for a full service, plus repairs, because the damage was due to hang up. Apparently,I wasn’t very clear about repair work only. Because of the full service being performed he only charged me for half the repair costs and waived the respool fee, I had it respooled. Not a full refund, but at least he met me halfway.
My buddy and I rinse everything with Salt Away now. Boat, motors crab pots, downriggers and reels.

[KP-Skagit]

While the new Scotty’s sure do rip that ball up, they are not the work horses that the old ones are.  We’re still running the old ones we’ve had over 20 years and they have been serviced for a variety of things but they have ungodly hours on them and still going strong (we don’t touch them with a hose btw) but I have plenty of friends with the new ones.  One went through 3 counters in a summer, and by the end he was ready to go back to the old ones.  I’ve caught a lot of fish bringing up my ball
Over the years.  If I was fishing real deep a lot (200+), I might switch but it hasn’t effected my catch rate, still consistently out fish the pack with all their new whiz-bang.  We’ll see how many are still in operation in 20 years, I’m not sold yet.

I imagine the line counters are a product they purchase vs make in house so I won't hold that against them. That said, I did run through the counters for a while. I noticed they now sell 5 digit counters, yeah... 10000s of feet. Though i wont be trolling Marianas Trench that tells me they went to a new provider. We will see how they hold up, so far so good.

[storyteller]

I was talking with Connor last week at Johns, he is a authorized warranty station for Scotty, that alone lets him supply parts, cheaper than  most.   I am curious if  you talked to Connor  about  this, he  is the owner.

[EnglishSetter]

While the new Scotty’s sure do rip that ball up, they are not the work horses that the old ones are.  We’re still running the old ones we’ve had over 20 years and they have been serviced for a variety of things but they have ungodly hours on them and still going strong (we don’t touch them with a hose btw) but I have plenty of friends with the new ones.  One went through 3 counters in a summer, and by the end he was ready to go back to the old ones.  I’ve caught a lot of fish bringing up my ball
Over the years.  If I was fishing real deep a lot (200+), I might switch but it hasn’t effected my catch rate, still consistently out fish the pack with all their new whiz-bang.  We’ll see how many are still in operation in 20 years, I’m not sold yet.

Real old (2 belts) or just old (1 belt)?

I've been through a couple belts and a few mechanical counters.

[Happy Gilmore]

I was talking with Connor last week at Johns, he is a authorized warranty station for Scotty, that alone lets him supply parts, cheaper than  most.   I am curious if  you talked to Connor  about  this, he  is the owner.

Hes the one who said it was my fault for rinsing them off. He said I sprayed the grease layer off that waterproofs the motor. These things are super simple. Its a bad design at best

[ASHQUACK]

I know some said it earlier but call Scotty directly. They take care of their customers. I bought a couple second hand and they hooked me up with replacement parts.

[Stein]

The Scotty design leads to these issues.  The motor is mounted below the spool and contained in a plastic cup.  If water gets in there it has no place to go other than soak the motor.  The motor spindle comes up through the top which is an opening that water will get through.  If you spray the spool water gets in there.  After replacing several motors, I lightly rinse the boom only, nothing around the motor housing.

Scottys are easy to fix and Connor sells all the parts at the best prices I have found.

From my experience, the Scotty warranty is about useless.  To use it, you have to pull the downriggers, send them to a shop that is likely backlogged 2-4 weeks where you won't be fishing.  Of course, they always break right in prime time, so I just pay for the parts and fix them myself.

[EnglishSetter]

The Scotty design leads to these issues.  The motor is mounted below the spool and contained in a plastic cup.  If water gets in there it has no place to go other than soak the motor.  The motor spindle comes up through the top which is an opening that water will get through.  If you spray the spool water gets in there.  After replacing several motors, I lightly rinse the boom only, nothing around the motor housing.

Scottys are easy to fix and Connor sells all the parts at the best prices I have found.

From my experience, the Scotty warranty is about useless.  To use it, you have to pull the downriggers, send them to a shop that is likely backlogged 2-4 weeks where you won't be fishing.  Of course, they always break right in prime time, so I just pay for the parts and fix them myself.

Seems this "cup" could use a weep hole.

[Stein]

The motor itself also holds water, the bearing at the bottom is the one that fails probably 90% of the time as any water basically just sits on the bearing.

I've gotten pretty good at replacing rotor bearings.

If you could somehow run the downrigger upside down or the motor was on top it would be far more reliable.

[EnglishSetter]

The motor itself also holds water, the bearing at the bottom is the one that fails probably 90% of the time as any water basically just sits on the bearing.

I've gotten pretty good at replacing rotor bearings.

If you could somehow run the downrigger upside down or the motor was on top it would be far more reliable.

JMHO, you shouldn't have to get good at it for a $750 downrigger made for saltwater use.

[Stein]

I have that same thought every time I fix it.  If I had something good to say about it I would simply state that at least they made it easy to work on.

I always hear about guys that run them forever with zero repairs, but that hasn't been my experience at all.

[30.06]

I was always a Penn DR guy. My Uncle ran Cannon's. My buddy likes Scotty. He says they are easy to fix. My reply is always- Because they are easy to break.

My personal belief is that is a flawed basic design the Canadians are just plain too proud to re-engineer. The spool should be upright with the motor next to it.

But once you have all the bases and wiring, it's just so easy to stick with the same brand.

[CP]

My Scotty downrigger spends most of its time on the shelf in my shed. 

The downriggers I use most are Penns. My 800/825 electrics are at least 30 years old, maybe 40.  A bit banged up and modified but they still work great. 

[Wetwoodshunter]

I am not a fan of the new HP Scotty’s. A lot of my friends use them and I had some and they have issue after issue, led depth gauge breaks, balls popping off it you tap the green button, corrosion issues. Warranty is great but they take constant maintenance.

I have and prefer the 1106’s and pull 15lb balls up to 350’ deep. Minor issues over the last 12 years to include brake pads, one failed depth gear and I SPLIT ONE IN HALF with a garage door. I called Scotty and told them what happened. They laughed at me and warrantied it for free.

Van Ripper’s in Sekiu is now a Scotty warranty facility. I had them tune mine up and he had it done in 2 days.

[huntnphool]

This has been an interesting thread. I’ve had my 1116’s for 21 years, never had an issue and I rinse them off daily after use.

[Happy Gilmore]

Sent Scotty pictures after speaking with them today. They looked at the photos and are sending me the parts needed to rebuild it. If you can install a lightbulb you can fix these things. Theyre super simple. Definitely takes little to no mechanical skill.