A Simple Solution to Convert from Fishing to Cruising and Back Again
Published: Monday, July 20, 2020
Boats have evolved in so many ways in recent years. Every year hulls, motors, and electronics just get better and better and, while there has been a lot of innovation, one aspect of the typical fiberglass boat has not changed much in decades: the ‘flush-mount’ rod holder. You may not even realize that your boat has them.
Most boaters purchase boats as a way to get out on the water and engage in a variety of activities such as cruising, fishing, heading to the sand bar, or as a floating dinner/entertaining platform. During most any activity on a boat, ‘another two feet’ would always come in handy.
Crafted in the Pacific Northwest and specifically designed to provide the flexibility we all wish we had, Burnewiin, Inc. has provided an excellent solution that grants boaters more utility using their existing space.
Burnewiin’s universal marine mounts can be installed on a boater’s vessel in place of factory rod holders and are available in a beautiful polished cast 316L stainless or a more economical composite material. There are configurations for flat surfaces, vertical surfaces, and rail mountings. Once installed, the mounts allow a boater to quickly and easily switch from fishing to cruising to entertaining and back again. With little effort, a boater can switch from rod holders or downriggers to fender cleats, marine barbeques, cutting boards, or SUP/Kayak carriers.
On a recent fishing trip out of Catawba Island, Great Lakes Scuttlebutt’s own publisher, Erik Kyle, joined Tom Anderson, CEO of Burnewiin, to try out these accessories, proving that it is possible to quickly deploy the spinning rod holder for a short—and successful—walleye troll pulling plugs.
Like a lot of fiberglass boats, the Everglades 23’ Center Console they used for their fishing trip came with two 30-degree rod holders on each gunwale—really only good for holding fishing rods sticking straight up. These factory rod holders were replaced for the Burnewiin GM650 stainless mounts, which then allowed other Burnewiin accessories to swap out quickly and easily.
One of the biggest advantages of the Burnewiin universal mount was being able to avoid ‘double-stacking’ fender lines and mooring lines at the dock through the use of the FC3120 Fender Cleat. This convenient fender cleat includes a unique line management feature that eliminates the need to tie knots. Additionally, it is easy to adjust in height and stays with the fender in storage while underway.
Once underway, the cleats were stored and the Burnewiin mounts easily transitioned to holding a fillet knife in the forward mounts, with rod holders in the rear positions. A quick-adjust trigger on the front of the RH3740 Rod Holder allowed for effortless vertical position adjustment, and the mounts include internal splines for quick rotational positioning. Setting the Rod Holder at 90° to the gunwale allowed Erik and Tom to achieve a nearly 20 foot trolling spread! Although this particular trip didn’t need downriggers, Burnewiin mounts can accommodate nearly any downrigger made while still allowing for quick deployment and easy storage.
Clean and versatile, the Burnewiin system allows a boater to gain flexibility onboard without the need to install any additional single-purpose bases onto their vessel.
Find all Burnewiin accessories at www.burnewiin.com.
This article first appeared in the Summer Issue (Jul/Aug) 2020 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Accessories, Retrofitting
