planer boards

[Throttles Down]

I made these last winter and used them all this last season .They will easily pull 5 40 tru-trips with very little lag behind the boat,you can't hardly wind them in ,you pretty much have to drive to them while someone winds up the line. The key to getting the boards to pull hard is they have to set low in the water.I have a piece of 1/4 x 1 x 24" long S.S bar stock attached to the inside edge of each piece of Azek close to the bottom edge,this not only makes them sit low in the water but keeps they from rolling over. I can toss them in the air and they always right themselves in the water [like a cat] .I think I have approx. $60 in them. I believe I bought the material from Lowes .Depending on how many lines your pulling and how rough the water is will determine which hole to pull from ,90% of the time I use the center hole

PS no cats were harmed in the developement of this boards

[captainjoe]

The plans look good. Thank you. What is Azek? I'm not familiar with that material. Does it float? Just a thought - I see that the boards are parallel to each other. What if we crank in on the threaded rod to put them slightly off to make them run harder to the outside? This way you could eliminate the SS bar.

Hay we are in the (R&D) Research & Development stages. Any ideas will be considered. ?????

[Throttles Down]

Azek is a composite material used for exterior trim,doesn't rot or absorb water,and its white,it is similar if not the same material as the amish outfitter boards. yes it floats,but not as bouyant as cedar which allows it to sit deeper in the water [more board in water = harder pulling board] the added S.S. makes it sit even lower and keeps them bottom heavy which helps to prevent them from rolling over in rough waters.This is at least the fourth design [if you want to call it that] that I have built and so far the best. I've tried as you mentioned not having the boards parallel which didn't make them pull any harder only made them run further back, also tried a rudder as I've seen on other boards and got the same results.

I have a pond out back and have tried many modifications using the 4 wheeler to pull with a spring scale in line. what I have found that effects them the most is the location of the eyebolt and how deep they sit in the water.


These boards pull hard!!! I don't think they could safely be pulled by a mast. I pull them off my hardtop,you can hardly pull them in without steering towards them.I also use the 500# spectra w/ snubbers as someone else mentioned.
I'm real pleased with this set-up
Feel free to ask any questions as I've tried alot of different things
[and got a lot of weird looks from the neighbors]
Don

[Throttles Down]

These do pull real good without the S.S. bar, as mentioned this material is not as bouyant as wood and will set deeper than cedar boards and pull harder

[ShortHanded]

I made these last winter and used them all this last season .They will easily pull 5 40 tru-trips with very little lag behind the boat,you can't hardly wind them in ,you pretty much have to drive to them while someone winds up the line. The key to getting the boards to pull hard is they have to set low in the water.I have a piece of 1/4 x 1 x 24" long S.S bar stock attached to the inside edge of each piece of Azek close to the bottom edge,this not only makes them sit low in the water but keeps they from rolling over. I can toss them in the air and they always right themselves in the water [like a cat] .I think I have approx. $60 in them. I believe I bought the material from Lowes .Depending on how many lines your pulling and how rough the water is will determine which hole to pull from ,90% of the time I use the center hole

PS no cats were harmed in the developement of this boards

welcome, and thank you for sharing!! that is what makes this site/board so great

[captainjoe]

Throttles Down - Thank You!