My Rod Organizer For A 1993 170DC

By John Foster

This is a Picture of the inside of my Starboard rod locker. I chose this locker to put the organizer. The two reasons that I did were; 1. I am right handed and using this locker is easier for me. 2. Would only have to fit tubes in around wires and that thing in the floor. Wires are now bundled together and ty-strapped out of the way.
This is how I traced the floor to cut the template. It is an easy thing to do. Just cut a piece of paper that is within an inch or two of the shape you will need to trace, Then using a scribe, or like I did a spool of line and a sharpie marking pen. (A block of wood will work also) Follow the contours of the floor marking the shape onto the piece of paper.
After you have finished, remove the paper from the boat and cut out the contour you marked. The piece of paper should now have the shape of the floor cut into it. But it will be too short to reach the top of the locker. This is where you need to measure the width of the scribe or the Sharpie and spool of line or block of wood.
Now mark that measurement on another piece of paper and cut a strip as long as the first piece and as wide as the measurement you got from the Scribe or Pen and Block. Tape it to the top of your template and this should be the exact size your board should be. Now transfer the template to your material of choice and cut it out. (I like to cut on the out side of the line to leave the piece just a little on the large size just to make sure.)
This is what the board looked like before I set it in place to get the length of the tubes. I used four 1 ½” ABS tubes (I used it for the color) to hold my spinning rods. You will need a 1 7/8” hole saw to cut the holes if you use ABS. The other tubes are golf club tubes I got at Wal-Mart. I used a 1 ½” hole saw for them. All tubes at this stage will need to be shortened to the proper length after they are fit into the locker.
After the tubes have been cut to length, They are ready to be permanently installed. To hold the golf tubes in place I wrapped electrical tape around them after I slid them into the board. The ABS tubes have collars to hold them in. (They are just tube connectors I cut in half and glued onto the end of the tube)
Here is the organizer with all tubes finished The wood was treated with 4 coats of Marine Varnish and then painted. Will probably replace wood with aluminum if after this season I am satisfied with its performance.
Here are all ten rods in the organizer. It can fit four 7” rods the rest can fit 6’6” rods. Except the very top right one which will only take a 6’ rod.
This is what I came up with for the handles. They are just little clamps you find in the hardware stores to hold rakes and stuff to the walls of your garage. They are spring-loaded and hold quite well. Not sure how they will hold up to the marine environment but will find out this season.
This is a closer look at the rear organizer. They are mounted on pieces of 2x4 that have been given four coats of marine varnish. And then wrapped with marine carpeting. The Bottom set is held in the boat with “L” brackets screwed to the floor. The top one is bolted through the back wall.
Here is the unit with all ten rods in it. The 170 doesn’t have the deepest rod boxes around, so thing are still a little tight.

Well, there you have it, my version of a rod organizer. It is very similar to Rich’s and at the same time, a little different. All this project needs is some good planning and about $50.00. Take your time and have some fun. Just remember the old carpenters’ statement.

“Measure Twice and Cut Once”