I have a 6.5m boat with hardtop so going to run a wishbone style base on the side of the cabin. Looks like the 2 main contenders are Kilwell or OceanBlue in my price range. Leaning toward the Kilwell as it looks to have a more robust locking mechanism and cleaner installation. 

I'm not leaning one way or another on fiberglass vs carbon but trying to keep costs down where I can. 

Where I'm getting a bit confused is around the pole configurations. Some of the outrigger poles seem to be much thicker overall and have a smaller diameter shank that fits the 42mm bases. Others are thinner and the shank is either the same size or even wider than the base tube. Then add in 1 piece, 2 piece, or telescopic and who knows how many other options. 

Would anyone have any recommendations on which direction to go? Currently looking at the Kilwell ST12K however that seems to be a 1 piece and not sure how much of a pain that will be on a trailer boat. 

My only comment is one I have said many times here.  Get the stiffest poles you can.

I have kilwell glass poles and side mounts. They are OK, do the job. But my mates are a nicer bit of kit.

Alan

I'll look into those Douglas bases. They were not on my radar at all. DKM seems to have the most poles in stock from Kilwell. Everyone else is out at the moment which is a bit frustrating. 

If you plan to run a dredge(s) you may like to consider running these from your outrigger instead of using a boom, this will clean your cockpit up considerably. If you were to go this route it would dictate the style of bases you would utilise. 

 

Happy to chat on the phone and guide you through this even if you choose to purchase elsewhere.

Thanks,

Jimmy.

I've fished on mates boats using the Kilwell stiff riggers. Very nice looking and similarly stiff. Frankly I'd buy the cheapest between the Kilwell and CTS ones. I don't reckon there's much in it.

I use one piece they're  a blessing and a curse, dealing with the halyard rigging when they're out of the bases I have solved by using bungy cords to connect the halyards back to the first guide with the bungy cords.

I can't imagine what a bustup the halyards would be with a 2 piece outrigger. For transport I push them up the guts of my boat until the tips touch the back of the anchor well. and the butts are hanging flush with the transom. Others tie the front to their bow rails and have a couple of custom made supports that go in the rear rod holders. 

For bases I have the Ocean Blue ones, but I reckon they're 304 stainles and are about 7 years old now and have rust marks all over them. I don't care but if you do, then I believe Jamie does his Douglas Outriggers in 316. 

I may get myself in trouble here, but I think the Kilwell bases are rebadged from a what I thought was a chinese brand that has recently disappeared. They do have a much more user friendly retention and release mechanism. But if they chinese origin, then they're likely to be 304 stainless which will get rust marks over time. 

The Ocean Blue bases I have use a Tri-clover clamp with a welded stud that attaches to the superstructure,  which has special wing nut on one side, I am conithually paranoid that I'll over undo it at some stage and fumble resulting losing it into the drink. Haven't done it yet in 7 years of use, but the concern is always there. Once you've lost it you're buggered, because they're not sold as spares!

I don't know what Jamie uses on his ones.

Then there are the more expensive and arguably original Rupp and Reflex brands amongst others. These have much better clamp mechanisms again. Which can be useful. They also allow you to tailor the angle of the outrigger. Some people like to run a higher angle on their riggers, whereas my Ocean blue rigger bases run relatively flat. I have often wondered whetehr runn them higher would help, but can't really change it without major surgery.

I've rigged mine with double hal-lock pulleys and run two sets of halyards. the hal-lock pulleys are connected to a trapeze cleat which then hooks to the boat so I can keep my halyards nice and tight for snappy release. I chucked the bungy that comes with teh hal-locks away. 

Ended up going with Killwel long reach bases. These have a much more substantial mounting pattern than the wishbones and spread the load well. They are also easy to configure, use, and strong enough that I can go with longer poles if I want to. 

I chose the 4.6m Killwel long reach fiberglass poles. They seem plenty stiff and being one piece no worrisome joints. Due to stock issues I ordered poles that needed to have the guides added. To future proof myself a bit I went ahead and assumed that I would be adding in the 1.2m Killwel pole extensions at a later date, I started my first guide in a place that allows me to mirror that in an extension and have a consistent spacing all the way up. Bascially 600mm from the base so if I do add the extension, I'll start that one at 600mm and then have the same 1.2m spacing between all guides.

This setup did cost a bit more than a wishbone kit but will allow me to confidently run 6+ metre poles in the future with no worries of having to replace bases or rip out of the aluminium hull sides. Overall very happy with the set up and glad that I spent the extra little bit to have a robust set up that's easy to deploy from the deck and plenty strong to go the miles. 

Out2sea, I think you will find you will have more success talking to a more specialist company (Bonze, OceanBlue, Douglass or myself) to get a better understanding of the pros and cons of each option. It is a bit overwhelming with the amount of combinations available in the market. Im sure all of us would happily listen to your needs and tailor fit a solution for you.