I have the swivel bases as well, but prefer to use a home-made weight retriever. As the others have said, I adjust the stop beads so the weight stays just below the water, and when I need to get to my release clip I just haul it up with the retriever. Slick and fast. The only problem with the weight still in the water is sometimes my kids have let the fish get wrapped around it. Scotty makes some hooks that mount on the boom to hang the ball on. Seems to make sense for an easy way to clear the ball from the water, and a nice place to keep it when you need to move the boat. I'm going to try these this summer.