I may be getting a pair of these for Christmas any opinions? Any special mounting brackets for a Boston Whaler. Do it you self or a shop installation gig.

For resale value I'd go with Scottys...just cause that's what most people up here use.

thanks, seastrike I don't know enough and she just wants to get a good value that will last the life of the boat.. I appreciate the input.

OW, I had Scotty Electrics with some custom rail mounts on a 17 montauk. Worked awesome, Im a scotty guy and dont know if the cannons work on those particular mounts. The mounts added about $80 per rigger but fit right on the "T" of the rails and you just popped off the entire rigger with swivel base etc at end of day and leave the base...cheers

I've used Canons for 25 years. They break down less than scotty's. In fact I fish them a ton and haven't had any problems. They have gear drive versus belt which is much better in my opinion.

The new 10HS is a killer downrigger. They now use the same motor's as Minn Kota's and are pretty bullet proof.

They come with a good swivel mount to flat mount on gunnels. If that doesn't work for you there are lot's of options out there.

I bought pair of those same Cannons last summer. Fished Canada with them and they worked great. Fast retrieve and auto stop worked perfectly. I used the small pedestal swivel stock mounts. I just switched out the upper part since the swivel uses the same bolt pattern. Had no problem.

I think I will tell her to get them. I will look closely on mounting brackets. On a whaler it is not as simple as meets the eye to attempt to conceal wiring. Im guessing I will have to pull off the rub rail and conceal the wiring inside is that what you did Summerrun?

I have a pair of the older mag 10s and have a pretty mixed opinion of them. That said One of my fishing buddys has the new 10hs on his boat and says that the improvements they made on them is very dramatic. I like the concept of the cannons better than the scottys but without having used the new ones i am not sure. Either way, you may want to consider using the scotty plugs on the cannons. Tough to beat em.

Check out the pics of my cannon mounting system ( http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/gallery/album326 ), in particular, the 7th and last pictures. The 7th shows that I converted my Mini Mags to a Scotty Old Style plug and recepticle, mounting the recepticle somewhat out of the way of water getting on it. Solved a ton of electrical fuse problems shorting out. In the last picture, I mounted the pedestal base to the deck (re-enforced underneath), Swivel Base on top of the pedestal, then the tab block on that. The downriggers can swing out of the way and easy back into fishing position, plus easy removal. The height of the pedestals provide the exact "Right Height" when you reach for your rod stanbding up after a fish trips the downrigger clip.

Waaay back, I had a pair of cannons that would burn up the brushes every few years due to the tiny wires and plug system they came with. I havent checked them out in more than a decade but if they still come with the 14 gauge wiring and mickey mouse plugs I'd beef that up first.

Most Montauks are a tough application for downriggers. Don't skimp on the mounts! I recently helped my friend bastardize and improve some old railmounts for his montauk. You might want to have a mounting system or another rail post fabricated to get these exactly where you want them!

I've had a pair of mag 20's for over ten years. I regularly put the black electric grease on them and turn off power to them when not using on a daily basis. They've lasted for me year's doing that.

I also have a pair of the new Mag 10HS and they have a much better wiring harness. Very heavy duty, huge improvement.

I will agree the old Mag 10's had monkey wires.