homemade planer boards

I made a set exactly like that a couple of years ago, just painted them with a high quality bright yellow oil base paint. They work very well and I think I had less than $20 in the set. Nice job.

Don't think you'll need the 1 x 8's, mine are 1 x6's and they pull hard.

No, they don't come out of the water at all, they really dig in. There is a lot of stress on the planer mast, to the point that I won't run just one board.

Only thing I don't like about them is the room they take up in the cuddy...

just make sure if you do paint them, sand them so the paint will stick and not just soak into the boards. Then water seal the crap out of them. I made the mistake of just sanding them down a little and then painting and water sealing them (3 coats). They lasted about a season then the sealent and paint started to flake. My next boards i put like 8 or 10 coats of water sealent and they still look brand new. Rule of thumb---theres no such thing as to much poly!!! And there collapsible!!! Makes them great for storage!!! Good luck

I built a set out of cedar and a set out of redwood a few years back....if you use either of those types of wood(the best IMO), you do not have to paint the whole board...I just painted and sealed the top half of my boards to see better. Cedar or Redwood do not swell or rot from water and they are very bouyant. When they get wet and the longer you run them, the harder they pull because they get a little water logged. Also put together and collapsable with stainless rods for less drag in the water....I actually have to stop the boat to pull these things in...here they are in action At St. Clair

If you look closely, you'll notice they are a lovely shade of Fire Tiger! LOL

so i think mine are made out of pine is this a bad thing. should i scrap them and make new ones?

Absolutely not.
Ours are made from pine and they are a couple of years old.  They still look pretty much like new.
Just don't smash em into piers, rocks, cribs, buoys, icebergs and other boats.

Ironhed

IMO, boards that take on some water perform much better than boards that float like corks.  They sit lower in the water and "grab" more water.  Less tendency to flip as well.

I think it's also very important to mention the placement of the anchor point, i.e., the mast and/or pulleys.
The further forward it is mounted on the boat the better. 
The height is also important.  The higher the better.  It keeps the towline off of the water enabling you to get the baits further away from the boat.

Ironhed

p.s. I have smashed/wrapped my boards off of/around all of the above.  The latest...a 6' freestyle-jump off of an iceberg the size of a small home.  Lucky for us it landed correctly.

Honestly, I have never fished out there that time of year.  PA is usually goin good at that time.
Good luck on your trip!

Ironhed

Same topic from 2007:
http://forums.fishusa.com/m_13225/mpage_1/key_planer/tm.htm#13525

Make your own FISHING planer boards

eye,
There are several of us who are using the same template as Ironheads. We often make several sets as a joint project. I'm the carpenter...so I do the cuttin. You want 1x8 pine, not 1x6. They'll grab deeper and dig...keeping the towline tight. Make sure to transfer the holes "from the top" of your pictured boards. Another trick is to chop off the titties by an inch or less to prevent gelcoat damage from your helper guy bringing in the boards over the side. The eye looks good (Marty's looks too close and the clips won't jump on, adding chaffing to the towline which costs alot of money when it breaks) but tighten it up at about 3 inches to reduce torque on the steel shank...it'll eventually bend.

will be at the boat this eve...I'll check the spread for ya

16 inches inside.