Railblaza Mounting Systems

Author: josh

Category: Gear reviews

Created on Friday, 05 August 2011 08:17

Written by Josh

For quite some time now the market for device mounting systems in marine applications has been dominated by two brands, both of them well known to most kayak fishoes. Take a good look at any major kayak fishing tournament and you would see what I mean - RAM & Scotty gear everywhere. Lately, however, a new brand has been showing up on cleverly outfitted kayaks and for very good reason. New Zealand based company Railblaza has developed a range of mounting solutions very well suited to kayak fishing applications, with products designed to carry everything from rods, radios and sounder units to GPS, cameras and more. 

At the heart of the Railblaza mounting system is the Starport - a low profile semi-flush mount with a female star-shaped port. The male section of the system is locked into the starport by way of a sliding lock that not only makes it simple to install and remove, but also reliably secure. Once fitted properly it's difficult to imagine how any device could be inadvertently separated from it's mount. It's really pretty clever and I think this system is one of the very reasons Railblaza equipment is starting to get the attention it deserves. Easy enough to install (similar to a Scotty flush mount) Starport mounts are supplied with stainless fitting hardware and include a rubber gasket and starport cover. There's a myriad of places one could comfortably install a Starport to the hull of a kayak.

Ignoring for a moment the various products Railblaza have designed to fit into these Starports, I'd first like to draw attention to the Tracport, which is a modular system that includes 4 Starport mounts. The beauty of this system is that it allows the user to mount numerous devices to the Tracport, which not only has potential to make for a simple and highly organized accessory rack, would also make installation of numerous devices a snap. Instead of attaching 4 different devices to the hull itself, with the devices mounted to the Tracport it is then simply a matter of installing the Tracport itself. It's easy to imagine a Tracport attached to the front deck of a kayak with a rod holder mounted at each end, and, say, a sounder/GPS unit as well as a camera. I've also seen these put to good use fitted behind the seat of a kayak as well. The Tracport is a highly attractive mounting option for the reasons discussed above and one that is very likely to be the deciding factor in many users decision to go with Railblaza gear. Put simply, RAM and Scotty have nothing quite like it.

So, what accessories are currently available for the Ralblaza Starport system? At the time of writing the range is quite extensive and appears to be growing rapidly. Most kayak fishoes are likely to be interested in their rod holder, which is designed to fit both spin and overhead reels, features a rotating lock system and includes a gimble lock at the back to help accommodate various sized butt lengths, as well as to help maintain position. It secures rods nicely and provides for multiple angles of utility.  

I was particularly taken by their mobile device holder because I've been on the lookout for a good way to mount my radio, and I found it in this. I was also pretty impressed with their new camera boom devices, which allow for numerous filming angles and could be put to great use by a creative kayaking videographer (watch video below to see it in action). Railblaza mounting pads are a versatile inclusion to the range, which would accommodate almost any sounder unit (for example) but could also be used for a plethora of other devices as well. 

A cursory glance at the Railblaza website reveals a bunch of other mounting products as well, from flagpoles to horizontal holders that would work well from rods to paddles. So if you've got a need to mount anything to your kayak be sure to take a good look at what Railblaza have to offer. There's every chance they'll have a solution ideally suited for your requirements.