# Opinions of the Strongarm Sissy Stick or equivalent



## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

Be wary of Strongarm's warranty.....

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1394553091


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

I have heard some grumbling about Strongarm, but I would like to confine discussion to the merits of the product in question. Warranties are peripheral to my interests at this time.

Nate


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## PG350 (Jan 19, 2012)

I was looking for the same.  I like the sissy stick and was thinking about the fishmaster grab bar but I am running low on funds.  Here is a pic of another one that I really liked from custom gheenoe. 







   THE ONES ON THE RIGHT



What I am going to try is this and a piece of aluminum bar that I will get and possibly form some kind of handle. 










I am going to mount it with some serious hardware and a super strong backing plate.  I might even add more bracing if needed.   I bought this rod holder for $16.00 on ebay and it feels pretty solid.


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## PG350 (Jan 19, 2012)

Sorry, I did not realize you probably do not have a place to mount something like this to your boat. I have a center bench/ storage area that is perfect for mounting one of these but I do not remember what boat you have.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Homebrew bote.

I like that removable T-handle one.

Thanks,

Nate


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## Edfish (Jan 4, 2013)

I got anytide/shallow water solutions to fabricate a composite grab bar.  The "bar" is removeable and the barrel mounts to a vertical surface.  Here are some pics:





I thought the shipping was pretty fast, the price was quite fair, and everything was designed to the specs that fit my boat.  I use it all the time, and like it quite a bit, though admittedly I'm using it for balance and hopefully will not be asking it to support my weight in calamitous scenarios...

Anyway, that is the direction I went. I suspect a t-bar top would be easy to do yourself or have done.


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## PG350 (Jan 19, 2012)

What was the price and how much does it flex?


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

edfish,

I like that.  I am talking to Anytide and I've got a plan forming in my head.  How do you think yours would hold up if you were cruising along at 18-20 MPH and you suddenly beached yourself on a sand bar?  I ask because this will happen to me.  I can grind through mud and bounce off logs and rocks, but a sand bar will bring me to a stop.

Nate


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## Edfish (Jan 4, 2013)

Nate,
Please understand I'm guessing here re: strength...
The bar is (I believe) a sawed off stick-it-style shallow water anchor, and so it, itself, is really quite strong and under a very heavy load will give a little as opposed to rigidly snapping. My guess is the weak point is the attachment of the composite barrel to the fiberglass wall of my boat. Not that I expect failure here--I wouldn't have installed it if I did--just that I suspect that is the weakest link. 

As to what would happen hitting a sand bar...I think it would help break your fall. The average man's weight * 19mph is quite a lot of force to withstand and expect to remain upright if stopped suddenly with the only anchor point being your left or right hand. I guess most of my encounters with sandbars result in rapid deceleration from skeg and prop hitting before the hull so that I don't have to bear all that force. Then you'd probably be fine. Just my guess.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Fair enough. Thanks.

Nate


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

you might need a 1" diameter , HOSS rated big sissy stick.


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## richg99 (Nov 28, 2009)

I am using a large piece of electrical (grey) PVC...probably 1 1/4 inches in width. It is fit tightly into a pivoting Stainless Steel down-rigger holder. The prior owner mounted that before I bought the boat.

I've only used it for momentary balance when getting into the 'Noe off of a dock. 

I'd imagine I could stiffen it as much as I wanted by sliding thinner pieces of either aluminum or PVC ...INSIDE. 

I agree that the weakest point on this type of support is where it attaches to the hull. Interesting discussion. Keep the ideas coming. Rich


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

> you might need a 1" diameter , HOSS rated big sissy stick.


Yeah buddy!

I want to use it to club stingrays and baby seals also. Maybe a 1.5" thick solid FG electic fence post would be better...

Deep thoughts with Nate.

Rich,

I think I have a pretty awesome plan. It may actually be genius (cue the Jaws theme). Anytide thinks I am making things much harder than they need to be. He probably almost definitely may be right. 
[smiley=luck.gif]
I'll keep you updated.

Nate


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## Rooster (Mar 13, 2011)

I actually had the Sissystick on a previous skiff. It was very heavy duty and I liked it very much. The only real downside was lining up the knurled screw knob with the inside pole hole that you couldn't see. This prevented easy on and off removal of the bar - I really wanted to move it on or off but was concerned with stripping the hole while doing so.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Rooster, 

Thanks. That is helpful.

Nate


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## Carivera (Jan 13, 2017)

PG350 said:


> I was looking for the same. I like the sissy stick and was thinking about the fishmaster grab bar but I am running low on funds. Here is a pic of another one that I really liked from custom gheenoe.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What website did you fin those? I'd like to pick up the one on the left.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Carivera said:


> What website did you fin those? I'd like to pick up the one on the left.


This thread is from 2014 but you should be able to contact Custom Gheenoe and get some current info. http://www.customgheenoe.com
Oh yeah, welcome to the forum.


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## Carivera (Jan 13, 2017)

LowHydrogen said:


> This thread is from 2014 but you should be able to contact Custom Gheenoe and get some current info. http://www.customgheenoe.com
> Oh yeah, welcome to the forum.


Okay, thank you. I just emailed them to see if they have anything similar.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Shiny aluminum is cute, but Anytide's sissy stick rocks and costs 1/4-1/3 of the aluminum ones. Plus, if I even get in a fight in my boat, that sucker will double as a serious whuppin stick.

Nate


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Any body ever thought of a steering wheel


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

What good is a steering wheel in a bar fight?

Nate


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## Skiff Junky (Oct 6, 2015)

WhiteDog70810 said:


> What good is a steering wheel in a bar fight?
> 
> Nate


Touche


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel on his pants, a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender says, "Hey, you've got a steering wheel on your pants."

The pirate says, "Arrrr, I know. It's driving me nuts."


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Skiff Junky said:


> Touche


So Nate your going to take a Sissy Stick into a bar fight...good luck


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

permitchaser said:


> So Nate your going to take a Sissy Stick into a bar fight...good luck


its 1.25" so it should work....


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## Skiff Junky (Oct 6, 2015)

permitchaser said:


> So Nate your going to take a Sissy Stick into a bar fight...good luck



View attachment 5082


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

Edfish said:


> I got anytide/shallow water solutions to fabricate a composite grab bar. The "bar" is removeable and the barrel mounts to a vertical surface. Here are some pics:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


$120.00 / shipped
3/4" x 48" stick / mount
ss hardware.


shallow water solutions - Contact Us


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Enjoyed this thread - up to a point (no matter how old it is...). Where I have a serious problem is when you really are flying along and come to a sudden, unplanned stop.... At that point you're going to be reminded of why we have seatbelts in our cars and trucks (another of those "Ask me how I know" moments at this end...).

As already mentioned in passing - the weak spot is where that pole is fastened to your deck or gunnels (or wherever) since the straight physics involved in "sudden stops" will be working just fine - with a serious disadvantage at your end... Yes, on one occasion at about 25 miles an hour in my old Maverick I hit a hidden high spot running along the coast of the 'Glades up towards the Harney River, that stopped us cold in about ten feet... Not my finest moment since one of my anglers did get launched out of the boat and ended up sitting in front of my skiff in about six inches of water.... We laughed about it a the time (and he was actually able to catch a fish or two wading with his fly rod while we waited an hour or so until we were able to push off that sandy spot -thank heavens it wasn't oysters..). 

If it were me I'd want some very serious anchoring on any "sissy bar" - even on a microskiff... some kinds of adventure are best avoided. By the way that incident I mentioned also broke on of the three vertical rod holders on the side of my center console as my angler hit it on his way out of the boat...


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## Gogittum (May 24, 2020)

Seems to me you could make a small bracket assembly that would mount a bar from a point maybe a foot behind the grab bar and extending to about a foot up the grab bar. That would place the strain in a straight pull from the rear mounting point instead of a torque on the actual bar. Much stronger and could be done neatly and easily removable.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Holy reanimated carcasses Batman!

I’ve been using my Shallow Water Solutions whuppin’ stick for 6 years now. I through bolted the bracket to the middle frame under the gunnel and ran the “stick” through the gunnel deck in a fiberglass tube I epoxied in place to reinforce the hole. It is very solid. I know I could break it with a bit of effort, but I can break an anvil, so that isn’t fair. My concerns about strength were a bit unnecessary in hind sight because I am not strong enough to keep my 230# of self vertical using a single arm after coming to a dead stop at 12-16 mph. I’d just dislocate my should as I stumbled forward to crash into my front bulkhead.

After beaching this hull many times on sand bars, I also found that there are no sudden stops with a Go Devil. She just glides to a stop once the prop is forced up out of the water. If the prop isn’t forced up, she doesn’t stop and will glide/jump/lurch over any underwater obstacle.

I now have a 8 HP outboard on her and we can reach a scorching 16 mph. I don’t need to go much faster in this hull; even a moderate breeze causes it to loosen up a little on plane. I definitely wear my safety lanyard religiously.

Nate


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## RoosterTom (Aug 9, 2020)

Wow - like walking back in time to 2014 when this thread was started. I went with a Fishmaster grab bar (didn't want the Strongarm again) on my second Towee. I did some customization (powder coating, etc.) on it and it is a fixed grab bar - I like it very much.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I say you get the grab bar or console you want, then build a new boat to match it.


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