TACO Grand Slam 280 Outrigger Mounts (Pair)

The TACO Grand Slam 280 is the most popular center console outrigger mount in the offshore fishing market, period. If you've spent any time on a sportfishing center console between 23 and 36 feet, you've seen these mounts on the T-top. They've been the industry-standard choice for years, and the current generation is the 4th refinement of the design with improved spline-lock technology and a redesigned ergonomic rotator handle.

What a top-mount outrigger base does. Outriggers are long fiberglass or aluminum poles that swing out from the boat's T-top to spread your trolling lines wider than the boat itself. That spread is what lets you run multiple baits without tangling and gives you the staggered baits that bring offshore fish (mahi, sailfish, tuna, marlin) to the spread. The mount is what holds the pole, lets you raise and lower it for stowing and deploying, and lets you rotate it horizontally to position the pole where you want it relative to the boat.

The GS-280 accepts 1-1/2 inch diameter outrigger poles, which is the standard for serious offshore fishing. It also accepts the older 1-1/8 inch Tele-Outrigger pole if you're upgrading from an older setup and want to reuse poles. Compatibility with both standards is a quiet but useful feature for anglers transitioning gear over time.

The 12 locking positions for elevation are TACO's spline lock technology. Spline lock means there are physical mechanical interlocking teeth that engage when you set a position, so the pole won't drift under load even on a long offshore run. That's different from friction-locking systems on cheaper mounts that depend purely on clamp pressure and can slip when a fish hits a bait or when the boat slams through a wave. The 12 positions are spaced through the elevation arc to give you everything from fully stowed (vertical) through fully deployed (horizontal) with intermediate angles for different troll patterns.

The rotator lever is the redesigned part on the current generation. It's polished 316 stainless steel for the structural part with a UV-resistant non-slip Santoprene grip overmolded onto it. The Santoprene grip means you can grab and rotate the handle even with wet, salt-crusted, or slimy hands without slipping. The shape is ergonomic for the natural arm motion of swinging an outrigger pole, which matters on a long fishing day when you're deploying and stowing multiple times.

Construction is the part that sets TACO mounts apart from cheap imports. The body is cast 316L stainless steel, the saltwater-grade alloy that resists pitting, crevice corrosion, and the kind of stress-corrosion cracking that destroys lesser stainless grades over years of saltwater exposure. The arm is machined aluminum, anodized for marine corrosion resistance. The two materials are electrically isolated at the joint to prevent galvanic interaction. We've sold these to charter operations running daily out of Florida, the Outer Banks, the Gulf, and the Pacific Northwest, and they hold up year after year.

The 4x6 inch mounting bolt pattern is the TACO industry standard. Most factory T-tops on TACO-equipped boats have predrilled holes that match this pattern, which makes the install almost a bolt-on. On non-TACO T-tops, the included drill template gives you the pattern. The mount accepts top thicknesses up to 2.5 inches, which covers nearly all fiberglass hardtops and aluminum T-tops on modern center consoles.

Compatibility note. The GS-280 is the standard-duty version for typical recreational and light tournament use on boats 23 to 36 feet running standard length 1-1/2 inch poles. For boats running heavier loads (longer poles, dredge pulling, big tournament setups), the GS-390 is the heavy-duty version with a thicker arm and more reinforced gusset. If you're running 24+ foot poles or pulling dredges regularly, look at the GS-390 instead.

Fits both hardtops and soft tops, which is the often-overlooked detail. Many cheaper outrigger mounts are designed only for rigid hardtops and don't sit cleanly on soft top installs. The GS-280's pad and hardware accommodate both, so you can run the same mount on a fiberglass hardtop conversion or a canvas soft top boat.

The mount is top-mounted, which is the standard configuration for almost all center console T-tops. This means the body of the mount sits on top of the T-top with the bolts going through the top. There's a cleaner under-T-top mount available for some custom installs, but top-mount is the default and what most riggers prefer.

Install. Plan a 2 to 4 hour shop job for first-time install if your T-top doesn't have predrilled holes. The included drill template marks the 4x6 hole pattern, then you drill, deburr, and bolt the mount through with stainless hardware. On TACO-equipped factory T-tops with the predrilled pattern, the install is closer to 30 minutes.

This SKU ships as a pair (set of 2 mounts), which is what you actually need to install outriggers (one per side). Each mount comes with the install hardware, drill template, and operating instructions. Outrigger poles, line halyard hardware, and rigging accessories are sold separately.

Maintenance is essentially zero. Rinse with fresh water at the end of each salt trip. A drop of light marine lubricant on the rotation pivot once or twice a season keeps the action smooth. The 316L stainless body doesn't need polish to function, though some owners polish for the look. The anodized aluminum arm doesn't need anything beyond fresh-water rinses.