Are scotty 2106 worth the money?

All three of my 2106 worked excellent and after using them for a month and getting use to them being so fast, I would never go back to the 1106 model.

I have a 2106B down rigger which is new and still in the box. $700.
If you are interested give me a call 778 679-2210
 
Just don't hit the up button by mistake once the ball is up.
;)

As I said earlier it is very easy to ram the pulley and break of the ball doing that but it is possible to clear the ball out of the water while playing a fish for example by bring it up a very short distance after it has auto stopped. You need the experience to judge how much cable/terminal tuna cord is still out and if it is safe to just quickly tap the up button and bring it up a very short distance without jamming the pulley. Multiple quick taps can be especially tricky if you are not watching closely. Get it wrong and you can break off balls, jam the snubber and bend the stainless snap clip holding the ball so that it is destroyed and jammed in the pulley etc. Very rarely you can throw a belt or will hear a sound like it is skipping internally.

I have found it is very difficult to protect against this by adjusting the internal rigger drag because if it is lose enough to play out a little on high speed impact into the pulley it is also too lose to hold the ball, especially under heavy drag (great depth, current, kelp etc). Even if nothing breaks when you jam the pulley all that torque and sudden stop can damage, stress and weaken components especially braid at the knot or cable at the crimps and it will be more likely to have a failure at a future time for no apparent reason. That is why it is necessary to remove a little braid or cable and re-tie or re-crimp more often with the high speeds. Just the high speed starts and stops must stress things over time, especially without a snubber. The last time we managed to jam the pulley hard, the torque of the high speed broke the cable off at the first crimp but the terminal gear and little bit of cable remaining on it was jammed so hard in the pulley that it held. We were able to gently swing in the arm and grab the 20lb ball. You are usually not that lucky if you screw up with the high speeds.
 
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just how much faster is it? For example, if we are down near bottom at 200ft on the downrigger and need to bring it up, I'd guess it would take approx a bit over 1 mins for full retrieval... Not sure exactly as most of us dont' put a stop watch when bring up the gear. However, if the posts on here are suggesting that it's only a matter of a few seconds faster, how much faster is the speed? Would you guess it's 30% or 50% faster than the 1106? So instead of the 1 min on the 1106 would it be 40 seconds on the 2106? I understand the answers would be an educated guess and approximate. But since I've never used a 2106 I have no idea what to expect.
 
I am considering upgrading my 1106s to 2106s. My 1106s are reliable and have never let me down. I know the 2106s have a faster retrieval and beefier motor that allows you to use heavier Canon balls. But if I sell my 1106s I figure I would have to fork out another grand on top in order to upgrade to the 2106s. Question for guys who upgraded, was it worth the money? Would you say the retrieval is 2x as fast or only 50% faster?

Some sales on the 2106's going on right now after the boat show.

Berry's on for $699.99 https://www.berrysbait.com/products...-60-inch-boom-w1026-pedestal-mount-20427.aspx

Harbour Chandler on for $669.99 https://www.berrysbait.com/products...-60-inch-boom-w1026-pedestal-mount-20427.aspx

Steveston Marine on for $665.99 https://www.stevestonmarine.com/scotty-downrigger-2106-hd-30-60-electric-depthpower?search=2106
 
I strongly recommend running a snubber and a heavier chunk of ganion or a stopper leash just to take the heavy stops and accidental attempts to drive the ball through the pulley. I have a piece of ganion tied into the braid so it auto stops the ball 6” or under the water and then a 2nd knot about 24-30” further as a “oh fruck” stop In case someone decides to bump the ball up to far.

I have had the 2106 for 7-8 years now and love them but they have a bit of a learning curve or you will be replacing balls
 
I'm with @Rockfish early on this thread... the 2106 is an impressive machine but it is also a serious level-up. Mistakes happen quick. If I was starting out I would save the investment and learn on 1106s... you will save money on Cannon balls and maybe retain more fingers. If you are already a pro then they are pretty nice.
 
1106 15 lb. weights at 203 ft./min.
2106 15 lb. weights at 295 ft./min

That is quite a difference and one wonders if it is an average of being retrieved from a variety of depths and in different circumstances or if say it was based on a single sample comparison such as both being retrieved from 100 feet in flat current and at modest boat speed.

As I understand it, the deeper you fish and the faster your boat go's and into a strong current the greater the relative difference in retrieve speed will be between the 1106 and the 2106 with a 15 lb ball. 15lb's is light for the 2106 but is maxed out weight for the 1106 with little reserve left before it bogs down to super low speed and puts excess strain on the motor and drive components. At say 250 feet down considerable more weight is being added to the retrieve effort above the weight of the ball from the increased back pressure (varies with current and boat speed) and the weight of the additional cable (a 400 or 500 ft. spool of cable has a fair bit of weight to it and the more cable out the more weight and the cable also adds back pressure as does stacking rods etc). The 2106 will be far less effected retrieve speed wise and does not slow down to any extent at all from great depth because it has far greater reserves with only a 15lb ball, because it is designed to move even a 20lb ball at great speed. However the 1106 is much closer to its designed limits and to my perception, comparatively very slow even bringing up a 15lb ball from only 50 feet in flat current and at slow boat speed. From 200 to 400 feet down (and yes we have sometimes caught Chinook that deep when nothing is biting higher up) into strong current at med. or higher boat speed the 1106 is an absolute slug because of the weight added from back pressure and cable weight.

PS if you ever happen to use only an 8 or 10 lb ball on the 2106 be very careful because if the ball breaks the surface at speed it feels like it will launch itself into earth orbit.
 
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I have been using 15lb balls on my 1106's for years with no problems.

So have I Scott. I think 15lbs is the max weight recommended for them by Scotty. What you are missing in my point is the context as it relates to the speed comparison between the two when fishing them at great depth and blow back situations and its effect on speed of retrieve. In those circumstances the 1106 is working near its limits with a 15 and is struggling to come up very slowly, at least until it gets up a ways and has less load on it. I cannot imagine that it is all that good for it to put it under that kind of load a lot. Some guys have said they use 20's on them which is surprising unless they do not go very deep at speed against a strong current.

I have a 25 lb ball to try on the 2106 but it concerns me that it may be able to handle the weight but will put a lot of stress on the cable and terminal gear causing increased failures. I bought it off a guy who use to do testing for Scotty on his boat along with some other balls, including a coated iron/steel 12lb one Scotty was trying.
 
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Purchased 2 2106 riggers last year at H.C. After 3 weeks the LCD counter on one packed it in.Scotty was good on the warranty that only lasts 2 Years for the counters. I picked up a spare LCD counter and noticed on the package the counters might be made in Malaysia. Well I paid $38 bucks for the spare counter.30C73A3B-0B90-4F51-A8DA-CE2687E6E5A1.jpeg7
 
I get the sense Scotty is liberal on counter replacement. I just had my 4 year old 2106’s serviced in Oct. They put in a new counter no cost.
 
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