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Anchor Trolley Advice


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I'm trying to game out an anchor trolley system for my i11s...been hoping Hobie would make a kit that's tested for their inflatables but according to Matt Miller they haven't come up with a solution they deem secure enough. I have a few glue-on D rings, along with pulleys, carabiners, paracord and bungees...the anchor itself and how to build a quick release w/float will be another project.   

 

Anyway, I'm thinking about separate fore/aft trolleys since I don't want to rub the side pontoons too much when I deploy the anchor. Question is, do I mount the trolley out towards the sides of the pontoons, or more along the top? 

 

Also, how far up the bow and stern should I place the pulleys? I figured the more towards either ends of the kayak the better, but I see many trolleys stop around 3/4 mark up towards the bow or stern. My kayak is a basically a flat board, no keel...not sure if that factors into placement of pulleys.

 

Here's a rough diagram of what I have in mind, and a shot at how the kayak sits in the water. 

 

Any input greatly appreciated!

 

anchor template 1.jpg

i11s on water.jpg

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Honestly Roger, you're overthinking this, the trolley doesn't need to be perfectly along the side of the boat. Just slap a carabiner into the "corner" D rings and make a loop of 1/4" smooth sheath line with another biner joining the ends. Then you just snap your anchor line into that. Then you just need a zigzag cleat firmly mounted somewhere near, or even on your seat.  There's really no situation where you should be dragging an anchor line under full load into position with the trolley, so the wear issue is not a big concern IMO. Worst case is after a couple of outings you will have a clearer idea of your personal needs.

 

My "no drill" trolley below with the red line works just fine, although in this shot I had not yet added the zigzag to the track.  I'll take a shot of my new anchor reel design for you, a gearhead like you will love it!

 

596132ed404fb_DSCF2967_modified_thjaws.jpg.6b7a2605bf0c1e0b119d79d96bb94fef.jpg

Edited by gellfex
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12 mins ago, gellfex said:

Honestly Roger, you're overthinking this, the trolley doesn't need to be perfectly along the side of the boat.

 

Excellent Gell, I'll fashion something from the existing D rings and see what's what after a day or two on the water. Looking forward to your reel pic.

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5 mins ago, gellfex said:

Dare I ask what situations you anticipate anchoring? You have been a big advocate of holding position with pedals rather than an anchor.

 

For now, windy side of lakes, facing and casting towards shore (hence the stern trolley). Tough to fish w/o anchor or reverse drive.

 

If all goes well I might try anchoring for tog *after* locating the right piece with pedals :)

Edited by buddha162
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7 mins ago, buddha162 said:

 

For now, windy side of lakes, facing and casting towards shore (hence the stern trolley). Tough to fish w/o anchor or reverse drive.

 

If all goes well I might try anchoring for tog *after* locating the right piece with pedals :)

Stern trolley is best unless the chop is bad, you're facing where the wind and current is taking your line, rather than fighting a fish behind you like when you pick up a troll.

 

I'm still working on locating the "right piece" fishing open water rather than docks, it's been more luck than anything else when I do connect.  I wish one of you video guys would do one showing the screen as you find and set up on structure. I have no idea if I'm doing it right. Even Skinner won't show his approach to a spot, just after he's set up and bailing fish.

Edited by gellfex
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1 hour ago, gellfex said:

Stern trolley is best unless the chop is bad, you're facing where the wind and current is taking your line, rather than fighting a fish behind you like when you pick up a troll.

 

Yeah and in freshwater...if I want to fish into the wind I just use pedals...problem is most of the time you want to target the wind blown banks... 

 

I might give this a shot first, using existing rings/clips on the kayak: 

 

5c897cd6824f2_i11stemplateanchor3.jpg.002eefca94e311bf472f612247df482e.jpg

 

...and pick up one of these figure 9 carabiners to lock in the line: 

 

nite-ize-carabiners-c9l-02-01-64_1000.jpg.a59e29a8c4e24d118acbfc689c307f6d.jpg

 

1 hour ago, gellfex said:

I'm still working on locating the "right piece" fishing open water rather than docks, it's been more luck than anything else when I do connect.  I wish one of you video guys would do one showing the screen as you find and set up on structure. I have no idea if I'm doing it right. Even Skinner won't show his approach to a spot, just after he's set up and bailing fish.

 

Honestly I think a lot of it is trial and error, probably most of it. There are spots where I catch regularly and have no idea what holds fish there...

 

Obvious things like channel edges and ledges are pretty easy to ID, and pretty easy to pattern. Take RB Reach...if I'm catching at 23ft along the edge, that's where I'm staying up and down the channel. Move into the flats and it's a game of covering water...those fish move a lot more than channel fish, and they're more spread out. As a party boat capt told me...flats are "wind spots" not current spots. You set a drift and cover water. This is all fluke btw. 

 

But the more I fish the more I recognize I don't know anything. I'd wager a lot of "patterns" given on YT are guys who randomly catch, go back and attempt to connect the dots and put it in a video. Whether those dots actually exist in reality...who knows?  

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27 mins ago, buddha162 said:

But the more I fish the more I recognize I don't know anything. I'd wager a lot of "patterns" given on YT are guys who randomly catch, go back and attempt to connect the dots and put it in a video. Whether those dots actually exist in reality...who knows?  

Yeah,  I thought I had fluking and togging my favorite Harbor areas figured out, and this past summer/fall it sucked. Got humbled. Again.

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33 mins ago, buddha162 said:

 

Yeah and in freshwater...if I want to fish into the wind I just use pedals...problem is most of the time you want to target the wind blown banks... 

 

I might give this a shot first, using existing rings/clips on the kayak: 

 

5c897cd6824f2_i11stemplateanchor3.jpg.002eefca94e311bf472f612247df482e.jpg

I'd consider putting the forward pulley/biner on your seat post if you can, it's the one that will be taking most of the strain. I would assume that clip is not designed for a strong shear force.

Edited by gellfex
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5 hours ago, gellfex said:

I'd consider putting the forward pulley/biner on your seat post if you can, it's the one that will be taking most of the strain. I would assume that clip is not designed for a strong shear force.

 

Hmm, good point...the chair is probably the strongest glue mounts on the thing. Thanks!

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6 mins ago, gellfex said:

I find it hard to believe the interference problem from your other hardware is insoluble. What about an "outrigger" for the stern, a rod that clips to the D-rings to extend the ring for the trolley out beyond your gunwale?

 

I think gluing on a few D rings along the side pontoon (first photo in the thread) will be my next experiment...worst that can happen is they won't take the pressure and peel off. Then I'll try a larger glue-on hardware. Either way I'll figure this out, it sucks when I can't fish a wind bank properly...always convince myself that's exactly where the fish are lol.  

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Honestly, in just wind and no current there's no reason you need a trolley. You can just attach to your seat so your boat settles perpendicular to the wind, and cast off your side to shore. Current is the big reason for a trolley. When I use an Ikea bag drift sock I attach it midships.

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9 mins ago, gellfex said:

Honestly, in just wind and no current there's no reason you need a trolley. You can just attach to your seat so your boat settles perpendicular to the wind, and cast off your side to shore. Current is the big reason for a trolley. When I use an Ikea bag drift sock I attach it midships.

 

That would be too easy :):):)

 

What gives me pause is the fact that there're no sides to my kayak...the one time I flipped water pushed up and over the pontoons on one side, but that was obviously current-induced. I will definitely try this in calm winds, thank you for the suggestion!

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