Pro Angler anchor guide

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Tim399
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Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by Tim399 »

I was talking to Shane about anchor set ups for the pro angler a couple of months ago, and after reading a few threads here I've made my own anchor rope "guide" for the back handle of the PA. it's just a point to run the rope through at the back grab handle that I can quickly release should I need to, that is quickly removable (not on water) and does not require any modification to the kayak.

The materials I used are:
a 90 degree stainless 1.5" bend from an exhaust shop
An aluminium pipe clamp from the internet (for mounting cameras)
Some rubber strip from Bunnings.
Materials
Materials
I cut the straight sections off the pipe and marked where I will remove the top of the bed so I can lift the line out of the guide and throw the anchor spool and float overboard if I need to quickly detach.
Marked
Marked
After cutting this section out with an angle grinder and small cut off tool I used a dremel to smooth off any sharp edges that may damage the line with grinding and sanding attatchments. Next I drilled a hole for the bolt to go from the clamp through the elbow to fix it in place. Put some rubber stripping between the handle and the clamp to give grip. Job done :)
IMG_430.jpg
IMG_431.jpg
IMG_432.jpg
I will add a short length of rope between the anchor and chain so the stem of the anchor can pull up neatly into the guide but it seemed to have worked well this weekend. I haven't tried it in tidal flow areas yet though. Comments and advice welcome :up:
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laneends
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by laneends »

Nice bit of engineering there Tim.

If you are going to retrieve from behind a good way of winding rope onto the spool is rolling the spool down your leg. You get a more even and stronger pull that way, less hand shuffling and twisting.

With my old adventure I had a short flanged pvc pipe sleeve that slipped over a forward rod holder (as it had round stemmed rod holders). This revolved and acted as a pulley that I looped the rope around so that I was still pulling from the front (back into the seat) rather than from behind. This was a much more stable method. So if you can engineer a pulley in front of you it will make hauling on the rope a lot easier.
IMG_2266r.JPG

For anyone thinking of hanging the anchor off the back when under way like this be aware the weight right at the back will alter the trim and handling of your kayak. While this may not have a huge effect on a PA14 it may be a bigger issue on a smaller kayak. Without stating the obvious, do not even attempt it on a 3m kayak.
Last edited by laneends on 15 Aug 2017, 13:15, edited 3 times in total.
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shane
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by shane »

Nice work Tim. :up:

Perhaps add a rubber gasket between the S/S bend and the Al clamp to reduce corrosion due to dissimilar metals. It would be good if you could use a countersunk screw head instead of the bolt sticking up to reduce it rubbing on the rope (but then it may clear it anyway).

Keith, I use an anchor rope guide on the rear of my AI. It's basically some 50mm PVC, flared at the end and with a slot along the top for the anchor line to pass through. This allows a 1.5kg grapnel to retract into the PVC but I tend to feed the rope in and out and leave the anchor on the back deck when travelling (I often use a 2.5kg). I'm now considering replacing the PVC with an open stainless pig-tail loop that will be better for pulling the rope over and easier to feed the rope in and out. This is much better than using an anchor trolley for the anchor imho (OK for drift chutes if needed).
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vicyak
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by vicyak »

Nice Tim,

How does that anchor hold. I previously had the medium cooper anchor (Blue) with 1.5m chain however found in rough conditions it would slip. I lost it when the kayak tipped in rough weather. I now have the large Cooper (black one) with 2m of chain and a bit thicker gauge. I've never slipped even in rough weather. I know the anchor is overkill however in very rough weather I'd rather anchor and wait out the wind and have confidence it will not slip. However with the extra weight even on the PA14 I've noticed a difference in handling. I find I have to balance the weight a bit more rather than putting it at the back of the yak. Now I store my wheels in the car rather than carrying with me to aid in the balance a bit better.

I'm also a very big guy so any extra weight affects the yak probably more than others.
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laneends
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by laneends »

Weight in the back (without added wind catching bulk) by the way is not always a negative. It reduces weather cocking, which is noticeable if you are kayaking without using a rudder or skeg. Lowers the back in the water reducing the winds ability to blow it downwind thus turning kayak into wind.

Most of the time retreive from back now. If it gets stuck, I will hook on to front trolley while still leaving attached at back trolley. let this swing yak around to face it. pedal towards it, release from front trolley ( I have two have trolleys), pass over it and tug it from the other direction from rear of yak. The rear trolley is cleated so it doesn't move.

In calmer minimal tide flows I may just pull it hand over hand from the side, especially when moving a lot in shallow areas. eg looking for whiting.

But then I dont have a good rap sheet for not loosing anchors :oops:

How do you use trollies on an AI anyway

If you are keeping anchor stored at rear of kayak out of reach when on the water how do you deal with locking/unlocking grapnel collar, deweeding,or replacing any breakaway ties etc?
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Tim399
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by Tim399 »

Keith, I could possibly get the rope around on of my holders, maybe the base of the Scotty rod holder would work ok? It's a good idea none the less, twisting the back to pull up the anchor would be the stuff a chiropractors dreams are made of!
I had a bit of a play around with getting the anchor line in and out of the guide using the paddle (I'm carrying my full length paddle). It wasn't too hard though I may take a small curve out of the tip of the paddle so the anchor line will catch in that as I manoeuvre as needed.

Shane, I hadn't even thaught of the two different metals contacting, I'll be sure to get some rubber strip in between them. The nut seems to be smooth on all edges, but I would've preferred to have the inside of the guide clear, I'm sure a solution will come to mind at some stupid hour of the morning when I can't sleep.

Brian, I haven't fished any strong tidal flow areas, only the north and western side of ppb to Clifton springs, and grantville. I once got caught out in a stiff breeze with Keith a couple of years ago, it wasn't blowing a gale but the anchor was dragging. With the extra size of the PA over the Terrapin I will be getting a larger anchor, not exactly sure what size yet though. I'm expecting I'll have a crack at some higher tidal flow areas in the future so I'll have to do some researching.

Thanks for the ideas guys, it's one of the many parts that make this community so great :D
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by laneends »

I have 3 anchors, as they are attached with shackles to the rope including the breakaway tie I can swap them over according to location. A 0.7, 1.5 & 2.5kg grapnels. The 0,7 is handy for a lot of PPB especially around reefy areas.

I actually pulled on a length of freyed rope at Kirks the other week and pulled up a boats 5kg or so sand anchor
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Tim399
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by Tim399 »

Haha I'm sure that would've been a surprise! Won't have any trouble holding bottom with that anchor
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shane
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by shane »

As Keith mentioned the easiest way to get anchor line back on a reel is to roll it along your thigh. If you have a rocket launcher or similar on the same side as your cleat, then the rope will pass around that. You don't need to turn around, just face forward and roll the line onto the reel, pulling it forward as you go. It's easy on the back.

Just make sure the line doesn't jump out of your guide with the slight angle. If it's secure then retrieving even in very high currents is almost worry free. I generally use a 2.5kg grapnel on the PA with enough chain to reach just short of the cleat. It holds in pretty much all conditions as long as the collar is engaged.

My ideal guide arrangement would be a roller on the back handle (that the line runs smoothly over) with vertical uprights either side to keep the line on the roller but allow the rope/chain to be placed in and out easily.
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Tim399
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Re: Pro Angler anchor guide

Post by Tim399 »

I'll check out the 2.5 and 1.5 anchors when at a marine store next. A roller like that would be ideal. I tried pulling the anchor line while the kayak was on the trailer and at an almost horizontal angle I could get to nearly 90 degrees from the back (nearly beside the kayak) before the line would jump from the guide. Looking faward to testing it out.
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