The anchor trolley is a concept that is widely used in Australia, New Zeeland and the USA, mostly because the vast majority of kayaks in these countries are manufactured from plastic. For practical reasons, this system cannot be fixed to fiberglass kayaks as they do not have the strength of plastic. Once anglers get used to this anchoring system, they never change back to the traditional anchor with no control on how you anchor.
Controlled from the safety of the cock-pit, the purpose of the anchor trolley is to give the paddler the choice of the direction he wants the kayak to face whilst on anchor or while drift-fishing. Common sense tells us that while on anchor, the kayak front-endwill face into the current with fishing lines running across the paddler towards the rear. This is true when the anchor rope is tied to the front end of the kayak. Never a good idea but what options are there other than 2 fixed anchor ropes? The anchor trolley gives you the option of sending the anchor tie-on point to the rear of the kayak via the Anchor Trolley. You now face down current with the rear of the kayak pointing up-stream. Facing down current gives the paddler a full view and instant control of his fishing rods and fighting a fish face-on.
The same can be achieved while fishing at sea, an estuary, a current-drift or in winds where you normally have no control on your drift direction. The Trolley system further allows you to use a Drogue Anchor to control your kayak direction while drifting or slow down your drift in stronger winds…. a handy feature when you only have a paddle to get back up-current to drift over a productive reef. It allows you more time on the reef with a slower drift. Also handy when hooked up with large Game-Fish…. throw out the Drogue Anchor, send it to the rear….. now you have more resistance to fight your fish.
The Fluid Bamba Kayak is standard fitted with 6mm inserts on the starboard side, forward and rear, to fit the anchor system. To fit the anchor trolley D.I.Y. you would need the following:
- 2 X 6mm Stainless steel bolts – 16mm in length
- 2 X Stainless steel small yacht rollers
- 7.5 meters of 4mm nylon rope/braid
- 1 X Stainless steel ring
- 20cm 6mm Bungee cord and a plastic clip
Any of these items can be sourced from a decent boating shop:
Roller pulley attached with 6mm bolt. Do not over tighten the bolt as the stainless bolt can damage the brass insert thread and the insert can be dislodged and rotate in the hull!!
Loop the rope through the two pulleys – top to bottom – and tie the ends to the stainless steel ring
Pull rope tight and tie both ends to the stainless ring. Use your best knot!! Adjust rope when stretched
The anchor and rope is stored securely in the rear scupper hatch and only fixed/clipped onto the Anchor Trolley with a shackle or spring-clip when needed. No need to go heavy duty with anything on a kayak. Light rope, light anchor with chain and a board to wind the anchor rope around. Optional….. clip the bottom rope of the Anchor Trolley to the plastic clip on the handle when not in use.
Please e-mail me for any instructions that may not be clear