D.I.Y. No drill anchor trolley installation ...

[bilgerat]

Here's a look at my 'no drill' installation of an anchor trolley. For those who may not be familiar with what a trolley does, it basically allows you to orient your kayak in an optimum position regardless of wind / current ...



'No drill' means exactly that - no drilling required. However, being each brand of kayak is unique, this is a basic guideline. You pretty much have to take advantage of existing hardware and adapt as needed to fit your particular situation. There are quite a few videos and tutorials out there, do a little research and get some ideas. My yak is a Pescador Pro 120.

Materials - most can be bought at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.

1/8" paracord. You can buy it by the foot or just get a 50' pack. The 50' pack is cheaper and you'll have plenty left over.
Two 3/4" pulleys. I prefer the kind with the swivel eye vs a fixed eye. These are nickel plated with a brass wheel. HD doesn't carry this kind, Lowe's had them. Be sure to choose one where the gap between the outer edge of the wheel and the inside of the body is as small as possible so the cord can't fit between the wheel and body and jam up.
One 1/4" carabiner.
One bag 3/8" nylon cable clamps.
One Nite Ize CamJam XT Rope Tightener (optional) ... makes adjustments to the system a breeze - no knots required. Not a necessity but makes life easier. I found through trial and error it's beneficial to allow enough cord so the carabiners 'sag' at the midpoint of the travel, about halfway down the side or just about under the water surface ... too tight and the carabiners will walk up the hull at the extreme ends of the trolley travel. That's where having an adjustable carabiner pays off, you can cinch the trolley tight for when it's not in use but still have enough cord to loosen it up to allow for proper movement fore and aft when it is being used. Another benefit of being able to cinch it up tight when not in use is it won't slap the hull and make unwanted noise. Better to have a little extra cord than not enough and not having to tie/untie knots to make adjustments is nice.


Here's an example of using the existing hardware. This is the the cord that one of the two pulleys is attached to. I backed the screw out enough to fit the cord under the screw head, then tightened the screw. I used a tiny zip tie to cinch the cord tight so it can't work it's way out from under the screw. Use a lighter to melt the ends of cut cord to prevent fraying, or use heat shrink tubing.



Same deal at the stern.


Cable clamps. They're there to provide a travel path for the cord, they're not meant to bear load so no need for anything heavier. Try to piggyback them on existing accessories/hardware if possible.



The anchor rope will go through the silver carabiner.


My anchor setup. Spring loaded clothesline reel. They come with crappy vinyl cord (fine for hanging clothes, not so good for anchoring) , so I pulled it all out, cut off all but about 12", tied on anchor line of my choice to the 12" remaining of the original and I have about 40' of available anchor line stored neatly. Some guys use retractable dog leashes, either way is a good way to keep the line out of the way.
The anchor is a 5 lb pin. The second pic is the deployed anchor.

[F150owner]

Wow, great info!

[bksnaz]

Very cool

[bilgerat]

Thanks for the replies.

I refined my cord anchoring idea ... I wasn't too keen on the original 'cord under the screw head' thing, so I modified a couple of pad eyes to give a better anchoring point for the pulley cords. I'm much more comfortable with this configuration. Weather is still crappy out here so I won't be able to test it for at least another week or so.

Bow ...


Stern ... The screw holes on this kayak are blind, so unused ones won't allow water in. I used a thick rubber washer under the eye to add a bit of cushioning, plus a dab of low strength LocTite on the screw.