Breakaway anchor system based on a tie wire reel

Where are you guys getting this tuna leader?  I can't find an online retailer that sells it, just brick and mortar stores that list it on their website without prices.  I'm tempted to order some 200# Chinese Spectra off Amazon, but the 1-6 week ship time is off-putting.  The colored spools of Chinese Spectra reportedly bleed like crazy, but I'm hoping the white is un-dyed. 

I tried the big orange cable reel with 1/4" line, and it's bigger and more awkward in the boat than I want to deal with.  My next experiment (concept drawing below) is going to be with pulling my anchor up on an anchor ring, and if that's successful I'll spend the money on a tie-wire reel and some fashion of ~1 mm anchor line. 

I have been using a cheap boat fender to float my anchor and drift sock.  One end of the fender has about 1' of 1/4" poly rope and a stainless clip spliced to it.  The other end of the fender has about 10' of 1/4" poly rope spliced to it.  The long end goes through the ring of my anchor trolley into a Ronstan cam cleat next to my seat.  Releasing the boat just requires a tug on the 8" pigtail of rope sticking out of the cleat.  Easy. 

The picture down there is just a concept.  I haven't tried it.  I don't know if it works from a kayak the same as it does from a power boat.

Living walking distance from a lake is awesome.  I can try out my crazy schemes the same day I have them.  Yes, you can in fact pull an anchor with an anchor ring and a Hobie with regular ST fins.  At least I'm 95% sure you can.  My chain rode wasn't heavy enough to balance my claw anchor, and it would slide back down when I let off the gas.  I'll have to try again with a heavier chain rode.  I had the best luck completely disconnecting from the anchor, making a lap and taking a pass to scoop up my spool and buoy on the fly at a 30-degree angle to my anchor line.  Trying to pull the anchor from a stop without disconnecting was just asking to get tangled as soon as the line went slack because of how Hobies steer (they don't) with no or little forward speed. 

A bare anchor ring is about $10, and if I'm halibut fishing I already have a buoy in the boat, so pulling the anchor with the ring isn't really adding any clutter on deck. 

Ashaway tuna leader here:

http://www.seamar.com/rope.html#Ashaway%20tune%20leader%20line

Search the page for "ashaway" -- you need to call to order, they don't seem to support online orders any longer.

Ashaway tuna leader here:

http://www.seamar.com/rope.html#Ashaway%20tune%20leader%20line

Search the page for "ashaway" -- you need to call to order, they don't seem to support online orders any longer.

Do you remember the ballpark $/ft for Ashaway? I'm about to pull the trigger on some Jerry Brown spectra braid. 300# is 1.06mm diameter at $.11/ft shipped. Since the anchor ring works from a Hobie, I don't need to worry as much about line being thick enough to handle under load.


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The Ashaway is sold by the pound (?) and the spool's about half empty.   Without stretching it all out I can't tell you how much is on the reel or on the spool, but pmmpete's 175ft measurement sounds right.  My foggy memory has the spool costing under $40.

The 200# tuna leader is much thicker than braided downrigger line.