Building the drift anchor rig.

I've got my anchor and now time to get into building the rigging to hold it all together. I'm thinking of building a rig like the one pictured below but need some help finding the metal. Does anyone have some leads as to where I can get some (aluminum/steel) in this kind of size?
Thanks.

Z

phone book, metal scrap yard. I can spend all day in places like that.
 Some places will even cut or shape material for you and your needs.
Hope this helps. and I hope you never ram me with that spike!
 I went with Pole and use an anchor trolley (sort of) and a quick release from the anchor. All Ghetto rigged of course

Forget that setup, use an Anchor trolly.  It's easier to do, will cost you less, and more important is much safer.  You can unhook from the anchor quickly if things go bad, instead of getting a knife and cutting the line.  You can unhook easier when you get a fish.  Put a float on the anchor line and you can come back and reattach to the anchor when you are done.

Safety first.  Keep in mind the additional weight on the bow may cause you to plow through waves more then your kayak normally does.  Slower going on windy days.

Also keep in mind that if the tides change and your doing stuff in the bay or close to it, your boat may take a nose dive straight down to the bottom, as your kayak will keep the same direction after the tide change and be pushed past your anchor.  The force of the current may take your kayak down, and you with it.

I think the idea behind the drift boat style anchor is that it holds the anchor directly behind you (it's a stern achor).   It also allows you to lift and drop the anchor quickly as you drift down the river looking for fish. Some of the guys in the NCKA site are using them for fishing for steelhead in fairly shallow smallish rivers like the Russian River, the idea is that you can use some of the same techniques that the drift boat guys use with their anchors.  Here's the original thread.. later there were plenty of successful fishing reports that followed.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,6672.0.html

As for safety, the drift anchor is rigged to drop the anchor if anything "goes wrong" and you shouldn't need to cut the line with a knife if you use some type of quick release clam cleat.  You don't have the luxury of having a float on the line so, if drop the anchor it's lost, but at least you'll be safe.  I'm not sure how dealing with a trolly system is going to be any safer as you need to bring the anchor line back to your side first to release the clip.  As with any anchoring of this nature the real trick is to use common sense and be sure you don't anchor in too swift of water.

Brian

As with any anchoring of this nature the real trick is to use common sense and be sure you don't anchor in too swift of water.

Didn't some we know do exactly that last year and ended up in the drink, eventually cowboy riding his sinking kayak?  I don't mean to make too much light of the situation, but sometimes you can nervously laugh after the fact as long as a lesson is learn and everyone was safe.

I don't think that a trolley system is safe in some of the situations these are being used in.  I wouldn't want to drop my anchor off the side then trolley to the back.  Even if it's just for a short amount of time, you don't want to get caught sideways to the current, which holding the anchor off the side will do to you.

-Allen

Keep in mind the additional weight on the bow may cause you to plow through waves more then your kayak normally does.

The drift anchor system is on the stern and not the bow.

We've used this setup many times and has proven to be safer and more effective than an anchor trolley. The anchor trolley has the problem of not holding you truly downstream from the anchor and gets you going a bit sideways and even fluttering back and forth when the flow is too quick. In rivers it gets dangerous fast so small details like this are muy im-por-tan-te!

The great thing about this setup for the Malibu Xfactor is that the handle on the stern is fixed using inserts. Basically it means that it can be removed and replaced w/ the drift anchor anytime, just screw in/out. No new holes in the yak is always nice.

Thanks for the tip BOR!

Z

Hey Z,

After recently referring to me as "OG", I find myself looking up slang that you type all the time.  I just looked up "BOR" on "urbandictionary.com" and it basically told me that "BOR" is probably a simple misspelling of "BRO" (although it seems it was popular enough on one forum to catch on).  I feel like an idiot.

Brian

Hey PolePole,

As the resident OK pro, any ideas about installing something like this on the fine line of kayaks OK puts out.  I'm thinking my OK Caper might gain a new life as a river boat this winter, but it seems that mounting the anchor on the stern isn't going to be as easy as a Malibu.

Brian

BOR = BoxOfRain???

BS, I have no idea.  It's on my list of things to figure out.  Obviously the flat spots on a Malibu or a Cobra lend themselves well to this modification.

I suppose you probably don't like me shortening bsteves to BS as I'm sure the urbandictionary will return something not-so-flattering for that.   

-Allen

Ah.. "Box Of Rain" makes sense.  Oddly, I thought it was "Boxo-Frain" which makes less sense as a name now that I think about it.  I'm guessing my science backround made me read it like I would a scientific name.  Anyway, it does explain my lack of connection with "BOR".

I actually don't mind "BS", and it didn't phase me until you mentioned agina.  Most of my posts are probably just that anyway.  My dad used to have a little wooden sign hanging up in his den, it said "If you can't baffle them with brilliance befuddle them with bullsh*t."  I'm not sure who the quote should be attributed to, but it seems to be a pretty common practice, esp. on online forums.  I can think of a few on the NCKA site who seem to take that philosophy to an extreme.

Seriously though, we need to work on that OK drift-boat style anchor.

Brian



 

Hey Z,

After recently referring to me as "OG", I find myself looking up slang that you type all the time.  I just looked up "BOR" on "urbandictionary.com" and it basically told me that "BOR" is probably a simple misspelling of "BRO" (although it seems it was popular enough on one forum to catch on).  I feel like an idiot.

Brian

No worries braddah. You are an OG (Original Gangster ie. been doing something since waaaay back).
I spend too much time w/ people all over the world so my vocab is pretty mixed.

I think we all should get the drift rigs set since there's o much good river action out here.

Lookin' forward to it!

Z

ps. Espiga, time for you to chime in on this since you got the Trident w/ drift rig already set up.

"OG"- I thought was Old Guard! But what do I know- I'm too old for current slang!

Late to the party here....

It looked like it would be difficult to mount a bracket directly on the stern as others mentioned, and I wanted to get out there, so I rigged a double trolley system.

The big concern is to not get side-to the current, which I did before I dialed my system in....not fun!  I mounted a cleat so I can lock my trolley in place.  With this installed I can raise and lower without bringing everything to the cockpit, avoiding side-to situations.   I have another cleat to secure the anchor. I also added some small turn blocks on each end for the trolley, using 3/16" line rather than paracord as I've seen used and recommended.  This reduces line stretch and makes everything run reaaally sooooth.

One of the things I like about the double trolley system, but is also more of a pain than the stern mount system, is that I can switch my stern anchor from side to side allowing me to position myself at a slight angle according to the bend the river is taking.  If I was able to stand up this wouldn't be as important, but it's nice to have the perfect angle while casting from a seated position.  I've been thinking some outriggers might be the next item.  It would allow for standing, nice for both fly and conventional, and make things very stable. 

In some situations, where there are eddies, it is critical to have a bow anchor as well otherwise one spins around out of control.  I'm using a 5# grapple with 5' of chain.  I found that Zees 3# grapple wasn't sufficient for a bow anchor.

I ended up going with a 15# pyramid anchor rather than a 10# like others were using, because I didn't think that would be enough to deal with the current I expected.  I'm glad I went with the heavier anchor, it seems appropriate for my larger kayak anyway.

It does take a little time, but mainly anticipation, to switch my anchor from side to side, but the system seems to work well.  I'll let you know how it works on the Humptulip on Thursday.

Cheers!

Pics man, take some pics.   

-Allen

would something like the Scotty Anchor Mount work?



the bolt pattern is 1.5" x 3.5", and the anchor drop extends a little over 6" from the post.