Tormentor wrote:how do you attach your anchor to the yak, to the trolley but what's the connection to the trolley if you have some detailed pictures would you mind sharing?

What follows is a lot more detailed than what you asked for Tormentor, but hopefully it covers the questions of others related to my anchor set-up.

First of all, in my opinion, the easiest and best way to organise an anchor trolley has got to be the Hobie anchor trolley kit. Everything you need is included for about $50. However, it did lack just one thing for my purposes and that was an extra clip. The Hobie kit has only one.

The clip is what you attach your anchor rope to and is fitted to one side of the bungee. WE typically anchor from the rear, so the clip is fitted to that side of the bungee so that we can get the anchor as close to the rear of the yak as possible. But from time to time I might like to anchor from the front, so I've added an extra clip forward of the bungee so that the anchor rope can get as far forward as possible.

The rope is attached to a clip by a simple loop knot.

Stainless Steel Clips either side of the bungee:



Anchored from the rear:



Anchored from the front:



The two clips also come in handy when I'm drifting for flathead and squid etc. I can attach my drift shute to one clip and a keeper net to the other. Hanging a keeper net from the yak is not necessarily a good idea, but it's low risk where I do it.

Drift Shute and Keeper Net:



The anchor I use is a 1.5kg grapnel anchor. I use about a metre of chain and 50 metres of curtain cord which is wrapped around a large handline. There is a swivel shackle where the chain meets the anchor and a swivel shackle where the chain meets the cord. This it to avoid nasty twists in the cord.
I also have a ski rope float on the cord with some reflective tape stuck on it. If I need to I can throw the lot overboard to chase down a fish, and even in the dark, later retrieve the anchor. This came in handy in the critter episodes.

The Anchor



An important tip with grapnel anchors follows and I'll try to make sense of it.

Your first point of contact with the anchor should be at the tine (or prong) end. You can then cable tie your rope or chain to the end of the stem (for want of better terms). The idea is that if your anchor is stuck in the reef and you are unable to retrieve it, you can can give a sharp tug on the rope to break the cable tie away from the shaft and bring the anchor in back to front. You must first be sure that you use ties that you are able to break, and also carry spares.

First Point of Contact at the Tines - Cable Tied to Stem.



After Breaking the Cable Tie the Anchor can come in Backwards.



Hopefully that all made sense and answered most questions.

Cheers.

Nicely explained Rhino. I reiterate the need to use small zip ties - as they can be very hard to break in a yak, without tipping yourself out. If you have big zip ties, cut halfway through them before using them. It is better to break a zip tie accidentally, then get your anchor stuck.

Great Post Rhino!
Personally I just use a couple of loops of 20lb mono instead of the cable tie. Gives enough strength for normal use but very easy to break if needed. Also no need to carry extra cable ties as I always have spare mono on me anyway.
Even if I only had 6LB mono... just double it up.

HaTTerS wrote:Personally I just use a couple of loops of 20lb mono instead of the cable tie. Gives enough strength for normal use but very easy to break if needed. Also no need to carry extra cable ties as I always have spare mono on me anyway.
Even if I only had 6LB mono... just double it up.

haTTers is on fire today.

Excellent Rhino...you have helped me a lot with your pics and explaination.
Thanks VC

Great post Rhino, had to break the cable tie a couple of times, and even had it break itself once off apollo bay. Spares, spares and spares are handy. Luckily used Hatters move and just doubled some leader over saw me through the session.

Good Post Rhino. Thanks for the tips.

if you find you cant break the cable tie ( if of cause your anchour is stuck in a reef ) let out more line then tie off to something solid
then paddle/peddle hard as you can straight back over the anchour - the cable ties break pretty easy doing this and its easier to keep your balance than struggling to break them by just pulling on the rope

Great stuff Rhino. Thanks for the tips.

What's with the critter bait in the background mate?