Anchor trolley install

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TexAg_Yak08
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Anchor trolley install

Post by TexAg_Yak08 »

What is the general consensus on installing an anchor trolley? I'd like to get a trolley installed on the Pescador Pro 120 I just picked up, but not sure I feel comfortable drilling holes in something I'm relying on to float!! What shops will install them, and whom do y'all recommend? Thanks in advance!!

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05kas05
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by 05kas05 »

most kayak shops will install the anchor trolley i live close to ACK so i use them for most stuff if i can't do it myself.
when i installed my anchor trolley i did a no drill style one, the video i got the idea from from is on you tube the title is below
(Anchor Trolley Installation - Knot Right Package - Part 3)
now it looks like the pescador pro is a little different but i have seen this anchor trolly in the video set up where it went from the front and rear carry handles also and seemed to work just fine. i can get some pics of the anchor trolley installed on my tarpon120 if you like but it will be tomorrow before i can get them.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Ron Mc »

If you're not happy drilling holes, you can make a no holes trolley using plastic orbit blocks and scotty clips with bungee cord between blocks and clips to maintain tension.
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I cut the clip from this front and made it into a Scotty "hook"
Scotty clip to rear carry strap
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Ronstan 20mm orbit block - double bungee wouldn't fit through the shackle end, so I use a stack of (now green UV-resistant) O-rings to secure the block in the bungee loop
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I used everything plastic, so no metal sliding on the boat
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Used tygon tubing and long thumbscrews (later added washers) to turn Harmony mounts into fairleads, and the entire assy will quick-release from the boat
(only reason to remove them is for rearranging mounts in the tracks)
The stand-off on the fairleads minimizes the trolley cord rubbing on Scotty bases, etc.
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This style Z cleat doubles up for both trolley and anchor or drift sock line
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I made 4 fairleads, at each end of tracks on cockpit and rear well
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I used 20mm blocks, and here are the 30mm Ronstan blocks, which would rig even better
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/ronstan/rf35101/index.htm

To keep the bungees from aging, I store the boat with the Scotty clips unclipped, and still have to replace the bungee cord every few years.
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tito82x
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by tito82x »

Bought mine from ACK and installed myself. I was hesitant at first about the drilling but I've had mine on for 5+ years and have had no issues so far
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Ron Mc
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Ron Mc »

tuning this old rigging for the plastic on the tee-bolts wearing out.
Still overhanging harmony tie downs for the trolley fairleads, but now holding them down with 1-1/2" Yak Attack mighty bolts, low-profile wing-nuts, and stainless 1/4-inch tube sleeve (from a tubing pressure fitting) over the exposed threads and forming an anvil for the "wrong" mount hole on the harmony tiedown.
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they are rock-solid
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also with the Scotty clips, easy to shorten the bungee runs at each end to tune tension in the trolley, and my stern bungee run is about the half the length of my earlier photo
just remember to relax the bungees when the boat is in storage to get long life from your bungees

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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by s1rGr1nG0 »

I've installed trolley's on multiple kayaks I've owned with no issues at all. Carefully drilled holes where I wanted them, applied silicone and pad eyes as needed and they worked perfectly.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Ron Mc »

trolleys have a lot of uses besides anchors - the obvious, putting your drift sock to the back of the boat is kind of like anchor.
Some people don't like staking their boat through scupper holes, and staking through the trolley ring is an option.

When my daughter was young, and got into windcock problems in her Redfish 10, in deep water, could tie off to her bow, and send the tow line to my stern on the trolley - she hated that, but it got us downwind.
Later solved the windcock problem with a skeg
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... &p=2247676

a no-holes trolley is a nice option to take advantage of slidetrax on different boats.
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Texas Hooter »

It’s not so bad to just DIY. Any shop is going to do the same thing you would yourself. Anchor trolly install is super easy and quick. Just use silicone to seal the holes when you put in your screws. When I got my yak I imagined anchoring down a lot but it turns out, the most important “anchor” for me has been the drift sock. Depending on your yak you may or may not need a trolly to put it to use. I fish an old town predator and sitting side saddle just isn’t a very good position on this yak. So I use the trolly to get my drift position where I want it. If you sit side saddle and fish like that, I imagine a you’d not really need a trolly. You could just tie the drift sock to a cleat or even a handle on the side. YMMV
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Ron Mc
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Re: Anchor trolley install

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Re-did my trolley to lash the blocks the way they're supposed to be. https://www.ronstan.com/info/S20orbitbl ... ctions.asp
It's been 8 years since I spent any money on this, the orbit blocks are here forever, so $18 to add the Ronstan shocks in the rigging is not a big deal now - wouldn't be the most cost-effective way to get started, though.
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When I had the trolley removed from the boat to lash the orbit blocks to the shocks, I began by spraying dry lube behind the pulleys to lube the block bearings (as recommended). The carrier washed out a huge amount of powder from the trolley line, before coming out clean, so I'll be replacing the trolley line as well (probably use red to make it instant to identify).
https://www.sailrite.com/Cordage
This is the place to get the good cordage. Their price isn't the lowest, but their service is instant, and they offer reasonable shipping options. Compared to the black rubber-band stuff, the high-grade bungee is extreme on both elastic modulus and elasticity. And again, no holes, and no metal touching the boat anywhere.
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It takes a lot of tension to begin stretching this bungee, and it will go a long way, but you have to pull damn hard, which is exactly what I need here. The bungee loop on the bow hook is about 4 times this long, and where I need the joint to stretch, just so I can hook it in.
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Ron Mc »

new line (NE Spyderline 2.8mm) that better matches the bend of the small orbit blocks - and something that's not black.
The new marine double braids are three times as strong as 4mm (550) paracord.
There is so much black in a kayak cockpit, I'm changing line colors as I replace them to quickly identify what's what.
My drift sock recovery line is yellow paracord, and the working line black.
(My bowline has been pouring blue powder on the foredeck for 2 years now, and it's next in the replacement queue - no marine double braid here, use the softest nylon or coreless paracord for bowline - line that doesn't kink.)
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A simple rule for drilling holes in boats. If you can get behind it to install a pressure-seal washer, drill a hole. If you can't, figure out how to rig outside without drilling holes.
https://www.boltdepot.com/Bonded_sealin ... _18-8.aspx
My buddy is installing a trolley on a Redfish. Since the bow is easy access, he's using a cheek block there. Since the stern is impossible, he's going to copy my orbit block in the rear, lashing to the last existing bungee tiedown.


I picked purple for rudder deployment line.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Ron Mc »

you can make a small cord loop by tying a sheet bend, for a place to hook scotty clips
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Grainger on ebay will sell you a few yards of polyimide tape for $6 - it works for seizing cut ends of bungee and cord - 2-mil thick with a breaking strength of 28 lbs. Especially helpful to seize bungee before you cut it - makes it a lot easier to slide it through a matching drilled hole in a scotty clip. It's also heat-resistant when you burn the cut end.
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here's now you use a Z-cleat to immobilize your trolley
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Last edited by Ron Mc on Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anchor trolley install

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apologize up front for the poor quality of the offhand phone photos - didn't bring my good camera today.
My buddy just got back from two weeks around Reno Air Races, and needs to get his boats rigged for our trip in two weeks.
One thing he wanted was a trolley on his Redfish 10. It was mostly assembled from existing pieces in his two kayak stuff storage containers, accumulated over 20+ years. (I've mentioned before, my buddy and his Aquaterra Kahuna was in the first published photo of kayak fishing, in 1994 Phil Shook articles.)

I was able to volunteer a nice Ronstan 20mm full-rotate and swivel orbit block that had been in an obtuse line-bend on skeg duty - easy to replace it there with a lashed Ronstan shock.
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 3#p2274783
It's impossible to get inside the stern of these little boats (as most boats), and I tested this fit-up on my daughter's boat:
a #10 machine screw with 3 washers and a nylok nut through the orbit block shackle and the last sternwell bungee guide.
The orbit block shackle has enough freedom of movement to properly self-align the trolley when mounted this way. Checked the load of a drag line on the stern, and it aligns it that much better.
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Simply move the sternwell bungee cord from the outside guide hole to the inside.
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Easy to get around inside the bow hatch, and he bought the matching Ronstan cheek block, attached to the boat with 2 #8's (drilled undersize), pressure-seal washers inside, and nylok nuts.
The machine screws tapped mating threads in the hull, and were snugged to prevent stripping the new hull threads, final-tightened the pressure-seal washers and aircraft nuts from the inside with the screw heads held firm.
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This photo came out well - needed one fairlead on the top trolley line, and made do with a Dutchware Swivel Biner clipped through the seat back webbing plastic loop on the gunwhale.
He has 2 rings on the trolley connected by looped and slightly tensioned bungee.
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this shows the basic route, fully functioning trolley with only two 1/8-inch tight-thread holes backed with pressure-seal washers. (ok, and it will get 2 more for the Z-cleat right behind the fairlead, which is an easy reach from the small sternwell hatch)
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He's going to finish this out with a Z-cleat along the top line to pin the trolley, and also added 3 Ram mounts - one in front center of the cockpit and two just aft - #10 screws, and easy to get inside with pressure-seal washers.
He has a Ram-mount stern light, and of course rod holders.
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niswanger
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by niswanger »

Wow lots of cool ideas here. I'm sure there are plenty of retail anchor trolley buyers as well, just like me. So I came here for the following questions:

1. Which side, port or stbd? What’s the general consensus on reasoning? I’ve got this Hobie PA 14 (older 2012 model) and I’ve yet to get it wet. I just imagine I would want it on my STBD side because I’m a right handed retrieve and caster, meaning I’m most comfortable casting over my right shoulder. This means I will retrieve from the port side. This would mean if I put the anchor trolley on the port side and I’m anchored with a more centered position I could be retrieving close to the anchor line.
2. I bought the YakAttack LeverLoc HD Trolley. I called YakAttack earlier today asking them about their new pulleys, whether they are better/stronger than the original Harkin they used. Anyway she recommended I first to our in this kayak loaded and observe your actual water line on the freeboard. Is this necessary? The folks at ACK just recommended right up at the gunwhaleto freeboard junction (mounded on the freeboard side)?

Thanks,
Roy
Last edited by niswanger on Mon Oct 01, 2018 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Anchor trolley install

Post by Ron Mc »

I vote no advantage to mounting them low, and a disadvantage is getting to them.
At the top of the gunwhale, most boats have a compound curve, so you may need one or more fairleads on the top line.
I noticed the yak attack kit comes with a total of 3 fairleads, counting the lever lock itself.
If you get a chance, post some photos after you install it.

A boat that comes rigged with 3 trolleys, the Kazkazi Marlin, has separate bow trolleys on each side, and a port side stern trolley - note how high they're mounted.
(my dream boat - 16' and 45 lbs hand-laid)
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As far as port/starboard, you have to run your stern trolley on the opposite side from rudder or skeg deployment lines
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something I learned along the way tensioning trolley with bungee - there's a really fine line, about 1/4" where the trolley line is too tight to behave properly (difficult to cleat, etc.) on the short side, and too saggy on the long side.
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