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Howdy. Just ordered me a Predator PDL. Asked them to install the anchor trolley, and they were too scared. No access to kayak stern. They were going to just use self tappers for the rear pulley. I don't feel like that is adequate. Told them nevermind. Suggestions??

I bought a Predator 13 in January 2014 and had ACK install an anchor trolley since I was uneasy drilling into my new kayak. The only problem I had with the anchor trolley was the bow pulley well nut started to come out but I just replaced the well nuts and have not had any problems with well nuts or pulleys since.

I decided I need an anchor trolley on the other side in 2016 and had enough confidence to install it myself by using the existing anchor trolley on the other side as a guide. The second anchor trolley has not given me any problems yet.

The only concern I would have would be if you ran your anchor attachment all the way to the pulleys located at the front or back of the kayak during very high winds or strong currents. If done that way then only one pulley and its well nuts would have most of the stress on them and could possibly cause the well nuts to pull out of the kayak. However both of the well nuts and pulleys are well above the water line so even if they pulled out I would imagine not much water would enter the kayak unless it was severely overloaded.

DumpTruck wrote:Howdy. Just ordered me a Predator PDL. Asked them to install the anchor trolley, and they were too scared. No access to kayak stern. They were going to just use self tappers for the rear pulley. I don't feel like that is adequate. Told them nevermind. Suggestions??

good move, self tapping screws and plastic with a high stress application is no bueno. An anchor trolley should really be installed using pop rivets if you don't have access to the hull for a nut. Well nuts might also be sufficient if you use a shock cord on your anchor line but might pop out eventually

also the predator PDL is just asking to have a hatch installed in that big circle in the stern so add a round hatch and you'll have your access for your nut

lah2429 wrote:also the predator PDL is just asking to have a hatch installed in that big circle in the stern so add a round hatch and you'll have your access for your nut

I was considering that. Anyone done this?

not yet, but have hatch located on ebay...

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One man over on YouTube put out a video showing the installation of a Boonedox Landing Gear. He ran into an issue and his "work around" solution to gain the access he needed was to utilize that very space to install a hatch. Gosh, it almost looks as if that almost vertical wall or bulkhead was designed for such a thing.

It was one of the very few design short-comings of the Predator PDL in my estimation. Other than some small issues, they really hit the ball out of the park. But, this is a really easy alteration.

Here is the URL to the video.

Brad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3SvOh5p5gg

Have you checked if a rigging bullet installation might work for your kayak? Is there a backing plate for your anchor trolley? Have to install a yakattack anchor trolley hd on a coosa hd. The 2 pulleys can be installed easily, because I have hatches for easy access. I'm going to install the lever lock using a rigging bullet system. If you have a front hatch that you believe has enough room on the side to go all the way to the stern it may be an option for you. On YouTube search rigging the dream episode 4 yakattack anchor trolley hd. It'll show you how to do the rigging bullet method. Hopefully it'll work for your application.

DumpTruck wrote:Howdy. Just ordered me a Predator PDL. Asked them to install the anchor trolley, and they were too scared. No access to kayak stern. They were going to just use self tappers for the rear pulley. I don't feel like that is adequate. Told them nevermind. Suggestions??

DumpTruck wrote:Howdy. Just ordered me a Predator PDL. Asked them to install the anchor trolley, and they were too scared. No access to kayak stern. They were going to just use self tappers for the rear pulley. I don't feel like that is adequate. Told them nevermind. Suggestions??

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DumpTruck wrote:Howdy. Just ordered me a Predator PDL. Asked them to install the anchor trolley, and they were too scared. No access to kayak stern. They were going to just use self tappers for the rear pulley. I don't feel like that is adequate. Told them nevermind. Suggestions??

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Not sure the riggig bullet would work because of the rudder lines. I'm just going to install the rear pulley with a bungee loop around the rear handle for now. I think I will eventually install a hatch in the stern. Thanks for the tips!

Just saw this post ! I installed hatches on my Ocean Kayak and my predator PDL

Right on. Older post, should have updated. I added the hatch...

...Also installed a Power Pole Micro Anchor! I love the PDL. Makes a great bass barge. Just wish they would have put the rudder control on the right side. Ya know, instead of it being on the wrong side.