Home Made Anchor Reel

[Friday]

I have been using my home made anchor reel. The reel passed my test.
I made the reel because 1) I want to drop the anchor fast 2) Easy to adjust the length of the anchor line 3) tougher than the plastic one in the market, and 4) smaller


Anchor and Anchor Reel:


Parts for Reel:


Parts for the Reel – where the parts go:


Parts:
Parts must withstand saltwater and UV. Also strong enough for the reasonable stress and impacts:

a. 4” long stainless ¼ 20 bolt - 2
b. 4” long stainless ¼ 20 Eye bolt - 1
c. stainless ¼ 20 nuts - 4
d. stainless ¼ 20 locking nuts (nylon insert) - 4
e. stainless washer for the above bolts - 2
f. 6.6” long nylon Cleat - 2 (from Wal-Mart under $4.00)

Others:
1. Stainless snap link - 1
2. 100’ of 1/8” nylon braided line – you may connect two 48’ lines

Total cost: under $25.00
Total Working Time: 20 Minutes

* I got the parts from Wal-Mart, Boater’s World and Lowes

Instructions:

Assembling Reel and Lines:


1. Enlarge the pre-drilled holes "A" and "B" on both cleats by using the drill
2. Drill a hole in the center of one of cleats. This hole must be large enough so that the cleats can spin freely.
3. Assemble the cleats as shown on the picture.
4. Make sure that the end of the eye bolt pass through “C” hole.
5. Make sure that the eye bolt is not assembled too tight. The cleats must spin freely.
6. Tie the anchor line and the line to the snap link by using bowline.
7. Connect the snap link to kayak.

Other Tips:

1. As seen on the pictures, I use the typical cleat hitch knot. To be sure I make two cleat hitch knots

Cleat Hitch Knot:



2. I usually have a double Cleat Knot on 60’ (from the anchor) of the line. If I am in 25’-35’ of water, I simply drop the anchor. I don’t have to make the knots. Make sure that the snap link is connected to the kayak.

3. I took Ictalurus’s advice on how to tie the anchor line to a grappling anchor. I tested zip ties to connect the anchor line to the top hole of the anchor. The 6"-7" zip ties were too weak to use. 9" zip tie - Depending on the location of the hole of the zip tie, the 9” zip ties broke at a wide range of loads, 7 LB – 50 LB plus. So I use 20 LB test mono. I simply put the 20 LB test mono through both holes (top anchor hole and knot of line). I put the ends of the mono line together and make a simple loop knot. Now the mono line breaks at about 35 LB load consistently.

[surfnsam]

pretty cool

[ictalurus]

I like the clip on the end. I'll have to do something like that with my spool.

[DamselFish]

I found something really cheap. I took an old pool noodle and cut about 8 inches or so off. I was able to run the first part of the line through the middle of the noodle tied a loop (end of trailing line ties on a clamp). If you clip it to the kayak you can throw the whole thing overboard. The achor will unravel and the damn thing floats. When I get home I will post a picture.

[Friday]

DamselFish,
Using pool noodle is a good idea. I carry pool noodle in my suv allways. But never saw the anchor spool from it. I can picture that line comes off nicely when you throw the whole thing. I still can't picture how to adjust the line length. I thought about putting a PVC pipe through the noodle (similar to the crab pot buoy).

[DamselFish]

My cheap noodle anchor reel. I just use that overhand knot that was posted by someone to adjust the length of anchor line out. see picture. Right now I avoided adding hardware to my kayak for anchor tolley by connecting downrigging line to my kayak. It works for now.

[Friday]

Damselfish,
Now I see it. One more question. How do you secure the line on the noodle spool? Just put it behind the seat?

Thanks.
Joe

[DamselFish]

I ran the end of the line through the middle of the noodle and tied it as one big loop but left a long trailing piece where I tied the end clip. The rest of the line just wraps around the noodle and the underlying loop. You can store it anywhere but just clip it somewhere.

[Friday]

Got it.
Cheap but effective.

Joe