anchor placement on a pontoon

[Thunderthumbs]

Just bought a one man pontoon and am wanting to put an anchor on it. Where do you guys have the anchor placement on your boats? In my mind the perfect placement would be right in the middle of the boat behind the seat.
Where is your anchor placement, and what do you use for storing the line?

TT

P.S. feel free to let me know of any other modifications that might make pontooning a little easier.

[Lotech]

When weight wasn't an issue with me, I had one of these permanently attached to my pontoon. It was really quite handy.
Downrigger
I had it attached to the cargo deck so the weight would drop through the center of the cargo deck.

[Thunderthumbs]

Oooooooo, Joe, I like that idea. Was it hard to reel back up though?

[Uncle Jesse]

My pontoon came with a pulley in the center back of the frame, what it doesn't have is a place to tie off the rope.

[Normand]

My pontoon came with a pulley in the center back of the frame, what it doesn't have is a place to tie off the rope.

whats wrong with tying the rope to the frame?

[Jackster]

You want the anchor centered in the back of the boat so the boat will stay on track when anchored.
Instead of tying consider ordering a cam or clam cleat from Boat U.S. or other marine store. The beauty of these cleats is that they easily allow securing the line and letting it off, even under load.

[DarrinG]

whats wrong with tying the rope to the frame?

Much!...if you float moving water!
I have experienced an anchor accidentally dropping in a rapid or heavy current. The anchor caught and when the rope ran out, my boat done a hard, HARD stop and before I could untie from the frame, the rear of my tubes were digging into the current and my boat was doing a wheelie. I got the rope cut barely in time before the boat flipped completely backwards. Never...repeat....NEVER tie off an anchor rope to the frame or boat in moving water. It's a recipe for disaster. Keep the rope coiled and the end free. If the anchor rope slipped out of a cleat in a rapid and the anchor dropped, the rope could free-spool through the anchor system until it cleared the boat. You can then beach the boat at the next available slow shore and walk back upriver and try to retrieve the anchor/rope.
Still water, sure. Moving water, NO!

Most quality boats come with an anchoring system...just add your rope and anchor. If your's dont have one, look at some other boats, how they are designed and work, and modify yourself one similar. A few pulleys, a jam cleat and a few bolts/nuts will usually suffice.

[Lotech]

It can be a bit hard. You need to make sure and not let go of the handle or let it slip out of your hand or it will backlash on you. Other than that, it's a fairly easy crank.

[Hextall]

what do you use for storing the line?

I'm curious about how people store the anchor line. I now only coil the line as best as I can and pile it up on the standing platform (I have a scadden boat with a through the frame anchor line pulley system). For my kayak, I use a divers safety line reel, anyone else use something like that?

Something like this:

[Thunderthumbs]

That divers safety line looks like a great idea! I may have to see about something like that. Although I do understand the safety of having your line free in case of an accident...I just hate the thought of having anchor line loose all over the place.

Thanks,
TT