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.
When weight wasn’t an issue with me, I had one of these permanently attached to my pontoon. It was really quite handy.
[i][b]Downrigger[/b][/i]
I had it attached to the cargo deck so the weight would drop through the center of the cargo deck.
Oooooooo, Joe, I like that idea. Was it hard to reel back up though?
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.
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.
whats wrong with tying the rope to the frame?
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.
i saw a cam on another post and like that idea, so i’ll probably do something like that. My concern was where to put the pulley for the anchor. It seems right in the middle is the way to go. now…where to store the line if i don’t get a downrigger
TT
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.
darin is right. i’ve fished several people out of the river (boats and toons) that had their anchor secured.
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:
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
I have to admit that I never used the downrigger as an anchor system in moving water. It worked great for ponds and lakes, but in moving water it could easily lead to disaster.
I’m going to be doing a little of both…so I might have to see about rigging something up that will be easy to manage in both. Maybe a small tote under the seat to store the line in.
TT
In the back of my head came a recommendation by seeming knowledge angler to use eye-bolts or something similar, as rope (line) can jam between the roller and side of a pulley in many cases. For line 1/4" or less I would think strongly about that recommendation.
Hextall, on my Scadden I just put the line in the side saddle.
Just a note:
If you use an anchor, you MUST keep a rope knife handy!!!
If (and when) you get hung up in current, you will have to cut the rope. … I use Gerber rescue knives. Best 30$ life insurance you’ll ever find!
I have a Scadden Outlaw X5 and it has the thru the frame anchor system. I used it last year on stillwaters when I just used the oars or the Minn Kota motor. This year I put a 5 hp Nissan on it and thought I better do something else. For years I’ve used Scotty rod holders on all my boats. I usually carry 3 rods and now 2 anchors when needed.
I knew Scotty made an anchor lock system so I bought a couple. The first couple pictures are of the back of the boat so you could see the deck setup. The neat thing about the Scotty set up is the anchor lock uses the same base that the rod holders use. I put the anchor lock where the Bugger Barn is at in the picture.
I pulled the flag sticker off and that’s where it mounts.
Shots of the rod holders and anchor lock.
And one for the front. This comes with the anchor lock, or you can get a counter sunk type of base.
The good thing about this is, I also have a NFO Escape float tube and it works with it too.
All the rod holders and anchor locks are quickly removable. I put them all in a bag with my sonar and transducer.
Very slick! I had a look at my frame yesterday and I think I’ll be able to rig up something directly under the seat using the holes that are already there and then use a clasp or something similar to grip the line when in use.
I really like the Scotty anchor system…might have to check into one.
TT