OK Trident Drift Anchor

So Spot called on me to fab up a nifty drift anchor pulley system that would work on either of his T-13 or the T-11.

Using SBD's anchor pulley design for his Trident as a starting point, Spot and I slapped together a working unit for his T-13.  We used my T-13 as a test dummy just hoping the anchor pulley mounts would be a direct bolt on with his.  By the sounds of it, Spot had no real issue mounting it up to his T-13.  

I also stiffened up his original Cobra erector set anchor pulley with a few beads of metal glue.  That thing isn't coming apart for a long time!  

I'll let Spot finish the update from here.  

We'd still be fishing with a bamboo stick, dental floss, a rock, and a safety pin.

....and have a little round buddy named wilson?? 

We'd still be fishing with a bamboo stick, dental floss, a rock, and a safety pin.

....and have a little round buddy named wilson?? 

and probably a hell of alot more fish!  I'm just sayin 

Using SBD's anchor pulley design for his Trident as a starting point, Spot and I slapped together a working unit for his T-13.  We used my T-13 as a test dummy just hoping the anchor pulley mounts would be a direct bolt on with his.  By the sounds of it, Spot had no real issue mounting it up to his T-13. 

I also stiffened up his original Cobra erector set anchor pulley with a few beads of metal glue.  That thing isn't coming apart for a long time! 

I'll let Spot finish the update from here. 

1st, let me say again that INSAYN has some INSANE metal skills!

We'd exchanged a couple of messages about what we were shooting for and simplicity was the reoccurring theme.  There was no question that SBD had already figured this out and identified the key parameters of the Trident drift anchor arm.  So, rather than reinvent the wheel, we (and I use we liberally as INSAYN did all the work) pretty much copied the basic design with some minor tweaks.

The key design considerations already incorporated by SBD were the length of the pulley arm and the "kick" or angle of arm.  The length keeps the weight from swinging into the tail of the yak and the kick keeps the weight from dragging in the water when not in use.

One thing we changed however was keeping the angle of rope much lower as it transitions from the pulley to the arm.  This was done to limit the amount of slack line available when the weight swings and bucks during rough transit.  Another change we made was to add a short piece of metal tubing just ahead of the pulley to further limit the potential for the anchor line to hop off the pulley.



BTW: We also learned that the rudder mounts for a T13 are not the same as for a T11.  I was hoping we'd come up with a universal Trident pulley arm but it wasn't to be. 

 

So, the T-11 has a bit of short coming when it comes to directly bolting up the anchor pulley based on the T-13 fitment.


Gimme a second and I'll figure out a fix.










  

Aluminum spacer bolted to the T-13 with countersunk screws. And then drilled and tapped this so that the anchor pulley can screw down to the spacer.






















Problem solved!   

I am amazed at how off centered that the factory installed well nuts are on the T-11 compared to the T-13.  With the adapter (first picture), you can really see just how far off they are from center.  The anchor pulley is actually centered quite well once it's mounted up on both kayaks. 

Just needs one more tweak to be perfect!

I AM SO STOKED!!!!!

If the river forecasts hold, I'll be trying it out this weekend.  I'll be sure to give y'all a complete run down on its performance.

-Spot-

Just needs one more tweak to be perfect!

Easy to integrate, tougher to use if mounted on the actual pulley mount. 

Easy to integrate, tougher to use if mounted on the actual pulley mount. 

Not for your buddy that is drifting up behind you   Its all about teamwork

Made it out on the Nestucca today with BS (The fish geek formerly know as bsteves).  Final talley was 0 for 1.....

While anchored up in the 2nd spot, the anchor rope hopped the pulley.   There was no pulling up the anchor at this point so Brian paddled over and re-hung the rope.  Same thing happened in the 3rd and 4th spots so I parked the yak and looked for a solution.  I was fully ready to steal some wire from a fence to make a bracket but there were none to be found....  After searching my gear the best I could come up with was some heavy leader.  I looped the leader around the head of the pulley pin, across the channel and then under the kotter pin a couple of times.  It didn't seem like it would hold at 1st but it lasted all day and warded off any further line hopping issues.  Time for a more permanent mod.

There were two failure modes I saw.  1st, when swinging in the current, the latteral pull would cause the rope to hop off the pulley.  2nd, when releasing the line from the cleat, if there wasn't a lot of tension on the anchor line, a little bite would form and walk right off the pulley.  Both of these failure modes were mitigated by 3 wraps of leader over the top of the pulley housing.

Other than that, the new arm worked perfectly.  The anchor was held well above the water.  Retrieval of the anchor was smooth as silk.  And, the fit was friggin perfect.  INSAYN wasn't kidding when he told me that I could probably tighten all the bolts by hand. 

-Spot-

When I see ya again to recover my tie down straps, lemme have that anchor pulley for day.  I'll get it fitted with a guide to keep the rope in check over the pulley. 

On mine, I've already lowered the pulley pivot point about a 1/2", and then added another pin over the pulley to keep the line from hopping.  Should be easy enough to render a fix on yours as well. 

I'm glad ya'll are getting these kinks worked out so when I bring my Mini-X up, the design is all figured out! 

On future units, instead of starting the slot at the end of the flat bar, go in 1/2-3/4" and then start the slot, so that you have a closed off hole the length of your pulley assembly.

The quick fix for Spot's unit is to use a piece of strap that is drilled for the center pulley pin (which will have to be longer) and wraps around the side cheeks.

I can make some quick sketches, if you need.

On future units, instead of starting the slot at the end of the flat bar, go in 1/2-3/4" and then start the slot, so that you have a closed off hole the length of your pulley assembly.

The quick fix for Spot's unit is to use a piece of strap that is drilled for the center pulley pin (which will have to be longer) and wraps around the side cheeks.

I can make some quick sketches, if you need.

I can picture exactly what you are describing, and I am assuming you mean for the rope to travel trough a hole placed in the center of the strap in line with the pulley face.  The strap can pivot on the pulley shaft, all while keeping the rope in line with the pulley regardless of where the strap is pointing.  Although it may cause undue chaffing on the rope at various angels, it's definitely worth a try.

The easier fix would be to put a pin across the opening above and forward of the pulley so that the rope cannot jump out of pocket.

I have another idea floating around my head that would work with the tubular anchor pulley that I made for myself.  Now if I can figure out a way to smoothly flare the tip of my tube, I wouldn't even need a pulley.   

Looking back at SBD's pictures I see he routes his rope back down through a hole in the base plate.  My question would be if the rope is chaffed at all with the sharp angle it has to run from full scope out to the anchor, up to the pulley itself.  If not, then I can just weld on a smooth surfaced strap around the lower front base of Spots and be done with it.