adding a foot anchor system to drift boat??

[mcp]

i have recently acquired an older lavro 16' drift boat and it has a rear pull anchor system which is pretty much just a bracket off the rear of the boat with a cleat for the rope once you pull it up. pretty simple and it works ok, but i am interested in trying to figure out if i can add a foot release system or some type of a side release system that the oarsman can operate so the person fishing in the back can focus on fishing.

does any one have any advise for adding this? at the rear of the boat now is a storage compartment which i think i could us to route the rope in to the back of the boat, down to the floorboard and then up to the rowers seat. it would mean putting a few holes in the fiberglass but i am thinking it can be done.

so if anyone knows where to find a system or how to go about it please let me know.

it is a lavro boat and here is what they show on their site which would be an option as well i suppose - Anchor Bracket #10
http://www.lavroboats.com/anchor.htm

or i came across this as an option
http://gregboats.com/pages/anchor.html

thanks for any help you can offer.
mark

[YAKIMA]

try hyde's website. they have them listed under the boat accessories. they are spendy, but they work great.
www.hydeoutdoors.com

greg

[earlsmith]

http://www.fishingnorthwest.com/fishequip.htm

You need to check out Lee's anchor system, the center picture on this page iswhat you should consider, there are floor mounts as well, but as the oarsman, dropping and pulling from your strong hand in front of yourself is important while sitting in the seat....you will see all kinds of fancy solutions, but this one is affordable, and the pully and lock are one unit mounted to suit you and usually a simple bolt up if your ride is aluminum,

Earl Smith

[g_smolt]

http://www.clacka.com/accessories/footReleaseAnchor.htm


http://www.dhdriftboats.com/advHtml/dierksanchor.html

Was gonna write a little treatise on how to get all the components at a place like WestMarine, and then describe how I built the system on my last boat...but these links do it better:)

At any rate, No financial interest, blahblahblah... just Passing on information

YMMV,
Mark

[Sloan Craven]

nomolasder (on this site) builds wooden drift boats and had a side release on one of his boats that was pretty simple and clever. It basically consists of a few strategically placed wheels and a cleat, but he operates it from the rowers seat without turning around. You could pick up the parts for probably under 10 bucks. There would be minimal holes in your boat and could probably do the job in an hour. He's a pretty nice guy and could probably tell you better what I'm talking about . His email for his company is rossd@wooddriftboat.com

[Jerry Daschofsky]

You can also buy the stuff at Sportco in Fife. They have about everything you need.

Will put my .02 though. Have you ever used a foot release before? You may want to try it first if you haven't. I've found you either really love them or really hate them (I really hate them). I kept nailing the release with my foot while rowing, and got tired of using them (luckily not on my own boat, so didn't have to worry about it). I had same thing as you, just that my boat was the predecessor to yours (old eastside) with rear release. I simply changed rear mount to a side pully on the anchor drop, then added rollers down the gunnel. Then a side pull release and I was set.

[ssickle1]

Jerry's right, I had a problem in a rapid once and had to high side and inadvertantly stepped on my release. Line went out but the anchor didn't catch, had it caught the transome would have busted or the boat would have went down lickity split. So my new boat has what you have. Also a rear release allows for the guy fishing in the back (usually the same guy is rowin) to let let out rope while achored.

2 cents.