I used my Clack for the first time yesterday and kept running into my anchor line twisting up so much that I couldn't get the anchor to go up or down. I was lake fishing so the anchor was having to go fairly deep. I spent a lot of time hanging over the back manually untwisting the anchor line. I know my problem is associated with the pulley I have the 30 pound weight hanging on. The rope gets pulled off to the side and doesn't get centered on the pulley wheel because there's too much slop between the wheel and the edge of the pulley. I'm curious to see what kind of pulley system people are using. I am going to Clack on Friday to have my back leg support installed so they may have a solution, too. Thanks! Andy
I had the same problem with my Clackacraft using a pyramid anchor, and I solved it by getting a stainless jaw and eye marine anchor swivel. I tied the anchor rope to the eye end of the swivel and then secured the anchor with a removable bolt on the opposite end of the swivel. So, the swivel goes around rather than twisting the anchor rope. I think a worn rope twists more easily than a newer one too. I have since traded my Clackacraft for a Hyde, and now use a spike anchor which doesn't twist as much as the pyramid anchor did, so I'm not using the swivel for the time being, but I keep it in my boat just in case. I'd also add that most of my boat use is in rivers, with moving currents, which I had believed caused more twisting than stillwaters. John
Thanks John! You got a picture of what your setup looks like? Attached is mine and what ended up happening time after time. Thanks! Andy
Andy - My boat is in MT now while I am in PA, so I can't get any pictures. I'm not familiar with the type of pulley you are using -- looks nice -- but does the rope go around the pulley when pulling or dropping the anchor? John
It's supposed to slide on the pulley, but the rope doesn't run true on the pulley. It keeps getting off center like in the picture. Then the rope starts to wrap for whatever reason. Thanks for the description. If you get a pic send it along!
Here is a picture of what my anchor system looks like now. I got this picture from Hyde's website. My Clackacraft had a comparable setup, except that I added the swivel between the pulley and the carabiner, as I mentioned earlier, to minimize the rope twist. Looking again at your picture, shouldn't the rope go under the cross bar shown at the top of the pulley in your picture?
this must be a situation that occurs in lakes: I've never experienced it in my Clack on any of the the rivers I've floated. I don't take the Clack into the lakes around here, but use a 15` Alaskan instead.
Nice John! I appreciate that pic. I'll see if I can find that particular pulley. Actually, as funny as my pulley system looks, it's rigged correctly. I need to find a pulley with a higher center of gravity.
Hyde sells their pulley for $37. http://hydeoutdoors.com/onlineflyshop/accessories-parts/pulley/drift-boat-pulley It appears that Clackacraft sells pretty much this same design pulley for $45. http://www.driftboatparts.com/product-p/dblpull.htm Seems like a lot of money for either of these pulleys, but if it reduces the rope twist it would be worth the price.
Very nice! I will be down at Clack in the morning and I'll see what they have and what their thoughts are. So I looked up jaw and eye because I had no idea what it was and that makes a ton of sense. It will at least take some of the twist out of the return anchor line. Great suggestion!
Try a good double braid. It will really help with twisting and is easier on the hands. http://www.cortlandcompany.com/site...ia/product-data-sheets-nylon-double-braid.pdf
Jeff, good tip on the correct line for anchors. If guys don't know ehat is the correct line to use for anchors, they end up using some cheap crap that just causes trouble. 20+ years commercial fishing we used the Samson 2 in 1 line similar to your link...easy to splice eyes or joining together. Seattle Marine can hook you up [splice an eye and lash it for you] for a reasonable amount. Andy, I'm not sure what you have going on in that picture, but if you say it's correct, so be it. From what I see, it just doesn't look right.
I'm sorry guys. That is not what the pulley is supposed to look like. That is what happens to the pulley after the line gets twisted. The line should run true on the pulley, but ends up sideways like in the picture.
Just trying to help out...the picture shows your pulley attached to a link and the link is attached to the anchor. The pulley is serving no purpose from what I can see. A pulley is usually attached/hanging from some form of a davit or stanchion...not the anchor. If the eye of that pulley was attached to a davit then it would work fine, but the way it is rigged, every time you got slack in your line it will look like the picture. One other thing: I am not a fan of the 'link' that you are using[and many other people use]. If you like that setup, just don't buy a cheap one....a shackle will [almost] never fail. I have seen too many of that style link fail, but never a shackle. Just my 2 cents!
Thanks sportsman! appreciate the help. I know so little about rigging that i had to look up stanchion, davit and shackle-and I'm still not sure how they would fit into this setup. lol I see how the shackle can help. I'll get a couple of those. Pictures?