This is not a kit install but a custom anchor trolley.   I wanted it to be unique.

Things you will need

• 2 Pulleys Stainless Steel
• 1/8″ bungee – Color of choice
• at least 30 feet of reflective 5/32″ poly rope
• 2 Deck Loops
• 4 Nuts bolts and rubber washers.
• 2″ Nylon Ring

(Below Not Photoed)

• Galvanized Hog Rings
• Heat Shrink Tubing

Tools

• Drill
• Torch or Bic Lighter
• Pocket Knife
• Philips screw Driver
• 3/8″ Socket
• 1/4″ Drive Socket Wrench
• Pliers

What is an Anchor Trolley and why is it needed?

Access the bow or stern is basically impossible unless you were to get off the kayak and swim there. Simply using a block and loop conveyor system aka Anchor Trolley. An anchor trolley is basically a clothing line that is used to shift the point of your anchoring from cockpit to both bow and stern. An anchor trolley can be installed on either side of the kayak or both. Its all about how you the angler would prefer to use the system.

Now to install your anchor trolley. First you will cut (2) 8″ lengths of the 1/8″ bungee. Use the Torch or Bic lighter to fuse the Nylon sheath around the rubber bungee chords. This will ensure the bungee will not fall apart.

Now you will insert each bungee into the eye of the block and tie both ends together with a knot.

Once this is done its time to locate the Pad Eyes or the attachment location to the kayak. Approx 12″ from tip of bow and stern. Drill the upper hole first and thread the bolt in to hold the pad eye in place. Angle the pad eye away from the bow on a 45 degree angle but make sure it is flat to the boat. Drill the second hole and thread in. Using the washer with the rubber on the inside make sure that faces the inside of the hull. Snug the nut down tight enough where its not going to move. Repeat the same for the stern. Once the pad eyes are installed connect the blocks to each one.

Using the poly reflective rope and run it through the bow block first bottom to top and back to the stern block top to bottom. With the tag end of the rope slide on a piece of heat shrink tubing then loop it through the Nylon ring leaving about 3″ excess crimp two Hog Rings as close to the nylon ring as possible around the tag end and the main line of the poly rope making the loop permanent around the nylon ring. Cut the tag end of the rope back 1/2″ before the Hog Ring. You will now slide the heat shrink tubing over the tag end and the hog rings. Using a heat gun shrink the tubing but take caution not to burn the poly rope nylon ring or heat shrink.

now pull rope from spool end to the nylon ring and add 12″ and cut. Burn end of the rope and run the new tag end through the ring. Snug up the trolley and using 5 half hitches tie the line. Using half hitches will make the trolley adjustable in the future as the rope gets wet it may stretch. Simply un-tie and re-tie snug again.

You have now successfully installed an anchor trolley on your Jackson Cuda 14!

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Weather predictions are rarely correct in the marine environment. From my experience they are typically close or way off. This past Saturday was the well off experience. Weather predictions for the area were winds light and variable seas 1-3 inches. I knew something wasn’t right prior to leaving the house around 5:00 am. It was already breezy. A quick text to Capt. Jim and the typical Capt Jim response “It’ll lay down”.

Met Jim at the drop in and well it was really windy but hell we went out anyway. About 100 yards from shore begun to understand how rough it was. Paddled past a boat with two old times aboard. They just looked and i could tell they were thinking to themselves we were crazy. I asked one of them if they had seen any bunker around. The guy just nodded that he did not.

The waves were immense at 3-4 foot but manageable as paddling into them was better than going sideways. Two miles later reaching the area of the Raritan Reach channel planned to fish. Attempted to fish but it was just to rough too fast of a drift and really felt unsafe. The options arose. Beach on Staten Island and wait a little while to see if the wind was going to lay down. Or high tale it back to the launch to go fish the bay side of Sandy Hook. It took about 5 minutes and we were turned around bow to land. Back to  the drop in. The ride in with the large waves and following sea was uneasy but an easy paddle back.

Once loaded up it was about a 40 min drive roughly 30 miles driving distance to the tip of Sandy Hook. The location is Fort Hancock which was an army fort built to defend the waterways and ports to New York City active from 1859 then decommissioned in 1974. It is now a national park and is part of the Gateway National Park System. There are many other things to do in the park that involve the outdoors.

So it was much calmer since the land blocks the wind and waves that were full force at the previous location. We dropped in and begun to fish. There were a few other kayak anglers there of whom I knew one of them. They stated the fishing wasn’t really good and the incoming tide was against the wind there.

It seemed to be a slow pick but there are big fish in the area. I ended up loosing one because it wouldn’t fit in my net. A few more short fish for the day the largest landed by myself being a 15.5 incher. Jim had a decent one over 19″. The drift was fast and i couldn’t hold bottom with a 3 oz Spro. Jim was using what looked like minimal a 4 oz huge buck tail. It wasn’t long after that 3:30 Pm rolled around and called it a day.

Once on shore and walking your yaks through a wedding setup a park ranger came by and checked our catch and asked us a few questions. She was actually pleasant to communicate with.

This concluded the fishing trip. It was a nice ride home although I was exhausted. Im looking forward to getting out on the water again asap.

Check back for more fishing journal entries in the future!

Water, salt, dirt, and corrosion are the worst components for damaging your cable connectors.

Unlike a motor boat where the cable connectors are typically protected from most of the harsh weather conditions kayaks are completely exposed. Were out there taking waves over our bows landing on sandy beaches and constantly getting rained on.

For a small cost you can protect your cable connectors to obtain the maximum lifespan out of these expensive cables.

The  solution is simple.  Dielectric Grease and Caps that are designed to protect the patruding end of  a nut and bolt.

The result is a water tight protected Cable plug. To should still be careful  takes it from getting sand or other debris. The grease it will stick and make  a pretty big mess.

You can find these screw protectors at your local hardware store. They come in different sizes so measure the cable end you would like to protect prior to purchasing them.

I put the dielectric grease on the female plug then place the cap over it. This added protection should prevent corrosion and extend the life of your electronics cables.