Anchor Trip Link

Anchoring is a once in a while procedure for me. I often go out and never pull the anchor out of the bag. The anchor in the photos is one of my anchors and the one best shown to explain an item called the “Anchor Trip Link”.

The Lewmar claw type anchor holds very well when it can dig into the bottom.  The fact it has to dig in also makes it difficult at times to retrieve. If you keep pulling on the handle end you’ll just make it bury deeper. If you try to pull straight up; that may work but usually not, because of the suction derived by the digging in process. The best way to pull a stuck claw anchor or others for that matter is from the head. You’ll notice the Lewmar, as well as some other anchors, has a hole at both ends to facilitate this.

In the past I’ve gone to some extreme measures to make the anchor line drop off the handle and allow the pull from the head. Light string works pretty well, as does the smallest zip-ties.  This is where the Trip Link comes in; you cannot forget it; it becomes a permanent part of your anchor chain.

Notice in the photos the anchor chain is attached to the handle end with the Trip Link; there is slack in the chain as it travels up to the fitting at the head. This link on the handle end is the adjustable tension “Anchor Trip Link” a steady pull and it stays engaged. A sharp strong pop and it opens allowing the pull on the anchor to be moved to the front to easily pull the anchor out of the bottom, be it debris or just mud.

Using Google search I found reference to the “Anchor Trip Link” on EBAY. The Inventor, manufacturer is also the seller. Rather than bring up EBAY and search, it is much better to bring up the Trip Link website and then access EBAY from the Website. So many of kayaking’s new and great products come from small manufacturers; in this case, if the seller is out of town, he does not post sales and ruin someone’s day by not providing.
You can visit the Website at: http://www.anchortrip.co.uk/. Available on the site is instructional video and contact information so you may give a heads up that you are interested in purchasing one or maybe more. Wouldn’t they make great presents? They are reasonable and work excellent. Mine took about 8 work days to arrive from the UK.

Now, about the rest of the rig; photo number one is the anchor assembly inside of a mesh bag. Since I do not often use the anchor it is not necessarily ready to deploy and is usually stored in the hatch. A Scotty clip tied on with a bowline knot with a couple of stitches in the tag end of the line keeps it from untying itself. I used a very handy tool called a Speedy Stitcher (see photo); I’ve kept this from my sailboat days where I used it for most all emergency repair including sail patching. Then there is a round disc cut from an old plastic storage box lid to keep the Scotty clip from riding down and damaging the float. Then the float and the anchor line mesh bag with at least 50 feet of anchor line. The anchor rope attaches to the anchor chain with the anchor rope wrapped around a thimble (typically used for wire rope) then stitched with the Speedy Stitcher and covered with marine heat shrink tube (has glue on the inside) for protection; I found the marine version of heat shrink at West Marine Jewelers (you call it jewelers if you own a sailboat – sailors know what I mean).

Another item hard to see is a second round disc I put into the bottom of the anchor line mesh bag. I tied a figure 8 stopper knot before and after the disc to keep the bag from sliding back against the float, or down the line.

When I want to use the anchor I hook the Scotty clip to a dedicated pad-eye within easy reach of the cockpit, drop anchor allow the kayak to drift a bit to get some anchor line out, then weave the anchor line through the Figure 9 Carabiner shown, which when needed stays attached to the anchor trolley.  This allows me to adjust anchor line in and out and to drop the entire anchor assembly overboard, while I battle a fish. I’ve seen regular carabineers used for this also, with a slip knot holding the anchor line. Retrieving the anchor is easy enough and stuffing the anchor line into the mesh bag is done by the handfuls and doesn’t seem to cause problems when it is time to redeploy the anchor.

I use two mesh bags, one for the storage of the assembly as in the first photo and the second smaller bag for the anchor line. You’ll find these very handy bags at many of the outdoor gear shops. They are available in several sizes and very handy as you can see the contents without opening the bag.

P.S. The Yak-Angler site is still under construction. Should be ready for prime time in a week or less - peek, if you'd like: www.Yak-Angler.com some of the links work, some do not yet. I'll be aggressively seeing material from fellow kayak owners in the near future.

While this is a nice write up. Stealing another websites name by adding a dash to it is weak imho.