Best anchor system for fishing frame?

[Dakota7]

I have a 13' raft with a fishing frame. I'm considering having an anchor system installed but I don't know what kind to buy. NRS, AAA Inflatable, others? I'm also concerned the ropes, etc. will get in the way of things in the raft and may even be a hazard. Can anyone help with recommendations on what kind of anchor system to buy and if my concerns make any sense? Live in Denver. Thanks for the advice.

[Addy]

I have a DRE system and it's great. Go to their site for pictures. But I also made my anchor which was cheap and awesome. It's about 30lbs.

[Osprey]

Go with whatever kind of frame you have. It will be harder to try to retrofit a different system than the one that was made for it. Especially since some are made to run through frame tubes and some aren't.

[colorado jim]

I used a brake rotor and a anchor pulley from Cabelas. I mounted it on my custom seat deck/motor mount. I keep the anchor rode in a small bucket.

Cabela's Anchor Lock, Boat Anchoring, Anchoring & Docking, Boating : Cabela's

[herdsire]

I fabricated my own system using pulleys bought at a local sporting goods store and a rope lock made by Leelock. The Leelock pully and rope lock are made in Washington for the drift boat industry and are bullet proof. They now make systems made specificly for rafts (which were not availble when I put together my system). The biggest safety issue is that you never need to worry about the anchor rope accidently releasing in rough water like a rope cleat. You can go directly to their website at leelockas.com to see their products. Recretec at recretec.com also sells an anchor system that uses the Leelock components. The safety factor made the extra cost more than worth while IMO.

[ColoradoJudd]

I'd agree with a down river anchor system but if you do not already have a DRE frame (thinking you do not since you named NRS and AAA) I'm guessing retro-fitting would be difficult.
I do suggest adding the 2:1 pulley attachment, makes a 30lb anchor much lighter.

[scottcsu]

Originally Posted by herdsire

I fabricated my own system using pulleys bought at a local sporting goods store and a rope lock made by Leelock. The Leelock pully and rope lock are made in Washington for the drift boat industry and are bullet proof. They now make systems made specificly for rafts (which were not availble when I put together my system). The biggest safety issue is that you never need to worry about the anchor rope accidently releasing in rough water like a rope cleat. You can go directly to their website at leelockas.com to see their products. Recretec at recretec.com also sells an anchor system that uses the Leelock components. The safety factor made the extra cost more than worth while IMO.

Herdsire, do you know of any install instructions out on the web? I like the concept but would like to see one installed on a rig.

Thanks,
-scott

[Osseous]

I have the Leelock system on a custom cat frame- I had the locking cam welded in the corner ahead and to the right of my rowing position. Rope runs along the frame rail to a pulley at the back rail of my frame- where it makes a 90 degree turn- to another pulley just forward of the one at the front of the anchor portion of the system. I do run a pulley there to 1/2 the effective weight of the anchor when I'm lifting it. One word- buy your own pulleys- the ones that came with are just too small. You want big pulleys to make those 90 degree turns without binding the rope. If you watch the video on the Recretec website, you can see the pulleys bouncing and moving under tension. I brought that up to them, but they didn't want to hear it. If I had it to do over, I'd buy the Leelock direct and the pulleys at a marine supply shop. If you'd like to see some pics of my arrangement, just holler.