Stern Anchor system

When you are drifting on a river, it's really nice to be able to go down bow first, that means you need a way to anchor, stern first. So I bought this cool drift boat anchor bracket, a pyramid anchor and used some blocks and cleats from my sailing rig to make this thing work.

Drilling the holes to align with the transom was tricky. All I can say is make a template, and take your time. Then fill the holes with varnish or epoxy to seal them from letting water into the core of the boat. (bad)

Another view of the stern. I made a bigger transom board so that this anchor plate would fit better.

A view looking forward to the first block, used to keep the line along the gunnel.

The jib turning block and cam cleat. You want to be able to pull the anchor in fast, and then start rowing. Ideally your crew could handle the anchor line while you are manning the oars. In no case put a knot in the end of the line. If you submerge the stern, or have a tree headed downstream straight for you and the boat, the best course of action may be to throw off the anchor line and beat it out of the way. Or float fully flooded downstream and beach the boat.

Here's a closeup. My bracket was made by the Hyde Drift boat company. I looked at their site Hyde Boats and their current selection isn't quite the same. If I had to buy one again, I might go for the stainless steel rather than this cast aluminum. But mine works fine. I will say it was difficult to get the top bolt hole in the transom in the right place as it's a blind hole rather than a through hole. The newer mounts look easier to affix to your boat as the bolts and the backing plate are the same.

Needless to say I've done no river work yet. I keep finding it too hard to arrange both the drop off and pick up problem.