Anchor trolley short screws?

I've got a 2013 PA 14, about two months old now. Last weekend I bought the anchor trolley kit from my dealer. It is the kit for the PA14, not the PA12. Line length is fine.

Went to install it tonight. Looks pretty easy and straightforward, what with the mounting points being built right in on the 2013 model. Funny thing, though, the screws are too short. It comes with a pair of round-head screws, two are 1/2" and two are 1", for installing the pulleys at either end of the boat. (Item #2 in Parts diagram in this PDF http://static.hobiecat.com/digital_assets/pa-series-anchor-trolley-install_rev120625.pdf).

The screws are just barely long enough to go through the holes in the pulleys. They don't quite make it to the threads in the pre-molded brass fittings. Looks like they're each about 1/4" shorter than they ought to be.

Am I missing or misunderstanding something in the instructions?

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2013 Pro Angler 14 || 2012 Outback (wife's) || 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter

I think the screws are 10-32 imperial, your friendly Lowes/Home Depot might have em in stainless.
JIC, there's also a youtube video of them installing the trolley system, it might clear it up for you.

If I remember correctly I had a few extra screws in mine. You definitely have to make sure you are using the right length ones in the pulleys base don't their orientation. But stainless steel screws should be easy to pick up at your local hardware store. I put the Hobie Anchor Trolley on both sides on my new 2013 PA14. They work great!

Tight lines...

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

Can someone explain the function of the anchor trolley?

When you're anchored, you may want to be facing upstream/upwind or downstream/downwind. The anchor trolley gives you the ability to attach your anchor (or drift chute, or stakeout pole, etc.) very easily from your seat, then run the attachment point to the front or rear of the boat, depending on which way you want to face while anchored.

I mostly expect to use mine with a brush grabber - a sort of big toothy clamp that can be attached to tree branches and such. One of the lakes I fish at (Shabbona in northern Illinois) has a bunch of old dead trees sticking up, which are good spots to fish, but it's also a fairly windy lake which makes it very hard to stay in position.

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2013 Pro Angler 14 || 2012 Outback (wife's) || 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter

Posted before, but it's timely here. Here's my no-cost solution to mounting the pulleys. I used household electrical wire, bent a loop into the ends and slipped the loops under the handles.

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Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult
Pro Angler-14 owner

I've watched the online video (how did I ever learn new things before the WWW?) and nothing in it stands out as something I'm missing. And I'll be hitting the hardware store for screws one evening this week. Just thought I might be overlooking something obvious.

It also occurs to me to wonder if Hobie may have tweaked their design, causing this (trivial) incompatibility. My 2013 PA was among the first to have the new paddle clip design, for example.

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2013 Pro Angler 14 || 2012 Outback (wife's) || 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter

It's my understanding that the Anchor Trolley kit for the PA was originally put out for the PA12. The dealers still have some of those in stock as I saw them a few weeks ago at my dealer. Hobie is now packaging one Anchor Trolley kit that works on both the PA12 and PA14. I did not look at a PA12 when I bought my PA14, but will assume the factory mounting holes are identical on either model. The key is just the length of the supplied black rope.

I like the design. They use the black rope for the main trolley and then put a length of black shock cord between 2 black plastic rings. That allows you to pull one end of the black rope and tie it off with the tension you want (created by the shock cord) so that it hugs the side of the PA.

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

I just pulled out and checked the lengths of the screws in my 2013 PA14 Trolley and the short screw is 1/2" long and the long screw is 1" long. And I was able to get the washer between the pulley and the boat.

Short Screw and washer:

Long Screw:

Face on view:


I hope this helps.

Thanks Marty, I'll compare your pics with the parts I've got when I get home. Washers, eh? Didn't get those with my kit, and I've not seen them mentioned - you add those yourself? I'm not very mechanically inclined, but after building the trailer for my two kayaks, I've become a fan of washers

Question - on your pulleys, do you have hex nuts in the screw holes? In the left-hand screw of your last image, the hole clearly is hex shaped, but I can't see if there is a nut in it. My pulleys have hex nuts in both holes. They come out easily, and removing them might give the screws enough length, but I'm hesitant to remove them as they look like they're intrinsic to the design.

/noob

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2013 Pro Angler 14 || 2012 Outback (wife's) || 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter

After reading this, my next question would be...did you get the right Anchor Trolley kit. You are screwing the bolts into the threaded retainers on the 2013 model. The hex nuts in the pulleys should not be needed as that would add a second set of threads to match the bolts up with. While my kit did come with the washers, I did not use them. Cannot remember if they were required or not...lol.

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

Nope, no nuts in my kit. I believe the washer came with the kit as well. I don't remember getting any instructions, but everything seemed to fit together well.

Here's what my trolley pulleys look like. Notice the nuts - the holes being hex-shaped, they're very clearly designed to fit hex nuts, which is why I was hesitant to take the nuts out. But SRAces is of course correct, keeping them in wouldn't seem to serve any purpose. As I said, I'm not very mechanically inclined.



Anyhow, removed the nuts, and naturally the trolley attached perfectly fine to the boat. All is well, especially as I have a four day weekend!

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2013 Pro Angler 14 || 2012 Outback (wife's) || 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter

I had to get longer screws as well, for the forward-most mounting holes on the pulley. The ones with the kit were definitely too short - couldn't even get one thread!

Yes, nuts have to be removed for this application. The washers shown in one photo are for models without the molded-in inserts. You would use washers and nuts inside the hull.

We are now supplying the trolley kit as "universal" which has hardware for each possible vintage boat 12 and 14... all one kit, so there are a few excess parts.

Universal Trolley instructions here: http://static.hobiecat.com/web_uploads/2013/08/01/72020073.pdf

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)