[Phil C]

Hi Andy. Great minds think alike! Seems we had a similar idea. My portable rig is also made using a ski biscuit/donut. The only difference is that I sewed a loop of webbing onto the base of the donut and clipped my pulley (with built in jamcleat like a dinghy mainsheet block) straight on the loop. Rather than getting up on top of the unit and pulling the rope up through the centre I stay in the water, put one foot above the pulley on the webbing and pull the rope horizontally, the system works well as the rope automatically jams in the jamcleat and you can relax between each pull. We have used this setup with 14mm braid and up to 18kg (for FIM) bottom weight. It is hard work to raise but I can retrieve at close to 0.7m/s. Usually 8KG works fine and is easier to retrieve at closer to 1m/s.

In spring we were getting blown halfway across Pupuke so I started anchoring it with a small grapnel and 100m of 8mm nylon line.

The suprising thing is how easy it is to swim towing the rig even loaded up with spare fins, anchor, rope, 18kg of weight etc.

A variation we used in Taupo earlier this year was to use the float to support one end of a C/W spreader bar with the other end of the spreader bar to the boat.

The main issues we have had with the rig so far are:
1. The donut is too big (it is designed for 3 adults) and it is a long way from the line to the edge making it difficult for some people on duckdiving.

2. It drifts really fast on windy days so needs either anchoring or a sea anchor.