Have you ever put some items in the center hatch of your kayak and when you went to retrieve them on the water you couldn’t reach them?  It’s happened to all of us.  Items shift and if we can’t get to them while on the water.  When this happens on the open water it’s like you never brought them along.  There is a very simple solution.  Set up a system that’ll cure the problem.  I call it an internal pulley system.  It’s basically a clothesline that you run inside the kayak hull and instead of clothes you attach gear.

In a SOT kayak it’s very easy to set up a system if you have a center hatch.  SOT kayaks have scupper holes whose walls are pillars that connect the top and bottom of the kayak.  The pillars make great posts to run a line around.  Most kayaks have a set in the front of the cockpit and a set either by the seat or in the front of the tank well.  It isn’t very hard to get some string or rope around all 4 of these pillars.  I like to use paracord, but any small cord will do.  I thread some clips onto the cord.  I like to use plastic clips because they don’t make much noise when hitting the kayak hull.  Also they can’t rust.  The kind I’ve been using I take off of a fish stringer.  Once you’ve put the clips on just tie one end of the cord to the other.  The clips work like clothespins.  (Come to think of it, plastic clothespins would work too.)  Leave some slack and that’s it.  Now anything you put on the trolley can’t get away.

I’ve found certain items work well on the pulley.  Round water bottles shift easily inside the kayak and often can’t be reached.  The bottles have caps that screw on and they’re connected by a loop.  It’s perfect for hooking onto the pulley clips.  I use it to keep lures handy.  If it’s soft plastics I keep them in mesh bags.  The drawstring is where I clip them.  Plastic lure boxes come with a display tab.  I don’t remove the tab so I can use it to hook the clip.  If you already removed the tab you can glue on something to replace it.  Plastic deck loops work well.

Bottom line it’s a simple inexpensive solution to something that can be annoying.  Set one up, you’ll be glad you did.