I ran across this great how to video and figured a lot of you guys would be interested...
I am sharing this video brought to us by Carl aka MOfishyaker. Please share any ideas or feedback, enjoy!!

And it does seem Lowes has them in stock. Might be a good project until these storms subside...

Funny-I just did this exact thing last weekend! Tested it on a midweek trip and it works well!

Awesome idea!

Nice .

I use a magna big game system. Jtbgator suggested it as an alternative to retractable dog leash. works well but only 30 feet.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RL5J76/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

I like it. Plus you don't have to cleat your boat. And if rigged properly, you could anchor and dry laundry at the same time.

Neato
Needs a backup handle hand crank
in case it jams.

I tried the same thing, but got mine at home depot, it ended up in the trash after the spring not pulling the cord in anymore. I've been using the big game system for about two years now and nothing really beats it to this day..
And amozon has them on sale for 10.29 today..wooot

This is definitely an area I need improvment. My anchor rope ends up in a giant rats nest.

After I bought mine I ran across a thread about using a heavy duty dive reel. The upside was WAY more line, like 150' worth! There are a bunch on eBay but I'm not sure which one is the best. They're cheap enough to compete with the clothesline reel though.

After using the Flexi brand dog leash a few times, durability was my main concern with them and now this Minky clothes line. They aren't made to secure anchors. I bet after time, the spring mechanism within the casing will eventually fail. I ended up going with the Magna Lift system too. It's heavy duty and intended to raise and lower weapons and other heavy equipment to and from treestands. The plastic casing is very durable.

The only downside is the rope length, only 30'. You lose about 5' of rope from mounting point to the bow/stern where your anchor sits. It still leaves 25' of length, which is plenty for me. I don't often fish in depths more than that.

I also prefer the zig zag cleat for more support. I installed 2 of them, on each end of my yak. I love having the dual (bow/stern) anchor system.

Few pics of my setup:

Thanks for the idea Gator. I love mine!!

Tried a few retractable (spring) loaded reels and all broke after less than a season. Just can't use spring steel without it rusting. A manual crank reel like the dive reel is your best bet.

Can you share any of the dive reels you would recommend?