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pbiJim · 30-05-2014, 21:05

Yea, I know…another anchor thread: I’m probably asking for trouble just by putting the word “anchor” in the title block.

That having been said, I’d like to try to keep this thread fairly focused & stick to a very narrow narrative. I am interested in hearing opinions on what types of anchors work well in what types of bottoms. I am going to ask that the format of responses be a simple table, eg.:

Bottom type......... choice 1....... choice 2 ........choice 3
Hard Sand
Loose Sand
Loose mud
Stiff mud
Rocks
Weeds
Something other type that you think is appropriate

I understand that many people have a favorite anchor that they believe is the best in all situations. I’m not going to ask you to put that opinion aside. If you like, you can start with something like: “Anchor XYZ is always the best, but if I lost that one in a storm & another of that type was 3 weeks away, then in the meantime, I might try to get by with the following” & then please give me a table as above.

Please do not make comments about other people’s opinions. Please just list yours & at the end, I’d like to see where the majority of opinions lie.

When we hit 100 posts, then starting with post #101, I'd like to start a discussion & at that time, you can let fly with all the wild comments that you like, but I’d like to try to keep the first 100 posts clean, if that is at all possible.

Please try to help me out with this.

Thanks,
Jim

Stu Jackson · 30-05-2014, 21:37

Jim,

I'm not sure why you're asking. Even the WM Advisors answer your question. Most anchor books do, too. And most anchor manufacturers will not admit that their anchors won't work in any type of bottom. Good luck, yes, you're right, but at least you can get an award for the Better Creative Anchor Question!

bobofthenorth · 30-05-2014, 21:59

Yeah well ...... good luck with that plan. And frankly who cares? In the real world you hang an anchor on the end of some kind of rode, pull into an anchorage with an unknown bottom (if you haven't been there before), drop the anchor and start backing up. If it holds you go to bed and next morning when you pull it you know for sure what kind of bottom you had.

People have been doing that with a bewildering array of implements since man first climbed on a floating log. If you really want to know what works in your area go look at the commercial fishboats. It won't be pretty.

In our case the answer is a #9 Sarca for everything because we love it and a 70# CQR if we lose the Sarca because that's what we happen to have. In the real world people use what's on the end of their rode for everything. I've never seen anyone pull into an anchorage and switch anchors before dropping the hook.

Good luck with your survey.

Adventurebound · 30-05-2014, 22:18

I recently spent a couple of weeks researching anchors starting with almost 0 knowledge. Independent tests done showed about three top anchors, one being the Rocna. I have a Rocna also because it was available, less expensive and recommended generally in many circles.

**noelex 77** · 31-05-2014, 01:33

Jim, I think this is an interesting thread.
My only reservations are that some of the good modern new generation anchors are very versatile. Their performance across a wide range of substrates is very good, so it difficult to reliably separate the respective positions. This list should therefore be viewed with some uncertainty.

Also, there are other factors such as the scope selected and whether or not there is a possibility the direction of pull will change.

I have listed together the Rocna/Manson Supreme/Mantus as "Concave roll bar". I am testing a Mantus at the moment. It has proven to be excellent so far, but it is too early to tell if it has slight strengths/weaknesses compared to the other roll bar anchors overall, or in different substrates.

The Ultra looks like an excellent design, with very good reviews from members, but I have only seen a few examples so I have not included it. I have not seen the Manson Boss, aluminium Excel or Knox which are three other new anchors that have potential (especially the latter).

There are a multitude of convex plough designs, some better than others. The Excel and Kobra are I think the best so I have included these two in the table, but there are multitudes of others such as the poorly named FOB-Rock, or the Kingston Quickset that I have seen performing well, but not frequently enough to separate them from the pack.

Hard Sand...... Steel Spade ....... Concave roll bar ..... Bugel
Loose Sand...... Concave roll bar ....Steel Spade ....... Fortress*
Loose mud. ..... Fortress* ......Concave roll bar ..... Steel Spade
Stiff mud....... Steel Spade ..... Concave roll bar ..... Excel /Kobra
Rocky.............Luke/ Fish ...... Bruce ........ Anything cheap
Weeds. ......... Luke/ Fish^ ....... Concave roll bar ..... Steel Spade

* The Fortress needs caution if there is a risk of change of direction of pull, so I would not normally recommend this as a bower anchor, but it is outstanding in very soft mud.

^ The Luke, Fisherman's, or any of the specialist weed anchors are the best choice here, but they have a very small fluke area so need to be very large.

pbiJim · 31-05-2014, 05:28

There have been 4 responses so far. only 1 of them gave the information that I asked for & the other 3 are exactly what I asked people to refrain from posting. One even started with "who cares" & then proceeded to post 4 paragraphs of off subject opinion.

It was a mistake for me to have posted this thread on this board. I may as well have tried to herd stray cats. I'm throwing in the towel here on post #6. I thank the one person who posted as I asked & I'm abandoning this thread.

Good Bye,
The OP

Fortress · 31-05-2014, 06:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by noelex 77

* The Fortress needs caution if there is a risk of change of direction of pull, so I would not normally recommend this as a bower anchor, but it is outstanding in very soft mud.

A properly sized and well set Fortress anchor is no more likely to break free from a common sand, mud, or clay bottom than other anchor types during a wind or tidal shift, and we certainly have the back up evidence to support this assertion.

I do not want to hijack this post, so if a reader would like to review this evidence, then please feel free to send me a PM.

Safe anchoring,
Brian

Fortress Marine Anchors

bornyesterday · 31-05-2014, 07:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbiJim

There have been 4 responses so far. only 1 of them gave the information that I asked for & the other 3 are exactly what I asked people to refrain from posting. One even started with "who cares" & then proceeded to post 4 paragraphs of off subject opinion.

It was a mistake for me to have posted this thread on this board. I may as well have tried to herd stray cats. I'm throwing in the towel here on post #6. I thank the one person who posted as I asked & I'm abandoning this thread.

Good Bye,
The OP

I think we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

We should ask the Mods to grant Jim special powers to delete replies that don't meet his perfectly reasonable criteria.

Would the administering of a little corporal punishment to the worst of the troublemakers be too much to ask in the interest of maintaining discipline?

Kind regards,
bornagainyesterday

jeremiason · 31-05-2014, 08:07

We have had a Rocna 25kg primary anchor with an all chain rode. We used it throughout or three year cruise in Mexico and Central America.

We anchored in every type of bottom you described and never once did the anchor slip or fail, even during two different wind events... one at 40 knots for 13 hours and the other 55 knots for 45 minutes.

Hope that helps

Kenomac · 31-05-2014, 08:23

Just got back from a worry free, five hour cycling excursion. Dropped the 45kg Ultra in sand 5:1 scope in 20 knots of wind... no worries. Would do the same in weed or mud, but I'd take the added precaution of looking at the anchor set via snorkel.

Stu Jackson · 31-05-2014, 09:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbiJim

There have been 4 responses so far. only 1 of them gave the information that I asked for & the other 3 are exactly what I asked people to refrain from posting. One even started with "who cares" & then proceeded to post 4 paragraphs of off subject opinion.

It was a mistake for me to have posted this thread on this board. I may as well have tried to herd stray cats. I'm throwing in the towel here on post #6. I thank the one person who posted as I asked & I'm abandoning this thread.

Good Bye,
The OP

Jim, you may not be around to read the answers anymore, sorry about that. But you simply can't ask that the answers be controlled to your liking. Sometimes the original questions are meaningless, have been discussed in reputable reference sources, or are just plain unanswerable.

I use our Rocna everywhere. I have a backup Bruce. I anchor all over the SF Bay, Delta and ocean anchorages up and down the coast. Some mud, some sand, some hard sand, some goo. Does that answer your question? Ooops, you're not here anymore....

Kenomac · 31-05-2014, 09:32

Me thinks the OP might have some control issues.

Factor · 31-05-2014, 17:19

Thge trouble with threads like this is that they are artificial, where I live we have some of the best gooiest mud, some hard coarse sand some soft sand and seagrass beds (I try and avoid those areas as its taken years for them to regrow and provide habitat for dugong). So even if there were absolute guarantees of the best in each location, I am not changing the anchor five times a day.