Mantus vs Rocna

[AlexCollier]

Hello Sailors

I am looking to upgrade the anchors on my Beneteau 461.
Currently they are a Bruce and CQR with a spare Danforth.

Mantus & Rochna seem to be leading the field in "new generation anchors" - at least if their websites are to be believed.

Any un-biassed opinions or recommendations would be appreciated.

Alex

[sparrowhawk1]

Mantis has a video on youtube where they pull it behind a truck along with the mason supreme and the ronca and it kicks butt even though it's a lighter model. Now it's put out by the manufacturer so take it for what its worth.

[smackdaddy]

Mantus. Always.

[skipmac]

I have one of each. I like the Mantus a bit better.

[Kenomac]

I've owned and used the Rocna and Danforth on a Hunter 450 up until the Rocna was recalled. Owned and used a CQR, Fortress 55 and Ultra 45kg on an Oyster 53. The Ultra is the best overall anchor we've used in various conditions, with the Rocna tied for second place with the CQR. We live on the hook four months of the year, never go into marinas and have occasionally found ourselves anchored off a lee shore just outside the surf on windy days. The Ultra does a little better than the Rocna in weed, about the same in sand. The CQR does well in most situations except for weed, which is why we made the switch. I really dislike the roll bar after having used it.

I hope this information is the sort you're looking for. Whichever you choose, upsize by one size, and use all chain along with an Ultra swivel which fits all anchors.

Ken

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I've owned and used the Rocna and Danforth on a Hunter 450 up until the Rocna was recalled. Owned and used a CQR, Fortress 55 and Ultra 45kg on an Oyster 53. The Ultra is the best overall anchor we've used in various conditions, with the Rocna tied for second place with the CQR. We live on the hook four months of the year, never go into marinas and have occasionally found ourselves anchored off a lee shore just outside the surf on windy days. The Ultra does a little better than the Rocna in weed, about the same in sand. The CQR does well in most situations except for weed, which is why we made the switch. I really dislike the roll bar after having used it.

I hope this information is the sort you're looking for. Whichever you choose, upsize by one size, and use all chain along with an Ultra swivel which fits all anchors.

Ken

Never used one but from research, owner reports, etc I think the Ultra might be the best. One post on the forum I found very interesting. Forget who it was but they reported diving every time they anchored to look at all the anchors on other boats, how well they were set they and any drag marks.

He said every time he checked anchors after the wind had changed direction the Ultra showed little to no drag marks before resetting, consistently much less than any other anchor in the harbor. Also always had the shortest track to the original set of the anchor.

The only down side, I might have to auction off my first born child to afford one.

[Dockhead]

The so-called "new generation" of anchors started with the French Spade. Besides the Spade, this group includes Rocna, Manson Supreme, Bugel, and Mantus. The defining characteristic of these anchors is the convex fluke, rather than the plow-shaped fluke which the "previous generation" of anchors, like CQR and Delta had.

People have different and strong opinions about these anchors and what makes them different from each other, but you will likely be happy with any of them. They are every one of them night and day better than the "previous generation".

I, personally, used a Spade for a number of years after suffering many sleepless nights with a CQR (as many on here have), then Delta which came with my new boat, then Rocna, then finally back to Spade. I find the Spade to be a "premium product" which is considerably more expensive than others, but works better, too. It has no roll bar and doesn't need it because of the lead ballast inside it. The roll bar of other "new gen" anchors makes it possible to dispense with the expensive cast-in-place lead ballast, but at the expense of worse balance, which is also an issue when retrieving the anchor into the bow roller.

But people who have the Rocna, Manson, and Mantus anchors are mostly very happy with them. I don't think you can really go wrong with any of these.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Never used one but from research, owner reports, etc I think the Ultra might be the best. One post on the forum I found very interesting. Forget who it was but they reported diving every time they anchored to look at all the anchors on other boats, how well they were set they and any drag marks.

He said every time he checked anchors after the wind had changed direction the Ultra showed little to no drag marks before resetting, consistently much less than any other anchor in the harbor. Also always had the shortest track to the original set of the anchor.

The only down side, I might have to auction off my first born child to afford one.

The Ultra anchor is an accurate copy of the Spade, only it's made of stainless steel, and being made in Turkey, is quite a bit cheaper than the stainless Spade. By all reports, performs much like the Spade, that is, excellently.

[JPA Cate]

To the OP:

Currently there is another thread on CF, started by "noelex", of pictures of anchors set in anchorages he is in. The anchorages are in the Med, and his "mermaid" has been taking quite remarkable pictures of the sets, while he makes comments on the wind strengths, and the characteristics of the sets. Amazingly, there's yet another thread, as she captured a swivel in the process of breaking! You might be interested.

Ann

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The Ultra anchor is an accurate copy of the Spade, only it's made of stainless steel, and being made in Turkey, is quite a bit cheaper than the stainless Spade. By all reports, performs much like the Spade, that is, excellently.

First, let me say that I agree with you that the new gen anchors are all very similar, perform similarly and any of them will blow away the old stuff. Would be pretty happy cruising with any of them.

But I wouldn't say that the Ultra is an accurate copy of the Spade. Yes it is the new gen concave shape and without the roll bar (what did someone call it, idiot handle or something like that) but the shape of the anchor fluke is quite different and what Ultra sells as one of their big advantages is the hollow shank. This is one thing they claim sets them apart from the rest of the new gen; supposedly contributes a lot the balance, more weight in the tip, eliminates the need for the roll bar, etc.

Not saying it really does all that, just passing along the sales pitch they gave me at the boat show.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by skipmac

First, let me say that I agree with you that the new gen anchors are all very similar, perform similarly and any of them will blow away the old stuff. Would be pretty happy cruising with any of them.

But I wouldn't say that the Ultra is an accurate copy of the Spade. Yes it is the new gen concave shape and without the roll bar (what did someone call it, idiot handle or something like that) but the shape of the anchor fluke is quite different and what Ultra sells as one of their big advantages is the hollow shank. This is one thing they claim sets them apart from the rest of the new gen; supposedly contributes a lot the balance, more weight in the tip, eliminates the need for the roll bar, etc.

Not saying it really does all that, just passing along the sales pitch they gave me at the boat show.

Hollow shank is a great thing -- copied from the Spade, which also has it.

The Ultra also has the expensive lead ballast of the Spade.

The principle is exactly the same -- get the balance right by concentrating weight over the tip (ballast) and removing weight from the shank (making it hollow). This makes the roll bar unnecessary. In my opinion, it's a superior approach.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Hollow shank is a great thing -- copied from the Spade, which also has it.

And so it does! Have never handled a Spade and looking at their web site the shank just looked like flat bar so made an assumption (when will I ever learn not to make assumptions?). Also saw no mention of the hollow shank on the web site until I translated the description from French.

On the other hand, the fluke on the Ultra has "wings".

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The principle is exactly the same -- get the balance right by concentrating weight over the tip (ballast) and removing weight from the shank (making it hollow). This makes the roll bar unnecessary. In my opinion, it's a superior approach.

But it looks like the Spade is available in galvanized vs SS only from Ultra so could be had a lot cheaper. Prefer galvanized to SS anyway.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by skipmac

And so it does! Have never handled a Spade and looking at their web site the shank just looked like flat bar so made an assumption (when will I ever learn not to make assumptions?). Also saw no mention of the hollow shank on the web site until I translated the description from French.

On the other hand, the fluke on the Ultra has "wings".




But it looks like the Spade is available in galvanized vs SS only from Ultra so could be had a lot cheaper. Prefer galvanized to SS anyway.

The Spade is very expensive. The Ultra is a much better deal -- the stainless version is only a little more expensive than the galvanized Spade, and 2x or 3x (depending on where you buy it) cheaper than the stainless Spade.

But I agree about galvanized -- I worry that polished stainless would negatively affect holding because it is much lower friction (witness how stainless chain slides right into the locker without piling up). Don't think low friction is what you want in an anchor. Besides that, 316 is a lot less strong than high tension steel.

On the other hand, the galvanized Spade loses its galvanizing if you anchor a lot, and gets rusty. And you can't regalvanize it because of the cast-in lead ballast!

So there's no perfect solution -- everything is a compromise of some kind or another.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The so-called "new generation" of anchors started with the French Spade. Besides the Spade, this group includes Rocna, Manson Supreme, Bugel, and Mantus. The defining characteristic of these anchors is the convex fluke, rather than the plow-shaped fluke which the "previous generation" of anchors, like CQR and Delta had.

It's not relevant to the OP's search for anchor recommendations, but I think Dockhead is rewriting history about the start of new generation.

Of course, all young people think they're the new generation, nicht wahr?

As part of my research, I looked at when term 'new generation anchor' was first used.

Answer is in 1978.

And the 'new generation anchors' were? The Vyrhof Stevin (introduced in 1972), the Bruce, and the Flipper Delta.

Since 1978, various people have had a go at identifying criteria behind a 'new generation anchor'. Answer is usually something like:

(1) self-position for penetrating, relying on a roll bar, self-righting shank, or geometry of centre of buoyancy;
(2) remain embedded when the anchor rode veers the direction of pull;
(3) are roll stable, remaining embedded in soil and transitioning from static holding to dynamic holding instead of rolling onto soil surface; and
(4) hold in a wide variety of substrates.

First time term 'roll stable anchor' was used seems to be in 1975, and first anchor identified as 'absolutely roll stable' was the Bruce (14,000 - 20,000 pound range).

Al

[noelex 77]

Welcome to CF Alex.

It is difficult to separate two excellent anchors like this. I have been using a Rocna for the last six years anchoring almost full time.

I have recently been sent a Mantus at no charge to test. After two months the Mantus has performed faultlessly. So far I would give the Mantus the edge. It sets slightly quicker, stays a little more level in rotation, and copes with a short scope incredibly well.

However, I would stress, so far, I have only used the Mantus in a limited range of substrates with only a small number of trials (about 60 days and nights at anchor with the Mantus ).

Take your pick. They are both great I would also include the Manson Supreme and Steel Spade in the excellent category. There are other anchors like the Ultra that are getting great user reports, but so far I have seen too few examples to draw any firm conclusions.