My brand new Anchor, Home made,

[Mr B]

Why, Because I can and Im a tite arse, It saved me a heap of dollars,
Its made from scrap steel I had laying about my yard,

My last two dragged, The Bruce copy, China, Was just a lump of steel that dragged along the bottom,
The Danforth got rocks caught in the cleavis pin and would not set on the changing tide,
Sleepless nights, with dragging anchors, Im past that crap,

After watching a lot of video's on anchors setting, Modern designs,
I decided a cross between the Manson, Rocna and Sarca was the go,
Concave or convex, That was the major decision,

I decided on the concave as it will pack itself into mud or sand as the convex would just push the substrate out of the way and just be a plow,
Thats my educated opinion, And its my anchor,
And its to hold my boat in the wildest conditions with out failing or dragging,
Its my neck on the line here, Bass Straight, Tasman sea, Southern ocean,

I didnt like the rope on the end of it with a float to lift it out of difficult situations,
That would tangle around the anchor chain and I would have to dive to untangle it,

So I went for the long slot on top so I could motor over the anchor pulling up the chain, till it was tite, Then use the motor to lift it out if stuck in a rock or reef,

It ended up being 32 Kilo's, 900 mm long, and can be pulled out from either end,
According to the charts, Its for a 17 metre boat weighing 20 odd tons,
My boat is a Cat weighing 4.5 tons and 10.3 metres long,
So I think once set, It will hold me safely in all conditions,
Its a one off, No I will not make you one,

I made a prototype first, didnt like it, so I then added more bits to it,
And cut a few corners off here and there to make sure it wouldnt foul up when in use,
I then tested it using my car and dragging it around my yard,
It actually bites into the Hard packed rock of my drive,
So it does work very well, No I wont be parking in those conditions,
But it is nice to know its doing its job,
Forwards and backwards, Simulating the changing tide,
The chain did not tangle or get caught,
It always reset with the point digging in and sitting on its base,
I also hung on the chain block to check the balance,
It could have gone back about 2 inches, to throw more weight on the front for lifting,
But I am most impressed with it any way,

As Im retired, I dont have Oxy any more to cut it out, So it was cut out with a thin cutting wheel in a five inch grinder,

Its now at the Galvanisers to get galvanised, So it will come back shiny,

I think its Awesome,

[Mr B]

Some more piccys, The first one was the Prototype,

[Mr B]

Testing and the change of tide,
It just spins around, rolls back on its base and trys to dig in,

I need to make up a new bow roller as the one I have now, The anchor goes thru a hole in the boat,
I will have to extend it out over the bow and make the frame for it to sit in,
Two stainless steel angles, Welded together, 75 x 75 x 6 will do the trick,
But I have to wait till the anchor comes back before I can start on that,

I will have the Danforth as a back up anchor,

[ozsailer]

Hello Mr B,
While I applaud your initiative and ability to construct your own anchor the one question I do have is will your boat be covered by insurance should for some reason you anchor fails and your boat is damaged as a result. Knowing insurance companies I can see them asking questions regarding engineering certificates, tests etc. I understand your reluctance to spend money when you can make one for free but you may do yourself a greater financial diservice by not forking out for a engineered, tested and certified anchor.


Greg H
Lagoon 410

[UNCIVILIZED]

Neat to see! Hope it works out well for you. But sad to see the idea of insurers ruling choices in hardware, not the sailor, nor his character or seamanship.
Are you aware that there's an open source anchor project thread on the forum? Might be worth adding this to it, but can't say for certain as it's been a while since I've been to said thread.

[Sea Dreaming]

We got several quotes for insurance, I don't recall any of them asking the make or brand of our anchors. But you never know..

That is a wonderful anchor anyway. Quite a useful skill / talent you have there!

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Hello Mr B,
While I applaud your initiative and ability to construct your own anchor the one question I do have is will your boat be covered by insurance should for some reason you anchor fails and your boat is damaged as a result. Knowing insurance companies I can see them asking questions regarding engineering certificates, tests etc. I understand your reluctance to spend money when you can make one for free but you may do yourself a greater financial diservice by not forking out for a engineered, tested and certified anchor.


Greg H
Lagoon 410

Dont be misled by the Home made tag I put on it,

Yes it was made in my garage at my home, = Home made,
I do have an Engineering workshop in my garage,

Yes it will be covered by insurance,, I doubt if they would even query it after seeing the piccys,
Snapped chain, Highly unlikely,
Ripping a cleat or two out of the boat, Not likely, as in very bad weather, I would apply extra fixings to lessen the strain on the cleats from the anchor chain,,
If they want Engineers certificate, Tests, Approvals,
Certification, Etc Etc, I can write it up on the spot for them, In my own name,

And they will accept them, With out question,

Engineering Blacksmith by Trade, 5 years,
Fully Qualified Practising Mechanical Engineer, 5 years,
Boilermaker/Certified DLI Welder, 40 Years,
And fifty years experience,
Do you think I have enough Qualifications,

I did many years ago, Forge a new D shackle for the Dockyards as they lost the last one that was made,

How can you lose an Eight Ton, D shackle, It was the one that held the anchor on a big ship,
8 feet long and 3 feet wide, hahahahahaha

Yep, Its home made, Hahahaha and very cheap,

[Wanderlust]

Looks like it is well made, however I share the concern about insurance.

If they can find any way to deny your claim then I would expect most insurers would do exactly that.

Another concern I have is the slot in the shank. What stops a reversing tidal current from sliding the shackle to the head of the anchor and then pulling the anchor out and dragging it accross the bottom until it reaches deeper water? Isn't that exactly how a retrieval slot works?

I recommend buying a reputable brand that has been used/tested by many thousands of boaters.

[44'cruisingcat]

Insurance companies are happy with cheap Chinese copies of decent anchors...

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust

Looks like it is well made, however I share the concern about insurance.

If they can find any way to deny your claim then I would expect most insurers would do exactly that.

Another concern I have is the slot in the shank. What stops a reversing tidal current from sliding the shackle to the head of the anchor and then pulling the anchor out and dragging it accross the bottom until it reaches deeper water? Isn't that exactly how a retrieval slot works?

I recommend buying a reputable brand that has been used/tested by many thousands of boaters.

A reversing tide can slide the shackle to the other end of the slot. It will then pull the anchor backwards and over onto itself and reset.
I have already tested that, Reversing tide, It works perfectly,

Maybe a metre or so, Max, Depending on the ground its in,

What actually is reputable, Which modern day anchor manufacturer has sold thousands of their anchors,

They all started with one anchor and many prototypes, before they started manufacturing them,

I could sell these and Guarantee them with full certificates, But I am not interested, I have retired and am staying that way,

Insurance is not even a thought, Boat surveyors would not even worry about my anchor as they are experienced enough to know mine works and is a lot more than my boat needs,

I was a reputable company, I guaranteed all my work 100 % with out question,
Yes I was called back to the job, But it was to extend or make it bigger than it was before,
Or make something else for them, All word of mouth, I was never unemployed.

[noelex 77]

Congradulations Mr B.

That anchor looks like it is adopting a very nice setting position.




Many of the best modern anchors have been developed by a single person with no special skills who was simply prepared to do some experimentation. It is great you have created a new design rather than simply trying to copy an existing model.

Personally, I would forget the slot or at least have a reliable mechanism for keeping the attachment at the end of the shank for overnight anchoring, but perhaps that is the small horizontal loop on the end of the shank? That small loop is a clever touch that I have not seen before. It sould act as skid for the end of the shank reducing the required initial setting force.

My other thoughts are that a fillet would prevent the stress riser where the vertical and horizontal portion of the shank joint meet. Also, the angle at the rear of the fluke looks a bit steep, but as you point out, its your design .

[UNCIVILIZED]

Guys, firstly, I meant no offense to the poster with my earlier insurance company comment. Though if the insurers want to take offense...

Let's not forget that insurers work for us, not the other way around. It's men coming together to form mutual support (in good times), should bad things happen in others, from which such institutions are formed. And the more power you give them, the stiffer the gradient of change. Just listen to how the current mindset cowes so many, sadly.

[svseachange]

Awesome job mate, awesome anchor. Would look great on our utilitarian steel boat.

[masonc]

Tell me more about the welding technology. Weld strength is obviously the critical issue, and you have great experience.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Guys, firstly, I meant no offense to the poster with my earlier insurance company comment. Though if the insurers want to take offense...

Let's not forget that insurers work for us, not the other way around. It's men coming together to form mutual support (in good times), should bad things happen in others, from which such institutions are formed. And the more power you give them, the stiffer the gradient of change. Just listen to how the current mindset cowes so many, sadly.

No offence taken mate, I hadnt thought about the insurance angle,
My work is well above any insurance concerns,

But it is good to get other peoples input, Thats how we all learn,