Photos of Anchors Setting

[JPA Cate]

Noelex and NornaBiron,

Thank you so much for the photos and commentary. I'm finding this thread absolutely fascinating.

Ann

[Sailor g]

+1 I am totally captivated by this thread. Especially, the photos by NornaBiron. I wonder how many splashes you could hear of sailors going down to take a look at their anchors after those photos!

I really appreciate all of your photos!

[bazzer]

It's obvious to me that the Bugel in the photos was never set in the first place. Wind and ride did the job. But I wonder how far it moved when this happened?

[noelex 77]

Thanks for the kind words. Keep the photos coming NB and others

Originally Posted by bazzer

But I wonder how far it moved when this happened?

Yes, it is a good question. Some anchors have the disconcerting habit of traveling a long way back as they dig in deeper. Generally the boat owner is unaware of this movement and in uniform substrate it does not cause any problem, but in many bottom types there is risk of the anchor hitting a patch of unfavourable substrate such as a rock, or thick weed.

The ability to dig in quickly is an important anchor characteristic that is not usually mentioned.

The Bugel is generally good in this regard. From its drop point to photo two was quite short. From photo two to photo three it is a bit harder to tell. Normally in hard substrate the marks in the sand will persist for a week or so, but in this sort of sort sand they filled in in less than 24 hours. After looking carefully at the photos I am reasonably confident it was only a short distance. I think from the drop point to photo 3 was less than 1.5m.

Note: This was the result for soft sand. In harder sand (very hard sand?) the same anchor moved back 4-5m without ever engaging the substrate at all. See post #187.

[bazzer]

Hi Nolex, my Genuine SS Bugel has a very sharp point. I think you could use it as a toothpick. It seems to dig in very well. Last year , it's a 30kg anchor, held three boats in a raftup, my Hans 38, a Jeanuea 50 ft and a 32 Catalina without moving for a couple of days.
Thanks for all the photos and effort you have put into this thread
Bazzer

[ImaginaryNumber]

If the water is too cold or dirty to dive in, are there any suggestions for how to inspect your anchor set? Is there such a thing as a reverse periscope? How about a closed-circuit video camera (don't like expensive, fragile solutions)?

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Noelex and NornaBiron,

Thank you so much for the photos and commentary. I'm finding this thread absolutely fascinating.

Ann

thanks, we'll keep taking the pics and posting them as soon as we get back into some clear, shallow water!

[Kenomac]

This continues to be an excellent thread on anchoring. An update on our Ultra 45kg and the necessity for everyone, no matter the anchor, to set your anchor properly. Our goal over four months including June-Sept is to never use a mooring or berth, 100% at anchor, so we're getting lots of experience combined with the same experience last summer.

Sometimes I've been known to hurry the setting process in anchorages I frequent, so yes I've managed to drag the ultra during the quick-set process... but I'd never leave it this way. I'm never hesitant to pull up the anchor and try again. Here's the process for sand, weed etc: drop the anchor and chain, allow the wind to blow us back usually with a 1;4 or 1:5 set, apply the super custom snubber, then power back slowly 800rps, then 1000 etc slowly increasing to 2000rpm which is by far enough to burry the anchor. In weed, I generally only power back to 1200 or so and let the wind do the rest. Otherwise, the anchor will pull out a weedball, especially with shorter scope.

Then I snorkel over the anchor just to make sure everything is OK. most of the time, I see that some of my anchorage neighbors have simply dumped their anchor and chain into a pile directly beneath their boat... then gone ashore leaving nobody on the boat. To date, we have not dragged our anchor "knock on wood."

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Sailor g

+1 I am totally captivated by this thread. Especially, the photos by NornaBiron. I wonder how many splashes you could hear of sailors going down to take a look at their anchors after those photos!

I really appreciate all of your photos!

You're too kind

[noelex 77]

Another anchorage, another great set from the Mantus. This is about the best to date.
You can see that other than the roll bar there is not much to see . A very slight list, perhaps 5 degrees.

The sand looks softer than the typical hard sand we get in this area of the world. The name of the bay means "fine sand" in English, so I guess it is no surprise. This is more typical of the sort of sand I see in Australia where even my CQR would set well. Even the sand on the beach looks Australian. I don't think the Mantus is being challenged by this sort of substrate.

Notice how quickly it has set. This anchor dives in a remarkably short distance.

5m @5:1

[noelex 77]

This was today. No real change but you can see how the shank penetration mark has disappeared. This has happened in less than 24 hours, showing the softer nature of the sand in this anchorage compared to the harder substrate usually found on these islands.

[redsky49]

Would it be possible to revert back to the Rocna for the next few anchorages to get a comparison of its performance, relative to the Mantus? Especially if you are in similar anchoring situations.

[noelex 77]

Hi Redsky.
That is a good suggestion. I am using the Mantus in some anchorages that I have been in before. I was here in this anchorage, for example, three years ago with my Rocna. I am anchored in almost the same spot, but have no objective photographic evidence of the Rocna set.

Swapping large anchors is difficult. We would need several sets of each anchor in different substrates. The logistics are difficult for a husband and wife crew, but I will add it to the list.

[noelex 77]

A friend has arrived in the same anchorage with a Delta.
The skipper is experienced and had on board a guest who is a boatbuilder and delivery skipper.

They dropped the Delta perfectly in a nice sandy patch near my anchor in 6 m @5:1.
They did not back down much, but the wind at 15 knots provided a reasonable setting force. My wife and I went around to their boat for lunch. The wind picked up slightly to 20 knots and unfortunately halfway through lunch the Delta started slowly dragging. This was not a break out rapid drag, but a slow pull through the substrate (sand, then weed).

The boat re anchored in slightly shallower water with a longer scope. It was an identical drop to the last one (and I was at the bow for this one ).
This held and the underwater result is shown below.

The shank remains totally exposed and much of the back of the fluke is visible. The anchor has taken a long distance to reach this set. The drag mark was 5 m in this soft substrate. The weed visible is just broken strands and should not have been a factor. Combined with the drag the first time around, this is very poor result for the Delta, which should not drop down to this level of performance.

[kas_1611]

Great series of posts on what can be a very technical and tricky process.

From my own experience it matters little what type of anchor you use but how you set it. Personally we set our Delta with the following procedure. Zero forward knots - drop anchor and let out at least 2x depth, slowly allow wind to drive us back and pay out extra chain to 3x depth. Using my foot on the chain to feel if the anchor is dragging or setting then get my wife (helmsman) to apply reverse while I let out to 4x depth. Pick a good transit and check to see if it is holding, still with my foot on the chain to feel for any "bounce". If all that is good we leave it for about 30 minutes with the GPS tracking the boat movement. If that still shows no sign of movement 99% of the time we are confident it has held. To be 99.99% sure we'll get out and swim over it to see what it looks like. If it's well dug in (not necessarily completely under the surface) we normally sleep well (helps to have a GPS anchor alarm). Only when we are sure will we set an extra couple of meters and the snubber.

We've seen many crazy techniques in our time. Including the "german" technique of lobbing the anchor and an indeterminate length of chain over the side, full reverse then leave it. Then there is the "anchor is on the bottom it will hold" technique which seems to be literally the anchor is on the bottom so that's it we'll leave it.

If you want a good technique for checking the set in colder waters then can I suggest something that I saw from a local fisherman. He was checking his fishing pots with a 1m square box with a perspex bottom. He threw it in from the side of his boat and as it floated over the area he was able to see his pots clearly. Simple and removes the terror of sticking your face in cold water with a snorkel mask which is what I have done in the past

Cheers

Keiron