Photos of Anchors Setting

[JPA Cate]

Good morning, noelex,

Just wanted to thank you again for posting the anchor setting techniques when you could see how they did it, as well as the pics. I do remember a few of your comments that it looked as if the boaters had not set their hooks well, and we all were waiting for more breeze to come to see whether they set better or dragged given more wind.

Great thread.

Ann

[sv-Mystique]

Call Greg at Mantus and he'll replace it!

[cpa]

I'm still loving this thread! Keep up the great work everyone!!

[Factor]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

when I upgraded to my new generation Manson Boss,.

Interested to hear your experience with the Boss.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by sv-Mystique

Call Greg at Mantus and he'll replace it!

Yes, the Mantus lifetime warranty is great.

The new hi tensile shank arrived yesterday! The hi tensile shank is in ASTM 514 which has a minimum yield strength of 690 Mpa. This is identical to Bisplate 80 so is as strong as anyone is using.

This is another advantage of the bolt together construction. Parts can be sent very quickly with a minimum of fuss. It took me a few days to arrange a suitable postal address, as we are continually on the move. From giving Greg the address, the shank took 10 days to be delivered half way around the world to a small Greek island.

The only problem is that it has arrived so quickly I am some distance from the pickup point . In the meantime, the anchor surprisingly continues to perform very well, so there is no rush.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

Don't know about anyone else but I have been impressed with the performance of Noelex's Mantus so far during this thread. If that thing digs in any further I swear molten rock might appear

Think when it comes time to upgrade my Delta the Mantus will be at the top of my shopping list.

Keiron

Certainly Noelex's Mantus sets faster than any anchor I have seen. Including Mantus's own mantus. The videos on the Mantus web site indicate a longer distance to set than Noelex's anchor.

[Coops]

Must be a good one then.

Coops.

[robert sailor]

Ah ya but the Mantus folks are just ordinary manufacturers of anchors...not real sailors! LOL

[goat]

Originally Posted by Factor

Certainly Noelex's Mantus sets faster than any anchor I have seen. Including Mantus's own mantus. The videos on the Mantus web site indicate a longer distance to set than Noelex's anchor.

Mantus' anchors are fitted with too high of a tensile steel for the shanks. Hurts the setting performance.

goat

[noelex 77]

The wind has picked up to low 20's with gusts in the high 20's. It is from the north so it allowed more room for a longer scope and I now have about 5:1 out. The Mantus is almost unchanged. The shank is just a tiny bit more buried, but it's not worth posting a photo.

Meanwhile a boat dropped a Delta beside us in 8m @ 5:1.

This was the result:

The nice thing about this sort of wind is that it provides a reasonable setting force, irrespective of what the skipper does.

I am afraid this is a poor result for the Delta. The drag mark extended well over 10m, but the anchor was still poorly set at the end of it with just the toe dug in. The only saving grace is that I did not see the anchor moving backwards while I was watching it. It is testament to the hard ground, that it managed to hold the boat in this wind with such a tenuous grip.

[kas_1611]

That is a long drag for a Delta but it does look like it is not the best bottom for any plough type anchor. In fairness it has done what it is supposed to and that is plough into the ground, eventually. I would call that a mediocre set but it should hold in the 20s you have currently.

Did you happen to see how they dropped and laid out? If it was a "drop it and hope" type of action that might explain why it took so long to take. Plough type anchors do need to be given a chance to start digging in and are best set with a slower, controlled lay than just dumping 50m of chain as you get blown backwards.

Be interesting to see what it looks like in the morning if you get a chance

Cheers

Keiron

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Factor

Interested to hear your experience with the Boss.

So far, very positive. I would caution that I use it in the PNW, mostly in summer. So the only real test it usually sees is the set at full power in reverse (with feathering prop, so it gets pretty good torque in reverse). We've only had it in a couple of windy nights and never over 15 knots.

It grabs first time, every time. It sets with no discernible backwards dragging (using transits). The only downside is that even if we never get any wind, it sets deeply enough with the engine that we often struggle a bit to get it back out. It might be a real struggle if get a sustained blow.

It is the only real new generation option for me since I can't fit a hooped anchor and the ultra, spade, and excel are all too expensive to import where I live. I was nervous buying it because we bought it the same month it was released, but it has been a very good buy. We sleep very well.

The only pull test I've heard of was done by Manson and they had some problems because they kept bending the shackles before they could get it to pull out. I don't know of any independent tests.

Unfortunately, I won't be providing any pictures as we're usually anchored in 30-40' of cold, murky water.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

That is a long drag for a Delta but it does look like it is not the best bottom for any plough type anchor. In fairness it has done what it is supposed to and that is plough into the ground, eventually. I would call that a mediocre set but it should hold in the 20s you have currently.

Did you happen to see how they dropped and laid out? If it was a "drop it and hope" type of action that might explain why it took so long to take. Plough type anchors do need to be given a chance to start digging in and are best set with a slower, controlled lay than just dumping 50m of chain as you get blown backwards.

Be interesting to see what it looks like in the morning if you get a chance

Cheers

Keiron

As a farmer I could hardly call that ploughing into the ground.

More like just dragging across the bottom.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

Did you happen to see how they dropped and laid out?

Yes, I saw the drop. It was a private Italian yacht. The crew were not particularly skilled in anchoring. However, they did not do much wrong of any consequence. These sort of moderate winds tend to make it a bit easier. The boat is blown back at about the right speed to lay out the chain (a little lighter wind is ideal for this) and the wind provides enough force to set the anchor, especially with a little momentum from the boat (a slightly stronger wind is ideal here). If the skipper uses little or no reverse (which was the case here) the wind ensures the anchor sets reasonably. There are more technique problems in very light, or strong wind.

Originally Posted by kas_1611

That is a long drag for a Delta but it does look like it is not the best bottom for any plough type anchor.

The bottom in this anchorage is a bit more difficult, but they anchored quite close to us and the substrate looks very similar to where the Mantus was dropped, which has set perfectly. See post#417 (and the Mantus was set with a very short scope)

One of the great advantages of a top notch anchor is that it opens up a whole lot of anchorages. In a medium soft substrate almost any anchor will set reasonably, but there are a lot of anchorages that are unlisted and unused because the holding is poor. My favourite anchorages are those listed as "beautiful spot, but poor holding and suitable as a daytime spot only". Occasionally the poor holding is due to rock where no anchor works, but more often than not a very good modern anchor works perfectly in these areas and you end up with a deserted anchorage, or one where everyone leaves late in the day. Perfect .

Originally Posted by kas_1611

Be interesting to see what it looks like in the morning if you get a chance

Fortunately they left the anchorage late in the day. The Delta was really struggling. It is hard to imagine the anchor digging in well from its result so far and I think it was unlikely to hold if the wind picked up.

[noelex 77]

I finally found a well set Delta .

A Turkish charter catamaran came in late yesterday with their Greek courtesy flag upside down. This is a big no-no, especially for Turkish boat. Many countries treat their flag as sacred.

They went right into the beach (we now have a steady north wind weather pattern so a southerly is very unlikely). They dropped in shallow water only just off the beach and let out lots and lots of chain. The wind at this stage was low 20's and picked up overnight to 25 knots. My mermaid went for a swim before breakfast and took this photo. Just over 2m deep @ about 20:1.

The sand here gets a little softer towards the beach. I think this is the major factor that has resulted in the Delta performing better than we have seen previously in this thread. The long scope is also a help, although 20:1 is overkill .

The anchor has taken only about 2.5-3m to set. Not as quick as the roll bar anchors, but about as good as you will see from the Delta. The fluke is almost buried with just the tops sticking out of the sand. The shank is 80% buried. It has achieved this set with less heaping up of the sand than we have seen in previous Delta photos, although some is still evident. This indicates the anchor is much more comfortable with the fluke diving instead of just scraping and heaping up the sand. All in all a performance that would be satisfactory from even one of the top tier anchors.

Notice the small rocks that have accumulated around the tops of the flukes (there is a reasonably big rock on the right hand side if you look closely) This has had little effect on the performance, but imagine one of these jammed under the toe and dragged along. This is one of the reasons that I am keen on an anchor design that sets in short distance. Anchors that take many metres to achieve their set, or travel a long distance to bury deeper in response to stronger wind, are much more likely to encounter problems like debris or isolated subsurface rocks. They are also more likely to get their tips clogged with weed.