IMHO, the plough was a great
anchor for its time, but most recent tests suggest you can do better. Yachting World's November '09 review comments on the plough: "The CQR's results in this test were so astonishingly poor that we wondered if they'd sent us a faulty one."
They do say the
CQR did much better in previous tests ...
Of course, it all depends on substrate etc. But weight-for-weight, high performers in recent
reviews include the Spade (S80), Manson Supreme, Bugel and
Kobra 2. I have no doubt the
Rocna is also a great
anchor. (Which of these is a good buy depends a bit on prices where you live.)
These anchors are particularly good when the
boat swings to tide or
wind, a point of failure of the Danforth. All held
around a tonne when other anchors were breaking free at 200-500 kg (YW average across tests). A
Fortress FX37 averaged two tonnes in a straight line pull (great kedge).
Happy swinging on my Bruce, but when it blows I break out my Manson. (Just a shame the roll bar won't fit in the darned
anchor locker.)