The Ultimate Anchor Test?

[Ancora Latina]

The French nautical review Voiles & Voiliers publishes in its July issue a new test of anchors.

Again a test??
Yes, but what is interesting is that these various tests are made under various conditions of sea-beds and also compare different anchors.

- if each test does not bring the single and only one truth, the tendency which arises from all tests is a much more faithful reflection of the performances of the various anchors.

The bigest shortcoming of this test is that it is published in French. I do not plan to translate it totality , but for those which do not perfectly practise this language, I will try to report the general outlines:

11 anchors tested on sea bottoms of sand and sand + mud:

For the steel anchors: Britany (a French extrapolation of the Danforth anchor, without stabilising strut) - Kobra 2 (Plastimo’s extrapolation of the Delta) - Delta from Lewmar - Bügel - Manson Supreme - Brake (a typically French anchor) – Spade - XYZ - and CQR

For the aluminium anchors: Spade aluminum – Fortress, the winner of the test and of the aluminum class is Fortress 10.6, with a holding in hard sand of 3281 kg and on sand + mud: of 959 kg

Winner of the steel category is Spade, with an average holding in hard sand of 1905 kg and on sand + mud of 570 kg (value recorded before rupture of the fixation of the dynamometer).

The second is the Kobra 2 anchor from Plastimo with an average holding in hard sand of 1263 kg and on sand + mud of 1058 kg - the Kobra anchor represents the best compromise characteristic /price.

In third position comes the Bügel anchor with an average holding in hard sand of 1138 kg kg and on sand + mud of 999 kg

The fourth anchor of this comparative test is the Supreme with an average holding in hard sand of 1076 kg and on sand + mud of 631 kg. In spite of honourable results, this test confirms that the “Roll bar” anchors are not, and by far, the best .

In fifth position comes Brake, followed in sixth position by the Delta with an average holding in hard sand of 450 kg and on sand + mud of 662 kg. If these characteristics are sufficient to ensure the holding of a boat in more than 95% of the cases, the perfomances of the Delta are disapointing and far behind the best in the test

Come then Britany with passable results and the two last from the test with frankly bad results: anchor XYZ and the last, the CQR with an average holding in hard sand of 206 kg and on sand + mud of 363 kg

The conclusions of this test are:

- the aluminum anchors give as good performances as the steel models, with however the disadvantage of being more fragile.

- New technologies of anchor are definitely more powerful than their glorious elder, with double, to see triple values of holding.

- Spade, Kobra 2, Bügel and Manson Supreme are excellent anchors having significant differences compared to the traditional anchors .

João

[Steve Pope]

I hope someone can find a link with a full translation. Some of the usual suspects are there but there are several models that don't register down here. Not surprised at the alloy fortress, interesting that the CQR was so far down.

[GordMay]

The clumsy Google translation is here
➥ Google Translate

[chala]

The result are similar to the Eurovision contest for the french the pom are allways last

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by Ancora Latina

The French nautical review Voiles & Voiliers publishes in its July issue a new test of anchors.
João

Shame your anchor was not a participant.

[David M]

It would be nice to think that there is an "ultimate" anchor. Because this would make selecting an anchor easy which means you would only have to have one type of anchor up on the foredeck. Unfortunately, there is not just one type of bottom. Given that fact, I think these anchor tests are almost worthless. Consider also that anchor tests are quite often done by an anchor manufacturer in an attempt to prove that their anchor is best. So they pick a bottom type that their anchor holds best in without telling you that this is what they have done.

I think the best you can do is to match the bottom conditions for where you typically anchor (if there is a typical condition for you) to what type of anchor seems to work best for you.

I have gone through a few different anchors and for me it has a been a Fortress aluminum Danforth in soft mud and sand.

[Southern Star]

One issue that is not seemingly addressed in this test is the ability of an anchor to to hold and, if necessary reset, with a shift in current/wind. That being said, I don't think it is fair to write off this test as displaying inherent bias as against any nationality of origin - witness the result for the Fortress.

I currently carry a Fortress, a CQR and a Delta and am considering adding a fourth to my cruising inventory - while I had been leaning towards the Manson Supreme, I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with hands-on experience with the Kobra 2.

Brad

[Tropic Cat]

I carry 3 Fortress anchors. Then again I anchor only in sand here. In a straight line pull they are always near or at the top of every anchor test ... in sand.

There is a problem with these anchors resetting compared to some others. I carry three anchors for the classic hurricane mooring of spacing them 120 degrees apart, with rodes lead to a central point, where they connect to my bridle.

It works well on sand bottoms and that's all I concern myself with.

[Fortress]

Despite the positive results from a Practical Sailor test a few years ago on anchor re-setting, in which a Fortress model tested the highest, we firmly believe that if you are anticipating a wind shift while at anchor, then you should set two anchors out for greater safety.

If that is not possible, then make sure to "power set" your anchor by backing down on it hard so that the anchor is well buried and well on its way to the core of the Earth.

Quite obviously, the deeper the anchor is buried, the less likely it is to come out from a straight pull, side pull, etc.

Be safe,
Brian

Fortress Marine Anchors

[GMac]

Gotta love this bit of the Google translation -

The Manson is known for his ring to him upside down position.

Autre signe distinctif, sa verge ajourée qui évite l'utilisation d'un orin.

Other distinguishing his yard ajourée avoiding the use of a orin.

Si l'on tire à 180°, la chaîne glisse sur la verge pour aider à dégager l'ancre...

If we come to 180 °, the chain slides over the penis to help relieve the anchor ...

Just what are these things up to down there when we aren't watching