Anchor- 44lb spade/rocna vs 55lb Lewmar delta

[Dolphin460]

Charles S., the test did not include the Ultra. Shame on the tester because he failed to test the best anchor IMO.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Boonzajer

Sorry to disagree with the general opinion. I have been sailing Morocco, the Canaries, the Cabo Verdes and the West African coast. On a Morgan OI415! Great ship, whole family on board. We had a Delta - think it was only a 45. Been using it for at least 300 days in all kinds of conditions and all kinds of soil. It never, ever let us down. Stuck like the proverbial mud to a shovel.
I now have a Lavezzi catamaran. Weight is less, wind area is more. It came with a brand new Spade (a real one, no cheap knockoff) of (if I remembert right, boat not being here) 25 Kilos, roughly 55 pounds. It has provided more difficulties setting, and has failed me twice. Luckily I was on board. For my money and the OI in question, I would go for the Delta. The money you save on nog investing in a Spade could be invested in buying one or two sizes up if this gives you peace of mind, or to buy two deltas and use them at an angle.

Just my experience. I must say, I am new to cat anchoring, so maybe I did something wrong.

Interesting, I normally live on the hook & have spent many months at a time on both a 20Kg Rocna & 25Kg spade cruising N & S Atlantic. Both near flawless, pretty much anyway. Couple times the spade picked up an obstruction, once a towel & another time an ancient life ring which meant it would drag half revs. Otherwise I couldn't really tell the difference blindfolded. Both set near instantly in all kinds of bottoms, rocky might need a very slow reverse to get them in. Suspect the spade might like a bit of scope, 5:1 as a minimum seemed to be ok but that's just guessing really. How much scope were you using?

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Dolphin460

Charles S., the test did not include the Ultra. Shame on the tester because he failed to test the best anchor IMO.

The best? Oh, you’ve done it now. It’s on cuz’!!!

[Yellow bird]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

I don't think the anchor and the deployment/retrieval system (person, windlass, whatever) can be separated... sorta like not being able to separate the anchor from the rode.

Ideally.

-Chris

Quite right ,
but both must be suitable for the size of the boat, and not only each other.

[sycheckmate]

I agree with your statement.

BUT Life is a sexually transmitted terminal illness

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by eheffa

Main Street: “From my experience in anchoring in everything from mud to weeds to hard pack sand to crushed coral ...ROCNA EVERYTIME OVER ALL OTHERS. It’s ability to reset is amazing And it will require that attribute in tidal Anchorage’s, shifting winds and blows.”

Hi Mainstreet,

Watch the Panope reviews of the Rocna compared with the Spade, Mantus, or Excel... the Rocna does not perform at all well with a reset.

After a near miss with our Rocna these videos convinced me to switch.

- evan

I had a 121 pound Rocna for a few years. It was pretty good, certainly much better than Delta and other older designs. But it had problems with clogging and setting in soft mud, and I had a lot of problems with how it was balanced.

I got rid of it and went back to Spade, which in my experience is significantly better than Rocna.

Just one data point.

[evm1024]

Originally Posted by conachair

Interesting, I normally live on the hook & have spent many months at a time on both a 20Kg Rocna & 25Kg spade cruising N & S Atlantic. Both near flawless, pretty much anyway. Couple times the spade picked up an obstruction, once a towel & another time an ancient life ring which meant it would drag half revs. Otherwise I couldn't really tell the difference blindfolded. Both set near instantly in all kinds of bottoms, rocky might need a very slow reverse to get them in. Suspect the spade might like a bit of scope, 5:1 as a minimum seemed to be ok but that's just guessing really. How much scope were you using?

This is exactly why I say that all the new generation anchors perform within 5% of each other. Sometimes one is better at this and the other at that.

I sell one of the new generation anchors as a side and when I'm asked I say you cannot go wrong with the new generation. Right size it for your use and needs, be sure that it fits the boat, set it well and sleep peacefully.

Now if you are interested in XXXX anchor I can make you a deal!

[Yellow bird]

Originally Posted by Dolphin460

Charles S., the test did not include the Ultra. Shame on the tester because he failed to test the best anchor IMO.

Surely one of the bests (along with the 3 or 4 others named so far),
unfortunately completely out of business, because of its construction material (only a stainless steel version).

Same great service of the others, but two or three (some time four) times the price

[Charles S]

I sold my Rocna since it would not set if I backed at more than 1.3 knots, and I repeatedly dragged on a turn of the tide.
Spade always set and has never dragged.
See Panope video above.

[ZING]

After more than 14 seasons in the Bahamas on a Delta I think you are going to look a long time for a mud bottom there but grass is everywhere. Unfortunately a little grass here and there is very different from lots of teflon grass and hard pack. Regardless of the anchor you'd be better off finding a decent spot so any decent anchor would reset.


Please don't think I'm proposing the Delta over a Spade or Rocna, Manson etc. I'm not, clearly the Spade or Rocna are MUCH BETTER in some conditions and no worse in most but grassy bottoms common in the Bahamas may be one where the Delta does well and provided it's large enough should be more than adequate anywhere else in the Bahamas. In those grassy conditions I've seen Rocnas fail to set or reset where a Delta clearly does. Maybe they just didn't have enough scope. Just don't even consider a CQR if there is even one blade of grass. While clearly anecdotal, I've never seen a Spade fail to set or reset so maybe the biggest danger with a Spade is complacency, however I have seen a number of bent shanks on Spades. I think this is not only caused by rocks but also motoring to break them loose.



Now on the US East coast (and Gulf coast) I would certainly have a different take because of the typical mud bottom...but if you also had a large Fortress or similar for those mud conditions the Delta could work in the Bahamas. Certainly a Spade or Rocna etc works great in mud too.



With all anchors, I KNOW that a stretchy and long bridle or snubber of three strand nylon and adequate scope is required especially with light performance boats and catamarans. I've seen a lot of people trying to use 3:1 or 5:1 scope because they have this or that anchor - DANGEROUS. Regardless of the type of anchor, you have to have a windlass capable of raising it and the associated chain quickly in any condition...and certainly with no computers required. No windlass is like no engine or no mast...I've done it but it's a really bad idea.

[Checkswrecks]

So what is the best brand of oil?

[kmacdonald]

Do spade anchors invert when they lose their lead keel?

[Spade Anchor]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Do spade anchors invert when they lose their lead keel?

Not sure how you could ever lose the lead keel. It is poured in the anchor, it is impossible to remove without heating it up to around 650 F.

[Jimmyhenry]

Rocna. Definitely.

[Safari38LH]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I had a 121 pound Rocna for a few years. It was pretty good, certainly much better than Delta and other older designs. But it had problems with clogging and setting in soft mud, and I had a lot of problems with how it was balanced.

I got rid of it and went back to Spade, which in my experience is significantly better than Rocna.

Just one data point.

The Rocna VULCAN is the spade version of the Rocna without the loop. A lot cheaper than the Spade and basicly the same thing.