Anchor Poll

[Mantus Anchors]

Dear Members of the Cruisers Forum, meet us at Miami International Boat Show!
Booth 4022
We will be raffling off 2000$ worth of Mantus Products and offering big discounts....

[nautical62]

My Hunter came with a Bulwagga and I must say I love it. The thin blades cut into a hard grassy bottom better than any other anchor I've used.

[SURV69]

I'm not really settled on an anchor, but from what I know about Bruce anchors, they appear to be an efficient "first", anchor to put down.

I understand they're not all that good in many conditions, but I consider my "main", anchor to be my "first out", anchor

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by SURV69

I'm not really settled on an anchor, but from what I know about Bruce anchors, they appear to be an efficient "first", anchor to put down.

I understand they're not all that good in many conditions, but I consider my "main", anchor to be my "first out", anchor

Yes, but your first may be your last.
Bruces are popular because they are cheap
Bruces were designed for anchoring in rock, just where most cruisers do not anchor.

A Bruce would be my last choice

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Bruces are popular because they are cheap

Funny. When I bought my first Bruce--5 boats ago--it was the most expensive anchor on the market.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Bash

Funny. When I bought my first Bruce--5 boats ago--it was the most expensive anchor on the market.

Five boats ago is a long time and Bruce anchors where at the top of the food chain then.

Now a new 44lbs Bruce is $133 usd. Not sure how they can even make them for that price.

Lewmar Horizon Claw Anchor

[SURV69]

My understanding is that a Bruce is a fast setting anchor in sand . . .

. . . If I remember right, I also understand that Bruce anchors are also very fast at losing grip.

[GRIT]

We used a Bruce 33 on our Hughes 35 (monohull) from Canada to Trini and loved it. Never a complaint. Paid $600 at the time.

Moved on to a Bruce 66 (over $1000) for our Corbin 39, used it from Canada to Europe, in rivers, on coastlines, mud, sand, rock and weed. It held us through the eye of Hurricane Juan, buried in Kelp, in Halifax NS, yes, at anchor!

We always anchor, so we take our anchors seriously. If you see us at a marina, we're probably getting fuel. Yes, we've been to marinas, 3 months over the winter in France, and many summers visiting in PEI, but we live at anchor.

We loved our Bruce so much, we kept it when we sold the boat. We're now building a 49 foot Catamaran, and wish we could find a larger Bruce, but will likely have to relegate our Bruce to 2nd Bower, and get a Rocna. But believe me, we'll try the Bruce first to see if it's undersized for the boat.

Like any anchor, you have to learn how to use it. We back down on our anchor, hard, every time, and it's never failed to hold once set. And it rarely takes two tries to set, it's usually down and stuck on the first try.

Yup, they lay on their side, and hold too. Lots of area there, and when the catenary gets pulled out of the chain, the anchor turns itself upright whilst digging into the bottom.

When I say Bruce, I mean A GENUINE BRUCE, not a knock off, wanna be a Bruce.

Nice thread, but I'm surprised about all the Bruce bashing, for goodness sake, call the knock-offs "Claw" anchors.

Cheers.
Paul.

[Cotemar]

Here is the best anchor I have ever had.

A 500lbs mooring mushroom I happen to pick up. Was in Sag Harbor Long Island NY For a few days and never moved.

Saddly I can not fit this 500lbs mooring mushroom on my anchor roller for use everywhere I go.

[JonJo]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the firm impression is was no longer possible to buy a genuine, new, Bruce anchor. Bruce, the company, stopped production years ago (could not compete with cheap copies) but there did then seem to be 'genuine' Bruces coming out of Belgium and then Brazil (were they made under licence?, are they still available?). Most of the 'ones' I see now are copies with no brand names nor countries of origin and they are really cheap. (Manufacturing costs in China allow a 15kg anchor to be made for a few dollars - its the, quality control, freight and multiple margins that add). Both Lewmar and Manson make their interpretation but Manson's model is quite expensive and not having used a genuine Bruce do not know how they (or the cheap knock offs, compare). I have a suspicion that some people 'knocking' the Bruce only have experience of the copies (cheap and nasty). Some of the Bruce numbers in the poll will be unbranded copies. I too believed the Bruce was developed primarily for sand and mud, I had this pre-conceived idea it was made for the the infant N Sea oil industry, the seabed is glacial deposits, was made in quite large versions but technology has moved on, as has the Bruce Anchor Coy, and oil rig anchors bear little resemblance now to the Bruce. Its interesting that The Bruce Anchor company discarded their original design but yachtsmen stick with tradition.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

I have a big beautiful bronze anchor windlass on my foredeck, If I am anchored with all chain it takes awhile to get it in. I have found a power attachment for it, with other uses, auto helm, works for raising sails and pulling in sheets. Also shares in cooking and is a companion.....goes by the term crew.

Sounds as if you need a big beefy bronzed crewman there.

I would prefer to go the way of a beautiful bronzed crewgirl/bow babe following on from some recent threads seeking crew.

Then again then you/I become that power source.

[noelex 77]

If you are going to use a Bruce anchor make it oversized.

This is about the right size for a typical cruising yacht

[JonJo]

Nice one Noelex! I think they came even bigger than that!

Is that a genuine Bruce? and where is it?

[Pete the Cat]

Amazing that some folks think that somehow just buying the right anchor will give them the ability to anchor solidly in any condition regardless of technique, bottom conditions, or the rest of your anchoring system (chain, rode, depth, etc). I have cruised for 20+ years with my old CQR and never had a situation where I dragged where it was the fault of the anchor. Probably anchored 200 times a few times in winds of 30+ and chop and probably dragged 3X. All my fault or some crap I picked up with the anchor. But the anchor folks sell the dream...... and keep on selling.......

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by JonJo

Nice one Noelex! I think they came even bigger than that!

Is that a genuine Bruce? and where is it?

It isn't my picture so I'm not sure, I have seen some genuine massive "oil rig" anchors from the same company and they are a quite different (newer?) design.

The post was a joke, but there is an element of truth in it. The larger Bruce anchors (say 70lb plus) seem to work much better than the smaller designs fitted to smaller yachts.
Anchor manufacturers would like us believe that all anchors scale up and down without change in behaviour. I don't believe this is always the case.
The Bruce anchor seems suffer more than most, possibly because it was originally designed and tested as much larger anchor.