Anchors - Bigger is Better ?

[El Pinguino]

I would like to see photos of the hoop causing the anchor to fail to hold or to ball up with weed.
Patagonia has a reputation for heavy kelp, however some anchorages are seriously kelpie.. in others your anchor wiill come up with mud, others it will come up clean as a whistle.
A few photos to have a look at ... the first (red boat ) is using a bruce (and I don't think they had a decent kelp knife). The second is in the same anchorage a few years earlier... Rocna... still on the bottom but unless cleared there will be a BBB of weed on the anchor when it comes in sight.
Third pic... not kelp just green weed and that is my old CQR.

The local fishermen use home made grapnels... big - maybe 1 metre diameter on the business end and light, made from about 10 mm stock on the grapnel bits. For rode they use 10 or 12mm polyprop... no chain.... must see if I can find a photo somewhere...

A Swarbrick would work in kelp.

[congo]

Maine Sale wrote;


Funny I have used and own most all the above mentioned anchors except the Excel, Ultra & Kobra. I do my own testing for my own waters and own a digital load cell so I can see what is happening when I apply 500HP to the rode. I have no interest in publishing any of this due to threads like this. It is for my eyes and piece of mind only because I DO NOT TRUST ANCHOR MANUFACTURERS OR PUBLISHED ANCHOR TESTS.


Rex wrote:


AND I DON’T TRUST ALL INDEPENDENT TESTERS. My published test was independent from an anchor testing authority; those figures were produced whilst testing for certification.


Maine sale wrote:


I test all the anchors I own in an attempt to find one that will perform best in my home waters. I have no bias because I am not publishing anything, not paid by a manufacturer, not friends with a manufacturer and I OWN all my anchors outright.

Rex wrote:

Well acknowlegding a public apology, sometimes goes a long way to making friends, if you own all of your anchors then why request an Excel.


Maine sale wrote:

Well okay, I do have a slight bias AGAINST Rocna for their previous behavior, yet I still have one on my bow. I have not let my bias affect the sheer performance I see.


Rex wrote:

Sheer performance, then why is the Rocna still there if you have tested a Mantus?

Maine sale wrote:

I understand that what works here may not work in other substrates around the world. This is why I test, for myself....


Rex wrote:
Then what analysis are we to draw from your findings.


Maine sale wrote:

I have never had anything clog up the hoop anchors to the point they unset and this is with piles and piles of pulls in clay, thick black mud, soft mud etc. from 1000 - 4400 pounds.

__________________
Originally Posted by El Pinguino

That said I once had Smith senior aboard in the Falklands.. I anchored and wasn't happy with my possy... weighed anchor and shifted ... anchor was full of sticky mud, Smith senior very insistent that all mud had to be cleared off anchor or it wouldn't re-set.

There are many comments from many forums of roll bar concave anchors clogging.


Maine sale wrote:

Interestingly my 25 pound CQR has less than a seasons use yet sets no better on that hard intertidal zone that the "worn" (per Congo) CQR 35 pound model? I suspect this wear is less of a real concern having had two side by side with differing wear..?

Rex wrote:


Good to see you have acknowledged the wear regardless of your findings, but don’t you think it would be fair to demonstrate with one that isn’t partially disabled, C. Smith went the other way, how do you know your Rocna isn’t especially sharpened.

Maine sale wrote:

Unfortunately I can't get my hands on an Excel (are you listening Congo?) so all the great talk about an Excel does those of us in the US no good.......

Rex wrote:


Yes you can, you just have to pay to have one shipped over, you bought all of your others, no unfortunately we do not have agents in your part of the world, but if you had been following the locked Excel thread and quite a few on the BIB thread have easily obtained their Excels, from me, now in many countries and are enjoying its performance as an all right anchor.


Maine sale wrote:
All that said I am ABSOLUTELY NOT a believer the perfect anchor has been built yet and would love to try an Ultra or Excel but like you I am a Scot....

Rex wrote :


Just so you all know the above quote was directed at Jon Jo, as far as myself, I think I am a Heinz variety, Maine sale, there will never be the perfect anchor, just better ones.

Regards Rex.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by congo

There are many comments from many forums of roll bar concave anchors clogging.

Links and/or photos or it never happened.... I've had mine bring up lots of mud but the roll bar has never been involved

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Links and/or photos or it never happened.... I've had mine bring up lots of mud but the roll bar has never been involved

Why did Peter Smith say the mud had to be cleaned off the Rocna or it would not reset?

[El Pinguino]

Dunno...I didn't ask.... I guess because there wasn't a spade to penetrate the seabed just a big wodge of sticky mud with a steel base plate.. the roll bar wasn't involved... I've never had mine full of mud as high as the roll bar...

[congo]

Rex wrote:
There are many comments from many forums of roll bar concave anchors clogging.

This is true, just on this BIB many have discussed roll bar anchors clogging, surly they can’t all be wrong.
If you go to the locked Excel thread there is a guy there that purchased an Excel to solve his problems in mud as His Rocna would not hold?


Originally Posted by El Pinguino

That said I once had Smith senior aboard in the Falklands.. I anchored and wasn't happy with my possy... weighed anchor and shifted ... anchor was full of sticky mud, Smith senior very insistent that all mud had to be cleared off anchor or it wouldn't re-set.


Rex wrote:
What do you interpret cleaning of all the sticky mud as?
I do have some phot's but for some reason I canot up load them.
Regards Rex.

[El Pinguino]

He poked and prodded with a boat hook 'til +95% fell off... normally I just motor ahead slowly until it washes off... unusual for me to weigh and then re-anchor... I think I was too far from the bar or something...

Most of my serious strong wind anchoring was done in the Falklands where there are no trees to tie up to...... frequently estimated up to 60knots - my wind instruments had blown away a few years previous - but invariably constant direction... windy enough once to snap my 4 metre HF whip at rail level. Always set first time and held well. Often a bugger to break out.

Only time my Rocna looked like dragging was in a place called Yendagia west of Ushuaia. It was blowing a steady 70knots plus out in the Beagle and we were hit by a serious puff comming down off the high ground... moved back about one and a half boat lengths then brought up again. Don't know if it really dragged, was just bedding down through the kelp, or was just stretching the chain out through kelp.
What I do know is that in the same puff the 64' expedition boat next to us - see the pic of her and her anchor -dragged past us and just kept on going.... with no one on board.

First point , I am not beating the Rocna drum here... there is no love lost between me and the family Smith.
Second point.. I don't know how it entered popular mythology that Rocna is the anchor of choice on Patagonian ( ie Ushuaia based) charter boats.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

He poked and prodded with a boat hook 'til +95% fell off... normally I just motor ahead slowly until it washes off... unusual for me to weigh and then re-anchor... I think I was too far from the bar or something...

Most of my serious strong wind anchoring was done in the Falklands where there are no trees to tie up to...... frequently estimated up to 60knots - my wind instruments had blown away a few years previous - but invariably constant direction... windy enough once to snap my 4 metre HF whip at rail level. Always set first time and held well. Often a bugger to break out.

Only time my Rocna looked like dragging was in a place called Yendagia west of Ushuaia. It was blowing a steady 70knots plus out in the Beagle and we were hit by a serious puff comming down off the high ground... moved back about one and a half boat lengths then brought up again. Don't know if it really dragged, was just bedding down through the kelp, or was just stretching the chain out through kelp.
What I do know is that in the same puff the 64' expedition boat next to us - see the pic of her and her anchor -dragged past us and just kept on going.... with no one on board.

First point , I am not beating the Rocna drum here... there is no love lost between me and the family Smith.
Second point.. I don't know how it entered popular mythology that Rocna is the anchor of choice on Patagonian ( ie Ushuaia based) charter boats.

Hard to tell, but that looks like a Forfjord anchor, or equivalent design,

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

He poked and prodded with a boat hook 'til +95% fell off... normally I just motor ahead slowly until it washes off... unusual for me to weigh and then re-anchor... I think I was too far from the bar or something...

Most of my serious strong wind anchoring was done in the Falklands where there are no trees to tie up to...... frequently estimated up to 60knots - my wind instruments had blown away a few years previous - but invariably constant direction... windy enough once to snap my 4 metre HF whip at rail level. Always set first time and held well. Often a bugger to break out.

Only time my Rocna looked like dragging was in a place called Yendagia west of Ushuaia. It was blowing a steady 70knots plus out in the Beagle and we were hit by a serious puff comming down off the high ground... moved back about one and a half boat lengths then brought up again. Don't know if it really dragged, was just bedding down through the kelp, or was just stretching the chain out through kelp.
What I do know is that in the same puff the 64' expedition boat next to us - see the pic of her and her anchor -dragged past us and just kept on going.... with no one on board.

First point , I am not beating the Rocna drum here... there is no love lost between me and the family Smith.
Second point.. I don't know how it entered popular mythology that Rocna is the anchor of choice on Patagonian ( ie Ushuaia based) charter boats.

Curious, but what size Rocna did you say you used, chain size, type, and do you use a snub line and if so what type? Much appreciated.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by congo

If you go to the locked Excel thread there is a guy there that purchased an Excel to solve his problems in mud as His Rocna would not hold?

This thread? http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...cel-68946.html Give me a break... life is too short to dig through that lot ....

[congo]

This is one photo that was circulating the net,Iam having some difficulty working this out.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...1&d=1386304175

Regards Rex.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Delfin

Curious, but what size Rocna did you say you used, chain size, type, and do you use a snub line and if so what type? Much appreciated.

39 foot boat, nominal 8 tonnes, 25kg Rocna, 8mm chain,
I had about 65metres veered in 12 or so metres of water with about 5 or 6 metres of 12mm nylon snubber.

It wasn't a steady breeze.... about 20/30 knots with 'off the scale' rachas.. people who live there said it was the worst they had ever seen...

[congo]

This thread? Sarca Excel Give me a break... life is too short to dig through that lot ....

Sorry, thats why Icant be botherd either.

Regards Rex.

[El Pinguino]

2nd worst I have seen down there but that is another story.....

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

39 foot boat, nominal 8 tonnes, 25kg Rocna, 8mm chain,
I had about 65metres veered in 12 or so metres of water with about 5 or 6 metres of 12mm nylon snubber.

It wasn't a steady breeze.... about 20/30 knots with 'off the scale' rachas.. people who live there said it was the worst they had ever seen...

Thanks!