Any Ultra Review Updates?

[Muaddib1116]

A few months ago, a number of people seemed like they were going to take Ultra up on their offer to get an anchor sent to them to trial and review. Any updates on this?


I know that Steve from SV Panope received one in the late Spring/early Summer. Have you had a chance to try it out Steve?

[Panope]

I have not yet tested the Ultra but will do so within the next couple weeks. Panope is scheduled to launch this weekend.

Steve

[Muaddib1116]

Sounds great, I'm sure I'm not the only person eager to see your results. Thanks!

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

Sounds great, I'm sure I'm not the only person eager to see your results. Thanks!

Planning a new anchor soon and holding out for this review! Should be fun, I am sure I will be happy with any of the modern anchors coming from a 75lb CQR on a 55', 60000 lb boat.

Biggest choice will be "what fits" but looking forward to some fun video to add to the musings!

[Panope]

I am out cruising around the San Juan Islands using the Ultra anchor. It has buried immediately each of the half dozen times I have set the anchor.

I have NOT yet executed any of my infamous 180 degree resets.

I tried to replicate a previous SPADE ANCHOR video (with the ULTRA) where the anchor was set in an area of very thick, leafy weed. I hit the exact same location but unfortunately, the weeds were not present at this time. Here are some still shots of the retrieval:

Ultra Anchor just as it is being pulled free of the bottom. This is my 6th retrieval of the anchor. Each time, a similar amount of seabed has been attached to the anchor.


It appears to be wishful thinking, but I was hoping that the highly polished surface of the Ultra anchor would let mud just slide off.

While some mud is falling away, the majority remains attached unless removed mechanically or by washing.

Does not matter if anchor comes up backward. Shortly after this photo, anchor rotated into proper position. No swivel is being used.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Panope

...



Does not matter if anchor comes up backward. Shortly after this photo, anchor rotated into proper position. No swivel is being used.

Good to see the Ultra being used and tested, thanks.

Our Spade flips itself just like that as it enters our lower roller. Is it a function of tip-heavy anchors that they flip as the shank starts getting pulled away from vertical?

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by Panope

I am out cruising around the San Juan Islands using the Ultra anchor. It has buried immediately each of the half dozen times I have set the anchor.

I have NOT yet executed any of my infamous 180 degree resets.

I tried to replicate a previous SPADE ANCHOR video (with the ULTRA) where the anchor was set in an area of very thick, leafy weed. I hit the exact same location but unfortunately, the weeds were not present at this time. Here are some still shots of the retrieval:

Ultra Anchor just as it is being pulled free of the bottom. This is my 6th retrieval of the anchor. Each time, a similar amount of seabed has been attached to the anchor.


It appears to be wishful thinking, but I was hoping that the highly polished surface of the Ultra anchor would let mud just slide off.

While some mud is falling away, the majority remains attached unless removed mechanically or by washing.

Does not matter if anchor comes up backward. Shortly after this photo, anchor rotated into proper position. No swivel is being used.

Nice!!!!

Thank you for the initial thoughts!!!

[Muaddib1116]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYtAbUn_Zm4

Steve just posted his review of the Ultra anchor, and it seems like it performs quite well, in the performance realm of the Spade and Excel. Thanks for all your hard work Steve!

I'd love to get your opinion on how it stacks up with those two. I have a Spade that came with my boat, but am not super impressed with how corroded it is and how it assembles together. I'd prefer to have a one piece anchor and was leaning towards the Excel. Out of the three, which do you prefer? Between the Ultra and the Excel, which do you think is better? Thanks!

[SweareDeep]

Can't compare against the Spade and Excel, but we're in our fifth season with an Ultra - yet to have to re-set the anchor. A quick blast with the wash down hose and the mud, even that tenacious Maine mud, slides right off.

[Panope]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

Steve just posted his review of the Ultra anchor, and it seems like it performs quite well, in the performance realm of the Spade and Excel. Thanks for all your hard work Steve!

I'd love to get your opinion on how it stacks up with those two. I have a Spade that came with my boat, but am not super impressed with how corroded it is and how it assembles together. I'd prefer to have a one piece anchor and was leaning towards the Excel. Out of the three, which do you prefer? Between the Ultra and the Excel, which do you think is better? Thanks!

Ultra,Spade, Excel. Three fine anchors. Here are some of my thoughts based on my tests/observations.

Holding power: My test boat lacks the bollard pull needed to test the maximum holding power these anchors. All were diving out of sight at my maximum pull.

Speed of set/reset at 3.5 to 1 scope: Spade fastest, Ultra slightly slower, Excel noticably slower.

Speed of set/reset at 2.5 to 1 scope: Spade considerably faster than Ultra and Excel.

Mud fouling: None of these anchors showed any performance degradation due to mud attachment.

Chain attachment: Only the Spade could be attached to 3/8" chain with a single shackle (my preference).

Tip/toe resharpening: Ultra and galvanized Excel can be resharpened because of SS construction (toe of Excel is SS). With Spade, resharpening will destroy galvanizing.

Maintenance/lifespan: Ultra needs very little maintenance (maybe an occasional re-polish) over a very long life. Excel can be easily re-galvanized numerous times for a very long life. Spade has notoriously poor galvanizing and is difficult to re-galvinize (lead melting). Spade shanks have been known to corrode from the inside out due to the inability to properly galvanize (prep) deep inside the hollow shank.

Strength/durability:. This is a difficult question without some serious engineering analysis or destructive testing. That said, my gut likes the Excel. Solid Bisalloy 80 shank, no hollow structure, little potential for hidden flaws. One peice. Beefy.

Self launching: Spade launches very vigorously. Ultra and Excel both self launch fine on my boat, however, a boat with a chain locker placed well aft and thus having a long length of chain to drag along the foredeck, would likely work better with the Spade.

Shackle pin snagging on bullwark: This is probably unique to my boat, but only the Spade with it's single (free to pivot in all directions) shackle, did not hang up during deployment.

Steve

[Muaddib1116]

Thanks Steve, that's a valuable break down. It also is mostly what I expected you to say based off of the visual evidence in your videos and the comments you make in your videos. Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though the Excel didn't set/reset as quickly as the other two, it never actually failed to reset and hold at those scopes, right? And the Ultra only failed to reset because of the really incredible amount of seaweed, which wasn't there for your other tests?

[Panope]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

Thanks Steve, that's a valuable break down. It also is mostly what I expected you to say based off of the visual evidence in your videos and the comments you make in your videos. Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though the Excel didn't set/reset as quickly as the other two, it never actually failed to reset and hold at those scopes, right? And the Ultra only failed to reset because of the really incredible amount of seaweed, which wasn't there for your other tests?

Excel never failed to reset.

The Ultra failed to reset (once) at 2.5 to 1 scope until the boat (and thus the anchor) came to a stop (It then set and held fine). Unfortunately, we don't no why because the camera was pointing away. There was much more weed present during the Ultra's test then any other anchor test that I have executed.

I really would like to re-test the Ultra during the winter because weed will have died back by then. Also, the water clarify has been poor for filming lately.

Steve

[Panope]

I would like to comment on the Ultra anchor from a different perspective than an anchor tester. Namely, as a CRUISER!

I just finished a three week cruise aboard Panope while using the Ultra as my primary bow anchor. We traveled within the State of Washington between the San Juan Islands and Hood Canal. We anchored in a different spot every night except once. Some days I anchored multiple times (lunch stops, repositions, etc).

Most of the anchorages offered routine bottoms with good protection. Several places were a bit more of a challenge:

This narrow cove was not wide enough for full 360 degree swinging at a scope of more than 3 to 1. Weather forecast called of a chance of wind at 25 to 35 kts overnight so I chose a good night's sleep over worrying about bumping into the rocks at 3:00 am.

I suppose that if I held the title of "Shore tie video expert" I would have scaled the rock walls with long strings of polypropylene in my teeth and tied off to the trees. As it is, being some sort of "Anchor Freak", I felt destined to immobilize the boat using ground tackle only.

Plan was to set three anchors, one off the bow and two of the stern in a wide "V". First, I attempted to set the Ultra in the "shallow" end of the cove (5 feet at low tide) but the anchor did not produce more than about 200 pounds of holding power. On retrieval, strands of eel grass were present on the fluke.

Ultra was then set in the "deep" end of the cove without problem. I then payed out an extra hundred feet of rode so that I could drop my big Forfjord (65 lb) in the same spot where the Ultra dragged. Now, the Forfjord is an old-school pivoting fluke "Navy" style anchor of very low sophistication. What it does have going for it is MASS. Enough mass apparently, to shove its way through the grass and set, holding the 3 or 4 hundred pounds of reverse power that I applied. Forfjord rode (thankfully rope for that portion) was then transfered to a stern quarter.

Third anchor (Fortress FX-16, 10lb.) was easily paddled out to a spot with a depth slightly deeper that where the weeds were thickest and set right away.

Boat secure, in a lovely spot, with no other boats.



In this next anchorage, I sat for 2 days waiting for a rare (for August) 2 day blow to ease (30 kts. at times).

A low spit of land gave good wave protection but no protection from the wind. The challenge with this spot is water depth. Just beyond Panope, water is 150 feet deep. Just in foreground, depth is zero. Ultra anchor is set on a fairly steep "side hill" in about 30 feet of water.

Wind was steady from a direction parallel to the shore. If wind had blown toward shore, boat would have grounded. If wind had blown off shore, anchor would likely have dragged as almost no amount of scope will overcome "steep slope short scope". The result was that the Ultra did not move. I slept fine.

Like in the rocky cove above, the less than ideal anchoring conditions and a forecast of wind, meant that I was all alone in a beautiful spot.

[Ultra Marine West]

Thank you, Muaddib1116 , for opening this new thread.

As the CF moderation closed the other thread to further comments, “ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...or-230818.html ” due to I posted too much there, that will hopefully be my first and last post in this one.

The other forum members testing the ULTRA, as agreed in that other thread, can share their results here so that you can continue from here.

Unless someone asks me a direct question, I will do my best not to post any comments. We should play the game by the rules.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by SweareDeep

Can't compare against the Spade and Excel, but we're in our fifth season with an Ultra - yet to have to re-set the anchor. A quick blast with the wash down hose and the mud, even that tenacious Maine mud, slides right off.

Oh well, to save 30 seconds I'll stump up an extra $7000
Oh wait

It'll need to do a hell of a lot more than be very slightly easier to clean.