General consensus on Ultra Anchor

[Ultra Marine West]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

I agree, if HR is confident that it is the best option overall in all bottoms and all conditions, it is Fine. However, I seriously believe that it is up to the customer to make that determination.

Regarding your offer to CF members to test Ultra for a year, I think this is a brilliant marketing move - my compliments! Even if people do not provide verbatim, you will have a published table of who participated and who decided to keep the anchor. Even at 25% discount this would be a good testament to the performance benefits they actually observed. The manufacturer’s cost to sponsor the program should be a few thousand dollars, which is like a millisecond of a TV commercial time cost. This is really a good marketing move, congratulations! I see no reasons not to participate on conditions you outlined. Will send you an email in a moment.

Thank you. I am waiting for your email. I am in Turkey now and it is 23:15 sleeping time for me but I will surely get back to your email in the morning. Thanks again for participating.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Hard to test if better.

Example, the anchor we have instant sets, has never dragged in weed, sand, mud, currents, strong reversing currents and has held us in 80knots of wind and multiple 60+ and 40+ storms over the past 4 years.
To me that's a 100% success rate.

How can you measure "better"
At best it will be "as good"

You'd really need to find someone who's other brand of new gen anchor is not working to test it on.

Here is what I think. I am planning to add an anchor to the inventory. Right now, the choice is narrowed down to Mantus M1, Excel, and maybe Spade, in this order. If I try an Ultra and decide to keep it, it would mean that I am content with its performance over anticipated performance of other candidates and observed performance of what I have now. Of course, if I don’t like it and return it, it would be an opposite indication. So you are right, the results can only be binary, as defined by the conditions of the offer. “Good enough” or “not good enough” at a given price point. However, I think this binary vote is entirely sufficient for a manufacturer to make a product superiority claim.

[CarlF]

As a happy Ultra owner, this is a great marketing move because after a year using an Ultra few people are going to want to send their Ultra back just to save some money on a cheaper galvanized anchor.

And the 25% discount sure doesn't hurt.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Ultra Marine West

It might still set quicker,.

As mentioned, what we have sets instantly

it would hold better with short scope

We have ran ours with 3:1 not a problem.
In any sort of weather we always run more, foolish not to and I have no intention of pushing those boundaries further on a 70tonne vessel.

You wouldn't move as much as you used to with wind direction changes

.
We only ever move as much as chain length allows us to move.
Never had an anchor reset issue on wind or current change

It wouldn't come upside/down

Happened twice in 4 years of full time anchoring.
That is a direct relation to chain twist and chain jumping in our grooved anchor roller on retrieval.
The ultra would have the same thing happen as we don't use a swivel.

It might come up clean

It might, when used in mud but there is a Flemming 65 here that has ultras and he still has to hose the mud off when we share the same anchorage.
In sand we both come up clean

it would set better to your bow roller etc

.
Our anchor sits in our bow roller just fine.

There is no way to understand the difference without giving a try to the ULTRA

.
For starters you don't do a 70kg version so it would have to be either 10kg smaller or 10kg bigger and we ain't going smaller.
Bigger could very well cause issues in the roller
It certainly would with the finances being $8500 for an 80kg ultra here.

Don't forget, there is always something better

Needs to be proven first and given the above comment in our case, it'd be a tough thing to prove.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

Here is what I think. I am planning to add an anchor to the inventory. Right now, the choice is narrowed down to Mantus M1, Excel, and maybe Spade, in this order. If I try an Ultra and decide to keep it, it would mean that I am content with its performance over anticipated performance of other candidates and observed performance of what I have now. Of course, if I don’t like it and return it, it would be an opposite indication. So you are right, the results can only be binary, as defined by the conditions of the offer. “Good enough” or “not good enough” at a given price point. However, I think this binary vote is entirely sufficient for a manufacturer to make a product superiority claim.

We are after an additional anchor as well.
And that highlighted bit is where its at for us.
1 shiney ultra vs 4 Manson supremes that I am 100% happy with

Reality is as I dont need 4 more it'll be 1 Manson supreme and $6000 in the cruising kitty.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

We are after an additional anchor as well.
And that highlighted bit is where its at for us.
1 shiney ultra vs 4 Manson supremes that I am 100% happy with

Reality is as I dont need 4 more it'll be 1 Manson supreme and $6000 in the cruising kitty.

Completely agree, as I have expressed it here earlier. Which makes it even tougher for the manufacturer to offer the 12 months trial at no costs to participants. Because if it works as well as the one I have now, I am not keeping it at 3 times the cost (after the 1/4 discount) just because it sparkles. On the other hand, if I observe superior performance, I will not mind the price since I am in their target group income wise. Judging by Dockhead’s comments, which do make logical sense, there is a good chance I will.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Ultra Marine West

Perfect. Probably we wrote these last ones at the same time. The only issue we have with that test deal is that the users has to be in the USA or Turkey. As per our distribution agreements for the other parts of the world, I cannot act on behalf of them.

Your boat is somewhere in the USA, isn't she?

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Great offer but hard to test if better.

Example, the anchor we have instant sets, has never dragged in weed, sand, mud, currents, strong reversing currents and has held us in 80knots of wind and multiple 60+ and 40+ storms over the past 4 years.
To me that's a 100% success rate.

How can you measure "better"
At best it will be "as good"

You'd really need to find someone who's other brand of new gen anchor is not working to test it on.

Pretty much a moot point given the highlighted point.in the first quote.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by contrail

Mine could! A couple of weeks ago, we were moored with the wind blowing in the high 20's, gusting 30's. When we moved to a different spot, about a mile away, we went under bare poles and no engines, just for fun. We did 6 knots, a good bit faster than anticipating. We certainly were at 3.5 knots or more, within an anchoring reversal difference.

Presumably when you did that, you had no anchor or chain down to slow down your acceleration, and you'd also have to assume the wind would make an instantaneous reversal at strength - it could happen, but that's exceedingly rare.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Ultra Marine West

I can extend the offer to any forum member who is interested in doing it but I still prefer you do it.

I can help you on the price side, as well. If you send the anchor back to us, we will sell it with 25% discount as Pre-Owned through our website.

So if you like the ULTRA and don't want to send it back after testing, we can give that 25% discount to you, as well.

You can purchase the anchor you have as a Pre-Owned by even being its original owner.

What do you say?

I certainly think that is a remarkable offer, and like to see when a manufacturer believes in their product enough to make such an offer - kudos

I won't be able to put it to the test this year, so I must decline. I will watch with interest the reports from those who can take you up on this challenge.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Smokeys Kitchen

FWIW - I never thought I would disagree with Jim - but here goes. I think the Vulcan, which I have, is just as commonly available as the original Rocna, Spade, or Ultra. At least they were so at the Seattle boat show and seem to be here in the PNW. I consider the Vulcan an example of a modern, non-rollbar anchor, and it has worked well for us.

Smokey, you are quite right and I apologize for forgetting the Vulcan. They are not so common in our current cruising area, and to be honest, I've never seen one in the flesh, either on a boat or in a chandlery. There are other hoopless designs lurking out there as well, of course, and they all could be competitive... who knows? But the Spade has a long track record and has often been touted as the best of all modern anchors in the past, and that's why it came to my mind as a logical competitor to the claims of Ultra.

From comments here on CF, not many folks have compared Vulcan's effectiveness vs other designs. I'd be interested in seeing such comparisons when they are available.

Jim

[Nightsky]

Here is my take on Ultra's offer. GREAT OFFER! I have a 33kg Vulcan which has been relegated to #2 position, being replaced with 105lb Mantus M2 (very similar style). However, If I was going to replace it with a 33kg stainless steel Vulcan, then Ultra's offer is fantastic. Recent price comparison shows Vulcan 33kg in ss is $3475 from Fisheries Supply, $3860 from West Marine and $3300 from Amazon. List price from Ultra's website is $3049 for a 35kg anchor. Actually less expensive, if comparing apples to apples, add to that a 25% discount after 1 years' free usage and you can see that is a heck of a deal. BUT...I cannot see paying 2 to 3 times the cost over a galvanized Vulcan just for the slippery-ness of ss in shedding mud over its galvanized counterpart (the only advantage I can see to switch to ss, unless it is a vanity thing). The extra cost could be justified IF the Ultra was an order of magnitude better at setting, resetting and holding power over the rest of the galvanized new- gen anchors. Is it? IDK. In any case, I have rolled the dice on a bigger, galvanized Mantus M2 and hope it does the job. The closest size Ultra offers is 99 lbs, at a list of $3799 vs $1317 for the 105 lb M2. Even with 25% discount, that is just over twice the cost. Too much for me unless I put a lot of value on looks and mud=shedding ability. I'm not convinced (yet) that the Ultra design is that much better.

[Muaddib1116]

This offer from Ultra Marine sounds great. I hope the people that take them up on it take it seriously with an open mind and post detailed impressions and results. This is a pretty risky move by Ultra, good job! Let's see how it goes!

[Ultra Marine West]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

As mentioned, what we have sets instantly


We have ran ours with 3:1 not a problem.
In any sort of weather we always run more, foolish not to and I have no intention of pushing those boundaries further on a 70tonne vessel.

.
We only ever move as much as chain length allows us to move.
Never had an anchor reset issue on wind or current change


Happened twice in 4 years of full time anchoring.
That is a direct relation to chain twist and chain jumping in our grooved anchor roller on retrieval.
The ultra would have the same thing happen as we don't use a swivel.


It might, when used in mud but there is a Flemming 65 here that has ultras and he still has to hose the mud off when we share the same anchorage.
In sand we both come up clean

.
Our anchor sits in our bow roller just fine.

.
For starters you don't do a 70kg version so it would have to be either 10kg smaller or 10kg bigger and we ain't going smaller.
Bigger could very well cause issues in the roller
It certainly would with the finances being $8500 for an 80kg ultra here.



Needs to be proven first and given the above comment in our case, it'd be a tough thing to prove.

I feel like you are using an overkill anchor. We might even do something better with less weight. So you can save some weight of your bow.



What is the type, length and weight of your boat?

[Ultra Marine West]

Originally Posted by Nightsky

Here is my take on Ultra's offer. GREAT OFFER! I have a 33kg Vulcan which has been relegated to #2 position, being replaced with 105lb Mantus M2 (very similar style). However, If I was going to replace it with a 33kg stainless steel Vulcan, then Ultra's offer is fantastic. Recent price comparison shows Vulcan 33kg in ss is $3475 from Fisheries Supply, $3860 from West Marine and $3300 from Amazon. List price from Ultra's website is $3049 for a 35kg anchor. Actually less expensive, if comparing apples to apples, add to that a 25% discount after 1 years' free usage and you can see that is a heck of a deal. BUT...I cannot see paying 2 to 3 times the cost over a galvanized Vulcan just for the slippery-ness of ss in shedding mud over its galvanized counterpart (the only advantage I can see to switch to ss, unless it is a vanity thing). The extra cost could be justified IF the Ultra was an order of magnitude better at setting, resetting and holding power over the rest of the galvanized new- gen anchors. Is it? IDK. In any case, I have rolled the dice on a bigger, galvanized Mantus M2 and hope it does the job. The closest size Ultra offers is 99 lbs, at a list of $3799 vs $1317 for the 105 lb M2. Even with 25% discount, that is just over twice the cost. Too much for me unless I put a lot of value on looks and mud=shedding ability. I'm not convinced (yet) that the Ultra design is that much better.

ULTRA is not the SS equivalent of these other anchors. It is SS and ULTRA design is that much better. I know I won’t be able to convince you right now but hopefully, after 12 months, the ones giving a chance to ULTRA will convince you on that.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Ultra Marine West

I feel like you are using an overkill anchor. We might even do something better with less weight. So you can save some weight of your bow.



What is the type, length and weight of your boat?

I specifically wanted an Armageddon anchor.
Look to the left at the avatar
High windage, 60 ft, 70 tonne.
Weight in the bow is not an issue.