Identify this anchor

[KneadingWater]

Newby asking newby question.



This is a photo of our secondary anchor for a 2005 IP420.
What is the anchor type (and from there I can learn about what it is best used for).



I don't have a weight (at present) and there are no markings.


Thank you.

[DougR]

It’s a Delta, or a Delta knock off.

I’ll leave it to others to comment if it’s efficiency.....

[CarlF]

Yes - it’s probably a Lewmar Delta knock-off (unless it says Delta or Lewmar somewhere).

A very common anchor but not a very good one. I had one in the 1990’s and wouldn’t consider it today given the many great anchors available.

The best anchor test is SV Panope on YouTube. Here’s the Delta test. It scored near the bottom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDV6KzXh5GI

The best performing anchors on the test were Vulcan, Spade, Mantus, Viking and Ultra.

Here’s the Vulcan test - at the end of the video is a chart showing how all the anchors scored

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPSQxoRVrIw&t=17s

[Ryban]

Originally Posted by CarlF

The best anchor test is SV Panope on YouTube. Here’s the Delta test. It scored near the bottom.

Another good overview video where he ranks all the anchors he tested is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smgWTtFuk3U

One really important note about his tests is that the majority of them are done in mud or soft mud bottoms, whereas the vast majority of anchorages in popular tropical cruising grounds are sandy.

The Delta does score in the bottom 5, but the Rocna is dead last in his testing, and the majority of cruising boats I saw were carrying Rocnas, which is interesting.

I carried a Delta on my last boat, and it only dragged once in my 2.5 year cruise. That was in 60kts of veering wind in probably a muddy bottom. The rest of the time it performed great.

[Panope]

Originally Posted by Ryban

Another good overview video where he ranks all the anchors he tested is here:

One really important note about his tests is that the majority of them are done in mud or soft mud bottoms, whereas the vast majority of anchorages in popular tropical cruising grounds are sandy.

The Delta does score in the bottom 5, but the Rocna is dead last in his testing, and the majority of cruising boats I saw were carrying Rocnas, which is interesting.

I carried a Delta on my last boat, and it only dragged once in my 2.5 year cruise. That was in 60kts of veering wind in probably a muddy bottom. The rest of the time it performed great.

Ryban,

My video that you linked is now over one year old, and while it is not quite 'obsolete', it has been superceded by numerous more current offerings.

What's different is the addition of several new seabeds that have changed the big picture quite a bit (at least in my view). Among other significant findings, is that the Rollbar Rocna is a much more 'well rounded' performer than the earlier testing suggested.

I cannot agree more with idea that the seabeds in my testing area (PNW) are likely completely different than tropical areas. As always, I encourage people to reference other person's experience and/or testing for those areas.

Here is a more recent compilation of my work:
https://youtu.be/dn--nVdnZyQ

[Jamme]

Originally Posted by Panope

[. . .] Here is a more recent compilation of my work:
https://youtu.be/dn--nVdnZyQ

Thanks Panope for your precious contributions!

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by Ryban

Another good overview video where he ranks all the anchors he tested is here:

One really important note about his tests is that the majority of them are done in mud or soft mud bottoms, whereas the vast majority of anchorages in popular tropical cruising grounds are sandy.

"Popular tropical cruising grounds" may be sandy, but I wonder what percentage of total sailboat anchorings are set in "popular tropical cruising" grounds. Personally, I have been cruising either on my own boat or my parents boats since the early 70s. In the last 2 years we've covered 7,000 miles, a large percentage swinging on our own anchor. With the exception of a few days at charter or on friends boats, I have never been south of the Chesapeake Bay. Granted, we found a fair number of hard sand anchorages in Quebec, PEI, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. But not too many in "popular tropical cruising grounds."


My point is that many people assume that the only people sailing, or the only ones worth mentioning, are doing a tradewinds circumnavigation. The assumption being that no one anchors in mud or sails upwind. The vast majority of sailors routinely do both of those.

[rossdv8]

U switched to delta and used one for about ten years across a couple of boats. It held comfortably in all bottoms at up to 40 knots wind and sometimes 2 metre breaking waves rolling through one anchorage (Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays).


At that time I was sailing little 'Quarter Tonners' (26 foot racing class) and they were sometimes a handful in those conditions. But the Delta was fine provided I stuck to my normal rule and laid out twice the boat length in decent chain (for that sized boat I used 10mm) and then the usual 5:1 scope plus the maximum tide range.



I found out over years on various sized yachts that the ideal minimum chain length before the Nylon seemed to be about twice the hull length. It was a pain to pull up from deep water, but once it was lying on the bottom, all the anchor even had to do was stop the heavy length of chain dragging.


That rig also worked on the old CQR, but I had far fewer jammed thumbs handling the Delta, than with the CQR

[MicHughV]

That is most certainly a clone of the venerable CQR anchor, but without the swivel.
The CQR was, for years and years, the anchor du jour.
I still have a small one for the dink.

Since the days of the CQR, any number of clones appeared.

How much does it weigh...looks to be 30...maybe 35 lbs...considering it was on an IP42...maybe a bit more....45 lbs ?
Easy way to find out....but a scale under it.

I wouldn't throw it away though. There is nothing wrong with it.

Every Tom, Dick and harry has his/her opinion on the " best" anchor, so take opinions with a grain of salt.

Different anchors will set differently in different bottoms.

There are numerous anchor threads on this forum...it's a CF favorite....with everyone having an opinion.

Anchoring is as much an art as anything else. Laying an anchor properly is key to successful anchoring, no matter what anchor is selected.

Search thru' some of the threads here to get you started, but ultimately, correct anchoring will be up to you.

[HopCar]

Identify this anchor.
That’s Fred, I’d know him anywhere.

[MicHughV]

"Fred" must be a cousin of " Brutus", my venerable storm anchor..

[Scubaseas]

Delta or Delta clone. I had a Delta as a primary for years on my liveaboard 323 Pearson. Good anchor. Resets well. OK holding. Not as good as the newest generation of scoops or a Spade but fine for most conditions in sand, gravel rock, clay. Mud however, not so much. It will likely drag in mud or silt as most anchors will. Comes up clean, stows easily in an anchor roller. Pretty indestructible. Might be fine as a backup for you depending on size/weight. Mantus, Excell, Spade, Vulcan etc might be better choices these days but the Delta rated very highly in the years past. Practical Sailor loved it in the 2000's

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by KneadingWater

I don't have a weight (at present) and there are no markings.

It looks like a genuine Lewmar or Simpson-Lawrence Delta, but it is hard to be sure from the photo. There is generally a marking in a triangular moulding on the underside of the fluke that you may not have seen. This marking also lists the weight on the SL models.

See the photo below. I afraid it is a low resolution version but if you enlarge the image the Simpson -Lawrence brand name together with “25” ( the weight) can be seen on the triangular moulding.

The Delta is a very popular anchor, but unfortunately it is not a high performing model. If it is a copy the performance will be worse, but the difference is not great.

If you want to anchor out frequently I would keep this anchor as a back-up and invest in a new generation model for primary use.

The convex profile of the Delta together with the limited fluke area reduces the performance in soft substrates and the poor geometry together with the low toe weight reduces the penetration in hard substrates and weed.

The ultimate holding ability of the best modern anchors is significantly above a genuine Delta, especially in a less than ideal substrate.

[singlespeed]

Delta knockoff. Enough heavy chain leader and slowly backing down and it works. Found mine worked well in grassy bottoms, but mine has a weighted tip to aid digging in.

[wsmurdoch]

Simpson-Lawrence Delta or the later Lewmar Delta or an off brand clone of them.