It's True! The Mantus 65-lb. hooks first time, everytime.

[windswepttom]

I picked Mantus in the spring of 2013 after spending many hours investigating numerous types of anchors for my sailboat.
I have an Endeavor 42, weighing in at 15 tons and I use 5/16" chain. My previous anchors were a 45-lb. Super Max for the primary and a 45-lb. CQR for the secondary.
I've had a fair amount of experience anchoring while cruising around the Great Circle 2 & 1/2 times and 3 winters in the Bahamas anchoring out 98% of the time. Hard bottoms swept by tidal currents and grassy bottoms such as in the northern Florida Keys or in the Bahamas were my two main anchoring problems.
When I bought my Mantus I immediately painted it blue to impede theft. We call it "Big Blue". We were anxious to try it out in local anchorages where we've had problems anchoring. The first place was a hard bottom with tidal currents. "Big Blue" hooked immediately. However, I found a problem with my old anchoring technique, whereas I'm on the bow of the boat and my wife backs down on the anchor while I let out the chain and then lock the chain down. Well, "Big Blue" set so hard the bow of the boat dipped about a foot; I thought it was going to rip the bow roller off.
CAUTION! Do not back down hard on the Mantus when setting the anchor.
Next, we tried anchoring in hard sand. "Big Blue" dug in right away and held during a thunderstorm with 40-knot winds, the boat turned 180 degrees and "Big Blue" held.
For our next test, we cruised to the northern keys and anchored in grass. Again, another successful hook and held during a thunderstorm which blew from the opposite direction.
We continued to anchor in a number of places in the keys in grass and "Big Blue" hooked the first time and held in every situation. In Key West, Man-O-War harbor we anchored north of the Coast Guard Station. Tropical Storm Andrea was coming and we survived one thunderstorm after another with strong tides. Success again. Not all boats held their anchorage. This is a place that provides entertainment watching other boats trying to anchor. A few years back we were anchored here, a strong thunderstorm came through and put eight anchored boats on the shoreline.
I thought the Mantus would be hard to haul up, but not the case. I just haul up the chain until I’m over the anchor, sit there for 20-30 sec and it comes up most time without having to power down on it.
So I’m totally happy with my Mantus anchor and would recommend it to anyone.

[Paul L]

The new generation anchors are superior. They set fast, reset better and hold better. The difference between the specific new gen anchors is probably in the noise.

[windswepttom]

Hi Paul L

I agree that the “new generation anchors are superior”. But I think there is more of a difference then the “noise” between the Mantus and the others. I evaluated all the new generation anchors, read all the user comments on all the forums I could find, and watched all the videos I could find. The reasons I choose the Mantus are:
1. One of my main problems was anchoring in grass. Two of the problems with grass is big weed ball it gets so it’s hard to re-hook and penetration into the grass. The Mantus is much wider with a bigger roll bar which I reasoned would shed the weed ball better. My experience down in the keys in weeds was the Mantus re-hooked when I had a wind direction change in a thunder storm. Also when I brought the anchor up, it had some weeds but not the huge weed ball I’ve had with other anchors.
2. The Mantus has a sharp V point that is weighted that just looks like it would penetrate the grass better than the other new generation anchors. Again my experience was that it hooked the first time every time in grass.
3. I watched the videos by Mantus of their anchor hooking in grass vs. other new generation anchors. Granted they were made by Mantus but they looked real and they sold me.
4. The other main problem was hooking in a hard bottom. Again that sharp V point that is weighted just looks like it would penetrate a hard bottom better than the other new generation anchors. Again my experience was that it hooked first time every time in a hard bottom.
5. NOT made in China.

[colemj]

Windswepttom, I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but you have posted a total of 3 posts here and they were all singing the praises of an anchor. On the surface, that's kind of fishy...

Besides, what is really important is how many octopi can you catch with the Mantus?

And I'm pretty sure Mantus does not have a weighted tip.

Mark

[denverd0n]

No, it's not true. Yes, the Mantus is a fine anchor. And it certainly appears to set a lot better than the older generation of anchors. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I was in the market for a new anchor. But anyone who is dumb enough to actually believe that they have an anchor that is somehow always guaranteed to set first time, every time, is nothing more than an accident waiting to happen.

And I also have to agree with colemj. You're beginning to sound an awful lot like a shill.

[kentobin]

I've really been looking for some good real world data on the Mantus but I have to agree that windswepttom has only 3 posts in the 1.5 years he's been on the cruisers forum. This does make it appear that he lacks credibility.

If I'm wrong guess I owe him a beer.

[Catalpa1]

Regardless, I personally would find it extremely hard to sleep relying on a couple of bolts keeping me held in an anchorage. You guys can keep the Mantus, I'm very happy with my Supreme.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by Catalpa1

Regardless, I personally would find it extremely hard to sleep relying on a couple of bolts keeping me held in an anchorage. You guys can keep the Mantus, I'm very happy with my Supreme.

You mean like that single shackle screw on your rode, or the two or four bolts on your deck cleat....

I own a Supreme, non-Chinese Rocna and a Mantus. All are excellent setters & resetters. The Mantus does seem to bite faster than the Supreme or Rocna but we are talking inches not feet... I do like the fact that it is US made and that it breaks down for stowage.. Our Rocna fits our roller better but I would be using the Mantus if it fit like the Rocna..

[Catalpa1]

True about the deck cleat and shackle, but why have more potential weak points in your ground tackle when there's no need for it?????

[kentobin]

It's been hard finding any testimonials for the Mantus Anchor aside from the builders website and I've been looking off and on the last 3-4 months. Just found one that looks trustworthy. Give it a read.

I may own windswepttom a beer.

Stories of Aeolus- Our Gulf 32 Pilothouse: Our Mantus anchor proves itself in all conditions at all times

[windswepttom]

. OK, So I’m not big on posting to any forum, I don’t have a facebook account and I don’t Email anymore then I have to unless my wife tells me HAVE to reply to an Email, but I do use Skype with a day-trading buddy every day when I’m not out sailing. I had a small software consulting company (25-30 programmers) and worked 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I just got burned out Emailing and posting on the computer, retired and went sailing and didn’t Email for 3 years. So if that makes me not “trustworthy” or “fishy”, or “lacks credibility” or a “shill”, so be it, I would rather be sailing then posting and name calling on a forum.
My 65-lb Mantus anchor is twice as thick for the first 5-6 inches of the tip, maybe it is for reinforcement, but I call it weighted.
OK, I’ll grant you that the Mantus will not hook and hold 100% of the time. But for me, it has so far, and it’s far superior to my past anchors. I still get up and sit in the cockpit in a storm.

[Stevens 47]

Originally Posted by windswepttom

. OK, So I’m not big on posting to any forum, I don’t have a facebook account and I don’t Email anymore then I have to unless my wife tells me HAVE to reply to an Email, but I do use Skype with a day-trading buddy every day when I’m not out sailing. I had a small software consulting company (25-30 programmers) and worked 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I just got burned out Emailing and posting on the computer, retired and went sailing and didn’t Email for 3 years. So if that makes me not “trustworthy” or “fishy”, or “lacks credibility” or a “shill”, so be it, I would rather be sailing then posting and name calling on a forum.
My 65-lb Mantus anchor is twice as thick for the first 5-6 inches of the tip, maybe it is for reinforcement, but I call it weighted.
OK, I’ll grant you that the Mantus will not hook and hold 100% of the time. But for me, it has so far, and it’s far superior to my past anchors. I still get up and sit in the cockpit in a storm.

Thanks for posting. I have been looking for real world feed back on the Mantus. I can not fit the Supreme or Rocna on my bow as the roll bar prevents my sprit from deploying. Bruce fits sweet and the Manson Boss will fit, but there is less data on the Boss than the Mantus. My solution is to remove the roll bar while sailing then install if needed for anchoring. I do like the ability to break down the anchor and stow it below.

I do not post much as you can see.

[boatsail]

I agree that the new gen anchors rock. I have no exp with roll bar, but do have the boss. It does roll to be in an upright position just like many other anchors without the bar. My thoughts were that a bar could only hurt an anchor that will "self right" by getting cought up in mud or weeds. Without a roll bar, the clump/mud/weed has the possibility to moving past. Not sure if I'm right or wrong as I have not tested the roll bar, but that was the theory in which I used to make my purchase.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by windswepttom

I evaluated all the new generation anchors, read all the user comments on all the forums I could find, and watched all the videos I could find.

Seriously?

Sounds like someone needs to spend more time out on the water. In the real world of sailing, the only people who get this excited about their anchors are the folks trying to sell them.

[evm1024]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

You mean like that single shackle screw on your rode, or the two or four bolts on your deck cleat....

I own a Supreme, non-Chinese Rocna and a Mantus. All are excellent setters & resetters. The Mantus does seem to bite faster than the Supreme or Rocna but we are talking inches not feet... I do like the fact that it is US made and that it breaks down for stowage.. Our Rocna fits our roller better but I would be using the Mantus if it fit like the Rocna..

How close to fitting is the Mantus? Or rather does the Mantus fit more like the Rocna or more like the supreme?

I had a Rocna at the beginning of the debacle only to find out that it was a 420 Mpa steel Chinese version that I returned an replaced with a supreme. The Rocna did fit our roller much better than the Supreme.

Thanks!