Only One Anchor

[jdoe71]

Or they come to a stop, throw the anchor over and then run about a hundred feet of chain into a pile right on top of it. Then they go for drinks. Saw a lot of that this past summer.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by TAREUA

they shut the motor off and it's all drinks and dinghy trips as the boat drifts 180 deg. from the direction of the anchor set. Maybe these new anchors are so good that method works, but I rather doubt it.

I would think the anchor I was using would reset when the tide changed direction. (same thing right) My Bruce always did while I slept. Should I have gotten up to check?

On the other hand I have never seen this technique.

[Celestialsailor]

I see our Rocna anchor manufacturer is on a new forum of 'Mooring-building one', promoting his product while bad mouthing the CQR. I think opinions by sailors are great here in the forum but this is nothing more than shameless marketing.

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I see our Rocna anchor manufacturer is on a new forum of 'Mooring-building one', promoting his product while bad mouthing the CQR. I think opinions by sailors are great here in the forum but this is nothing more than shameless marketing.

Shameless marketing that seems to be working.

[Whimsical]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I see our Rocna anchor manufacturer is on a new forum of 'Mooring-building one', promoting his product while bad mouthing the CQR. I think opinions by sailors are great here in the forum but this is nothing more than shameless marketing.

Not trying to stir on this but do others strongly disagree with his comments about the CQR. From my observation of the many comments, here and other forums, Craigs claims do seem reasonably valid. Is it then a case of bad mouthing or legitimately trying to raise awareness.
I am most interested as I have nill experience and need to make a decision soon.
Mike

[craigsmith]

Originally Posted by Whimsical

Not trying to stir...

It isn't you, considering Celestial's comment. My single post on "a new forum of 'Mooring-building one'" consists of a link to a small entry on John Harries' website which talks about using multiple anchors to build a mooring, which I didn't even bother to comment on. John has nothing to do with me or Rocna, it's just a relevent piece on the mooring subject.

Celestial's choice to post this rubbish on this thread rather than on topic on the other should speak for itself.

[Celestialsailor]

I'm certainly not saying that the Rocna is not a good anchor. I don't know that. My point is, here is someone who in a round about way lends credit to his product while in a forum. The forum of 'Mooring-building one was asking a how to question. Yet this guy uses an article comparing anchoring with a 120 lbs. anchor vs. a mooring. That is fine in itself but then presto...the article then mentions a Ronco and down grades a CQR. How conveinient.
Example:-"There is an interesting comparison test of anchors in the October issue of SAIL magazine. All the usual anchor suspects are put through their paces but what stands out is the very poor performance of traditional anchors, particularly the CQR, against more modern designs like the Rocna and SPADE. The testers at SAIL were surprised. We were not, having dragged a CQR around half the periphery of the Atlantic basin".

"Celestial's choice to post this rubbish on this thread rather than on topic on the other should speak for itself".

Well Craig isn't that what you just did on the 'Mooring-building one', forum? You posted a promotion of your product on a forum asking a question of how to build a mooring?

[Rez]

Bulwagga is my choice for everything

[allegedly]

I use a CQR. Let out about a 5 to 1, set it, then let out 7 to 1 and re-set it. Saw a squall coming, let out 10 to 1 . When the wind hit (40 ) the boat swung all the way around (180). Never dragged.

[Kanani]

Given the choice that you have given, it might surprise you that I would choose "Danforth" (high tensil) but I would carry a minimum of 3.

I would never put down less than 2 for an overnight stay.

The best hurricane mooring that I have ever seen was 3 Danforths, put out in a "Y" layout. All 3 anchors attached to the bottom of a large (hi-tensil) swivel with equal lengths of 1/2" chain, 30' (or one water depth length) of chain with a nylon rode attached to that.

IMHO, the high tensil Danforth is your best holding choice in most conditions. Having said that, there are a LOT of drawbacks to the fluke type anchor. They fowl easily and seldom reset in wind/current shifts (thus the minimum of 2).

I wouldn't carry a CQR on my boat. I have had sooooooo many boats, all over the world, drag into me in the middle of the night. In every case, they were on a CQR. They make good plows but terrible anchors IMO. They work fine until the wind blows.

Now, if you are talking about leaving port with only ONE anchor of your choice, I would choose not to leave port. I have seen too many boats on the rocks from parted anchor roads. I have had to cut away anchors for different reasons. If you ever anchor in American Samoa (and many other commercial ports), you can almost count on losing an anchor.

I doubt that you will find a circumnavigator that hasn't lost an anchor or 4 (unless they stay in a heck of a lot of marinas). In 80,000 miles of cruising, I seldom stayed in marinas. You can buy a lot of ground tackle for the cost of staying in marinas.

BTW, I seldom used a Danforth unless I was anchored in a tidle area or was on My Delta and felt like I needed back-up for bad conditions. The I would put 1 upstream and one downstream. I carried 1 40#? Danforth and 1 28#? Fortress. My bow anchors were a 55# Delta and a Fortress. The Delta did 80% of my anchoring. They are very hard to set in mud but once you get the hang of setting it, it's in and won't come out easily.

Your ground tackle is the one most important thing on any vessel.

[Celestialsailor]

Kanani...Are the anchors lost due to sagging something on the bottom in commercial ports? What kind of anchors do you have onboard now?

[SkiprJohn]

I'm certain you wouldn't sell a product you didn't believe in.

Marketing your product, putting down other products and arguing about it on this forum seems a bit out of line.

My CQR never failed me once it was set properly. I'm not going to throw it out and buy something new just because someone tells me their anchor is better. I don't have a Rocna to compare my CQR to and I don't know anyone here that has one. My CQR will wear out or I'll lose it or someone will offer me a lot of money for it before I buy something new.
JohnL

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Kanani...Are the anchors lost due to sagging something on the bottom in commercial ports? What kind of anchors do you have onboard now?

Yes, a lot of anchors are lost to snagging in commercial ports. In American Samoa, you are anchored in 25'- 50' of the yuckiest water imaginable. NO WAY would I dive for an anchor in that crap. It's the same in most ports that have a lot of fishing vessels.

I went back and read the rest of this thread. I can't believe that anyone would even think about using polyprop for anchor road. It doesn't stretch as well as nylon and it sun rots very quickly. Nylon road will last for many years. One would have to change polyprop seasonally.

I can't stress enough.......DO NO SCRIMP on your ground takle. If you need more $ for ground tackle.....cancel your insurance but don't scrimp on the tackle.

As for "1 anchor for all purposes" only an inexperienced person would think that. There are more variables to anchorage conditions than most can imagine. There are a hundred different makeups of the sea bottum (rocks, mud, coral, sand, shells, mixtures of every kind). There are tidle conditions to concider. There is available scope to concider (crowded anchorages)....... Weather, inland flooding (the worst), the list goes on and on. Anyone that thinks one type of anchor can handle all conditions is simply not experienced.

The reason that you see so many CQR anchors in the marinas is because the boats are in marinas and not at anchor. Too many people make their anchor choice by going with the crowd. After-all, all those people couldn't be wrong??????? Those are the same people that will pull up to a fishing spot when they see another boat there. Before you no it, there are 20 boats ther and none of them are catching fish.

As I stated before, I have a Delta and a Fortress on my bow. I use the Delta in most conditions. The Fortress is a back-up/2nd anchor.

I saw someone mention, "stearn anchor". I would not recommend using a stearn anchor. IMO, 2 bow anchors, in opposite directions, is far superior. It allows the vessel to keep her bow to the wind, where it belongs. A beam wind can put 10x the strain on your ground tackle.

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

I'm certain you wouldn't sell a product you didn't believe in.

Marketing your product, putting down other products and arguing about it on this forum seems a bit out of line.

My CQR never failed me once it was set properly. I'm not going to throw it out and buy something new just because someone tells me their anchor is better. I don't have a Rocna to compare my CQR to and I don't know anyone here that has one. My CQR will wear out or I'll lose it or someone will offer me a lot of money for it before I buy something new.
JohnL

I don't think that anyone is asking you to throw away your anchor John. I think that people are responding to the OP in the best way they can. We each have different experiences in life. There is some good info in this thread. I don't see anyone trying to sell us something .

I just watched the "Pull Test" video on that Rocna anchor. Not very realistic IMO. Makes me wonder why they didn't take under water video. I noticed that they pulled the Delta on dry sand and the Rochna in wet sand.....What's that all about? Looks a little dishonest to me.

[Steve Pope]

After having my plough (French CQR knock off) drag several times in the last 2 years, I have switched to a Rocna 20 and am impressed to date with its ability to hook up almost instantly, including once in a place where I had to reset the plough at least twice before I was satisfied with its holding. It is early days yet but so far for me Craigs claims have substance.