Photos of Anchors Setting

[noelex 77]

This was a Bugel dropped by a large German Halberg Rassy. They only stopped for a swim 7m @ 5:1.

Like the previous Spade , there was not much force and the anchor has not yet fully set. It was digging through the light weed reasonably in these early stages, although if you look closely the fluke is not quite as well buried as it looks at first glance. The list was bit higher than I would like to see at this stage, but it should rotate more level as it sets deeper.

The drag mark was hard to pick, but looked like it extended about a metre and a half. The Bugel sets reasonably quickly, but not quite as rapidly as its concave cousins.

The thick long non floating rope was probably not having any effect on the set, but this is getting excessive. This sort of tangle could well inhibit the anchors ability and is not a good idea.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

Well, it would not be an anchoring thread without some disagreement.
I am afraid you are all wrong. My Mermaid is hot

Now if any member can answer my quiz I promise to post another mermaid photo:

Which anchor manufacturer claims the following?
Only requires 2:1
No chain is needed
It requires no setting
Sets within a foot
Less than a 40lb anchor is suitable for a 70 foot boat.

The above are genuine claims made by an anchor manufacturer, but which one? My hope with this thread is that you can judge anchors for yourself , rather than relying on information like the above.

My only clue is that it is not an anchor featured so far in the photos.

The gauntlet has been thrown down .

A Harley motor? I can't think of anything else they are good at ;-)




Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[noelex 77]

Another anchorage. Rather than a bay, this was in the lee of a couple of little rocky islands in the middle of nowhere.

I am a very conservative skipper, but believe with the best anchoring gear (and that includes over sizing the best anchor) there are many beautiful and deserted anchorages that can be safely utilised. We find many of these just on Google Earth, but this one did rate a mention in Wiki, although not in any of the pilot books or cruising guides. Wiki said " not suitable for overnight". Perfect for us .

Unfortunately, when we arrived there was more west in the wind than predicted which meant there was little protection from the small islands and lots of wave action. There are no charts for anchorages like this so the wave action was of some concern as it obscures the bottom details.

Anyway, with a slow approach we dropped the big Mantus. After after a gradual increase to 1800 revs the anchor suddenly let go with a very rapid drag. My mermaid (who was at the helm) immediately cut the power, but after a few metres the anchor grabbed very abruptly again. A great proof load test for the anchor and G7 chain

This sort of behaviour is very characteristic of rock (with either the chain or anchor catching), so despite the anchor now holding we elected to pick up and try again in a different spot. The second drop was completely conventional. 10m @3.5:1

This was the second drop:
You can see the Mantus has set perfectly. Not quite in its customary couple of feet, but it was only just over a metre. The fluke is completely buried along with most of the shank. There is no heaping up. A great result. The substrate was more gravel than sand.





I went looking for the initial drop point. The reason for the anchor behaviour was easy to see.
There were large areas of smooth sheet rock and with no sand over the top at all. Unfortunatly this sort of rock looks like sand from the boat.
This photo was taken from the surface (in about 8m) so this substrate is covering large areas. The dark line is a fissure in the rock:



Maybe Wiki was right. Oh, and ImaginaryNumber in post #974 who suggested that he wanted to see the results of the Mantus on rock: You jinxed me

[noelex 77]

A private Halberg Rassy dropped this CQR. They only stopped for a swim.

They made the same mistake we did with our first drop and mistook the rock for sand.

You can see the CQR is gripping in the rock face very well and might be difficult to recover. There are problems with this sort of substrate beyond the problem of recovering the anchor. The holding is very unpredictable. This sort of set could hold the boat in storm force winds, but a change in wind direction could see the anchor drag unexpectedly even in light conditions.

The drag is then likely to be rapid. If the anchor does catch, the stop will be very sudden with a real risk of breaking something. Rock is one substrate that is better simply avoided.

[ImaginaryNumber]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

...Oh, and ImaginaryNumber in post #974 who suggested that he wanted to see the results of the Mantus on rock: You jinxed me

Sorry about that. I'll try to make it up to you someway. But your rock/anchor photos are enlightening. Still hoping you can find some heavy weed.

[noelex 77]

Another anchorage and the Mantus was set in 6m @ 5:1. Many of these photos look just like carbon copies of each other and that is exactly how you want an anchor to behave.

Once again it has set very quickly and it is level with all the shank buried. There is perhaps a tiny portion of the fluke visible and there is a little bit more heaping up than the Mantus usually displays, but once again a great set.

[onestepcsy37]

Wait a minute! I see tractor tracks next to the anchor in the second picture! I'm calling your bluff. I think you've been setting your Mantus with the submersible Cat D7 you keep on your davits!

Signed,

A Manson Supreme owner

[estarzinger]

Noelex, I can't remember . . . have you see any boats drag yet? I remember the broken swivel, but I can't remember any boats truly dragging (due to wind, not when setting)

[noelex 77]

Most of the anchor models (with a few exceptions) have been photographed doing at least a slow drag. A bit sad especially given the mostly mild Meltemi this summer.

[NornaBiron]

The 1st photo is our 45kg spade set yesterday at 4-1 using 3/4 power astern, the second shows how it rotated with a 80 deg wind shift over night, the wind has be gusting 30 knots, its good to know its dug in when it blows.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

The 1st photo is our 45kg spade set yesterday at 4-1 using 3/4 power astern, the second shows how it rotated with a 80 deg wind shift over night, the wind has be gusting 30 knots, its good to know its dug in when it blows.

Wow, nice result and good pictures. It's doing a good job!

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

The 1st photo is our 45kg spade set yesterday at 4-1 using 3/4 power astern, the second shows how it rotated with a 80 deg wind shift over night, the wind has be gusting 30 knots, its good to know its dug in when it blows.

Doing really good work this anchor of Yours

And You - with camera

[noelex 77]

Thanks NB.

For some reason I have not seen many Spades so far this year and it is great to see the pictures of yours.

These shots are very typical of the steel Spade which is an excellent anchor. There is almost no heaping up. It has set quickly (the Spade is generally not as quick as the concave roll bar anchors, but the difference is small. It is much quicker than the convex plow anchors). It has completely buried the fluke and almost completely buried the shank. A great result.

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by DoubleWhisky

Doing really good work this anchor of Yours

And You - with camera

The 'manmaid' (he was called that yesterday by a boat that he helped to anchor) is doing a great job!

[NornaBiron]

Here are a few sets from today. First we have the 1st attempt of a Delta that clipped the weed, the 2nd is the same anchor very well set on sand. This just goes to show you need to hit the right spot and use the right technique

The third photo is of an Ultra, not sure how it was dropped as I was fitting a new y-valve to the loo. it's not all swimming and diving in clear water!

The fourth photo is of a Delta, zoom in for the spec

Lastly there's a Delta copy, I think. It was set using what I call the French method: motoring in, dropping going ahead and using the boats motion to set the anchor. It can work very well but can also be a bit hit and miss. This picture shows that even with a bent stock the anchor can do well in a good substrate.