Plow Anchors?

[SKMT]

Is there any bottom type that a plow is preferrable to a mantus style anchor?

My trawler came with a 45lb Danforth plow (cqr style). I immediately bought an 85lb mantus. The plow has been sitting on my foredeck for 6 years. Twice i've had to throw a backup anchor, but the boat also came with a Danforth 35H on bow chocks, so that is my emergency backup. I also have a Danforth 20H in the cockpit ready for an unlikely need to deploy an emergency stern anchor.

Now recently i have aquired three 70lb danforths to construct a semi permanent mooring. At this point I can't imagine any reason to keep the plow unless it happens to be notably superior to the mantus in a particular bottom?

[Kettlewell]

Is there any bottom type that a plow is preferrable to a mantus style anchor?

IMHO, no. I used successfully a 45lb. genuine CQR for many years, but sold it once I moved to a Bulwagga, and now I have been using a Mantus for about 12 years with perfect success. Pound for pound the Mantus will hold better in any bottom I have tried. But, maybe you could use the plow as a small boat mooring.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by SKMT

Is there any bottom type that a plow is preferrable to a mantus style anchor?

My trawler came with a 45lb Danforth plow (cqr style). I immediately bought an 85lb mantus. The plow has been sitting on my foredeck for 6 years. Twice i've had to throw a backup anchor, but the boat also came with a Danforth 35H on bow chocks, so that is my emergency backup. I also have a Danforth 20H in the cockpit ready for an unlikely need to deploy an emergency stern anchor.

Now recently i have aquired three 70lb danforths to construct a semi permanent mooring. At this point I can't imagine any reason to keep the plow unless it happens to be notably superior to the mantus in a particular bottom?

Are you sure it is a Danforth plow, they don't offer plows now (only fluke anchors) and as far as I know never did.

Whatever the manufacturer of the plow, it's a back up for when the Mantus breaks or has to be abandoned.
If you pick up another all around anchor to be backup then think about disposing of it.

The Mantus is an all around scoop anchor like most or all of the latest generation of anchors and is decent to very good in most bottoms.
Bruce/Claw (finger) & CQR/Delta (Plow) were also all around anchors. Some people made a point of carrying 1 of each since in some conditions where one type wouldn't hold the other would.

There are 2 anchor types that are generally superior to all around anchors under specific conditions.

In rock or kelp the tradition/fisherman/Luke anchor is usually preferable.
In sand or mud where veering/reversing loads are not expected a fluke anchor (Danforth/Fortress) is preferred.
In very soft mud the Fortress, which can be set to a higher fluke to stock angle is preferred.

[Panope]

Originally Posted by SKMT

Is there any bottom type that a plow is preferrable to a mantus style anchor?

I have inspected, but not tested a Danforth Plow (CQR copy).

Assuming it has the same performance (it may not) as the genuine CQRs that I have tested extensively, then it may have a small holding power advantage (pound for pound) over a Mantus M1 in some SANDY seabeds found in PNW.

That said, I would not say it is preferable because the M1 will almost always have a setting advantage when the seabed is contaminated by weeds or other debris. These seabeds are not viewable from the surface, so I argue that it it is best to be prepared for the worst case, and would prefer the superior all-around performance of the M1.

[SKMT]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Whatever the manufacturer of the plow, it's a back up for when the Mantus breaks or has to be abandoned.
If you pick up another all around anchor to be backup then think about disposing of it.

This has been my reasoning for keeping it thus far. However now that i am making this triple Danforth mooring, the mantus will essentially be my back up in long term mooring situations. Only in transient anchoring situations, will the mantus will be used (and i don't move around much at this point). So in the rare event that the mantus is actually being used AND is lost or damaged, i figure i could just deploy the triple danforths until i am able to get a replacement.

I don't know...I enjoy stockpiling the tools to be prepared for anything. And the plow surely isn't worth much if sold. But I just was thinking that might be an excessive amount of anchors to keep on hand 😆.

[SKMT]

Originally Posted by Panope

I have inspected, but not tested a Danforth Plow (CQR copy).

Assuming it has the same performance (it may not) as the genuine CQRs that I have tested extensively, then it may have a small holding power advantage (pound for pound) over a Mantus M1 in some SANDY seabeds found in PNW.

That said, I would not say it is preferable because the M1 will almost always have a setting advantage when the seabed is contaminated by weeds or other debris. These seabeds are not viewable from the surface, so I argue that it it is best to be prepared for the worst case, and would prefer the superior all-around performance of the M1.

Thanks for your response sir. Since a foremost expert on anchors has graced my thread, I'm wondering if I can extract one more piece of knowledge from you?

A Danforth 35 High Tensile claims 3800lbs holding power. Meanwhile a Danforth 70 Standard claims only 3000. The 70S has much bigger flukes. So I have to assume the Standard must be rated to a point at which it will break or bend (instead of pull out)?

I also assume these ratings are based on an ideal holding bottom, possibly sand? So my question is, in a medium to firm mud, which would actually have a higher holding, the 35H or the 70S?

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by SKMT

This has been my reasoning for keeping it thus far. However now that i am making this triple Danforth mooring, the mantus will essentially be my back up in long term mooring situations. Only in transient anchoring situations, will the mantus will be used (and i don't move around much at this point). So in the rare event that the mantus is actually being used AND is lost or damaged, i figure i could just deploy the triple danforths until i am able to get a replacement.

I don't know...I enjoy stockpiling the tools to be prepared for anything. And the plow surely isn't worth much if sold. But I just was thinking that might be an excessive amount of anchors to keep on hand 😆.

Triple Danforth for a mooring seems not unreasonable, but I took moorings to be more or less permanent so in transit you would leave to Danforths with the mooring ball at your normal mooring location and still need a backup while in locations other than your normal mooring.

[Panope]

Originally Posted by SKMT

Thanks for your response sir. Since a foremost expert on anchors has graced my thread, I'm wondering if I can extract one more piece of knowledge from you?

A Danforth 35 High Tensile claims 3800lbs holding power. Meanwhile a Danforth 70 Standard claims only 3000. The 70S has much bigger flukes. So I have to assume the Standard must be rated to a point at which it will break or bend (instead of pull out)?

I suppose that is possible. Or, it could be that the much better detailing of the HT models (tapered shank, sharp leading edges, etc) results in the anchor diving deeper. I believe 'depth of bury' is just as important or sometimes more important than fluke area.



I also assume these ratings are based on an ideal holding bottom, possibly sand? So my question is, in a medium to firm mud, which would actually have a higher holding, the 35H or the 70S?

I would really need to test both to give an answer. While I have tested the HT, the closest to a STANDARD model was a very poor copy that failed to set at all.

.....

[GordMay]

FWIW: “a 45lb Danforth plow (cqr style)” is a contradiction in terms.
A ‘Danforth’ is not a plow, but a lightweight fluke style anchor. A ‘CQR’ is a type of plow, but not a ‘Danforth’.
Danforth ➥ https://danforthanchors.com/

CQR ➥ https://www.lewmar.com/content/cqr-anchors-galvanised

[Renegde_Sailor]

My boat had a CQR when I bought it, sailed her and anchored quite a bit for several years and it loved to drag. You had to be johnny on the spot in a storm or you were going on the beach.

I still have dreams about it and cannot sleep well in bad weather even if tied to a dock.

That anchor got stuck in the rock bottom up in northern BC on my way to Alaska last year, there it remains.

Bought a Bruce to replace it and have been simply amazed what a better anchor it is.

The CQR works, but not well. I have not owned a mantus, but I have never heard anyone complain about them.

[Hope123]

Well everyone shared useful inforation and could help in understanding advantages and how to use it in best ways. Thansk for sharing this also share your sights about what the best ways for storing plow anchors when not in use?

[Kettlewell]

Danforth made a Deepset plow anchor that had a very thin shank designed to let it penetrate the bottom well, which doesn't often happen with a genuine CQR anchor. Scroll down in this thread to read a bit about them: https://panbo.com/three-strand-or-pl...hich-windlass/

Lots of people call genuine CQR anchors and all the many knockoff imitations "plows," but in my experience they can have radically different dimensions and performance. Some generic plows might perform well, but many did not. The generics often suffered from poor construction too.

[thomm225]

I used my old and worn CQR that came with my boat for 11 years here on the lower to mid Chesapeake Bay and it did great!

Bottoms here are mostly mud and sand, but every now and then you will hit a hard spot which can cause a bit of trouble.

Even though I was a long time sailboat racer and boat owner, I had never owned a cruising boat or anchored over night to sleep.

So, I had a knack early on for picking really beautiful spots to anchor but bad as far as protection.

Several times I was caught on lee shores with winds to 25 knots and waves coming in off the ocean trying to push my boat up onto the beach.

Usually the worst was around 1 am it seemed and all I could do was pray my old CQR would hold as I was going nowhere with my 5 hp outboard.

The CQR always held in these situations.

I had a backup one off Bruce Anchor, rode, and chain ready to go but never deployed it in those situations for fear of fouling my main anchor.

I finally bought a Mantus M1 as my CQR was just getting too worn out.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by SKMT

Now recently i have aquired three 70lb danforths to construct a semi permanent mooring.

FWIW, I would put some SCUBA gear on and optimally rig and position the anchors. Then with a sledge hammer drive the flukes of each of 3 Danforths firmly into the bottom.

[Kettlewell]

By the way, Danforth-type anchors are not all the same, just like plows vary a lot. Genuine Danforth anchors are great, but some of the knock offs not so good. I bought a knock off for a small boat and it would not hold in anything. Bought the same-sized genuine Danforth and it worked great.