Anchor Question (sorry)

[Jimbo485]

Now THIS was one good, useful anchor thread for cats!

No fighting, no arm chair BS, just real world info straight from cat owners who are out there.

[philwicks]

We have a Sarca Excel No5 22 Kg on our 38' Seawind Cat and are very happy with it. Been down to Tasmania no problem holding in 30+ knots off Flinders Island, 35+ in Cameron's Corner Port Davey. Sets easily and just keeps burying itself.

[Nasa]

Just put a 33kg Rocna with 60m of G43 10mm chain on our Helia 44. The factory 20kg Delta will be the second. Rocna sizing chart recommends 40kg for our size cat but have you seen the size of that thing!!! Will let you know in a few months how it all worked out.

[tamicatana]

What is apparently the original anchor on my 1993 Catana is a steel, I think it's 35lb? BRITTANY, and 100' of chain. I had my doubts when I left Virginia with it but it's set well and held well so far. The Catana was in charter in Martinique for 10 years and it appears that Brittany did her just fine.

For my cruising anchor for my F-27GS trimaran I had a Manson Supreme which is the best anchor I've seen so far for all conditions. That said, in the northern Gulf an appropriately sized Fortress is good for our mud and sand, but in the Keys grass it doesn't set (hence the purchase of the Manson.)

I think the Brittany will be replaced for local work by the Fortress, and I'll get a Manson for her primary once she begins travelling

[mark_morwood]

Originally Posted by Nasa

Just put a 33kg Rocna with 60m of G43 10mm chain on our Helia 44. The factory 20kg Delta will be the second. Rocna sizing chart recommends 40kg for our size cat but have you seen the size of that thing!!! Will let you know in a few months how it all worked out.

We've had a 33kg Rocna on our Catana 48 for the last 5 years and have been happy with it. We've been down the US east coast, through the Bahamas, TCI and to Dominica in the last 10 months and have not dragged once. In fact I think it's only failed to set first time twice in that time frame.

When I swapped email with Rocna when we bought the anchor, they thought the 33 was about right for our boat with chain. Our boat only weighs 12t so fits in the lower column for the length in their table.

Mark.

[estarzinger]

I am curious if anyone has considered/tried the aluminum Spades? They would seem like an interesting choice for a multi-hull.

[mark_morwood]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

I am curious if anyone has considered/tried the aluminum Spades? They would seem like an interesting choice for a multi-hull.

We have a Spade A100 (26lbs) as our secondary anchor. This is at least a size smaller in area than our Rocna 33 primary. We went with Aluminium to maximise the surface area/holding for weight to make it easier to deploy from the dinghy. We haven't used it enough to really give a review, but we have been happy with it the times we've used it.

When I talked to Spade at a boat show, they recommended the steel ones for your primary anchor. I seem to recall there were some reports/complaints of the Aluminium shafts bending in some situations.

Our 3rd anchor is a Guardian/Fortress.

Mark.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

I am curious if anyone has considered/tried the aluminum Spades? They would seem like an interesting choice for a multi-hull.

Evans, a pal of ours with a 55 foot cat had one steel and one alloy Spade of the recommended size (don't remember exact number). The steel one worked very well, but the alloy one's shank bent the first time he used it.

Cheers,

Jim

[dochueb]

Originally Posted by Nasa

Just put a 33kg Rocna with 60m of G43 10mm chain on our Helia 44. The factory 20kg Delta will be the second. Rocna sizing chart recommends 40kg for our size cat but have you seen the size of that thing!!! Will let you know in a few months how it all worked out.

How does it fit under the trampoline?

DH

[noelex 77]

I have observed quite a few when diving. Unfortunately it does not set anywhere near as well as the steel version. Although to kind it works reasonably in softer substrates.

Expect CQR performance in a lightweight package.

It is a pity the market really needs another good aluminium anchor . The steel Spade is one of the best, but the design has not made the jump to aluminium gracefully for some reason.

[estarzinger]

^^ thanks, and interesting comments on the aluminum spade

Sounds like there is a market opportunity for someone to build a working aluminum 'next gen' type anchor. Perhaps put a steel cutting edge on it using explosion welded bi-metal flat bar, and make sure the shank is correctly sized for the aluminum spec.

Fortress want to add a product to your line??

[tamicatana]

I have wondered whether aluminium would work for a Bügel/Manson/Rocna type, provided some weight given to the tip

[Kettlewell]

I think rather than adapting an existing design, it would be best to design in aluminum from the get go. Of course, Fortress did use the basic design laid out by Danforth, but on close examination there are many significant differences in construction. They didn't just translate a Danforth into aluminum.

[Tan Anu]

We have a 20kg Rocna on our Seawind 1000, this anchor replaced several Ploughs which did exactly that, ploughed and dragged.


We're very happy with the Rocna on an all chain rode with a heavy rope bridle. Factors comments on the convex vs concave design are relevant, the Rocna can bring up a fair bit of bottom "samples" for your viewing pleasure, we get underway slowly with the anchor just breaking the surface and find the water movement sluices it pretty clean in no time, it can then be retrieved without getting mud every where. Having a foredeck pressure washer (thanks Seawind) soon disposes of any thing coming off the rode during retrieval. This anchor really bites into the bottom and we've yet to drag including in some pretty heavy conditions. We never use the winch only to break out, we tend to motor slowly ahead until the rode is nearly vertical, clinch it off on the main cleat and use some engine power or wave action to break out.

We still have the last plough on board as an auxiliary anchor and also carry a small Danforth which does double duty as the dinghy anchor and a surprisingly effective (give n its size) kedge or stern anchor for when there is a need to prevent the boat swinging.

The size of the Rocna is possibly overkill for our size boat (33ft 5.5t) but given our previous experiences we wanted to be sure. As a result we get a good nights sleep.

[Tan Anu]

The Rocna can be seen in place here.