Best Anchor for my Sailboat

[marlinmike]

10kg Rocna, end of story!

[Adventurebound]

Originally Posted by marlinmike

10kg Rocna, end of story!

I like never ending stories and I think "anchors" qualifies as one of them.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by JonJo

Noelex,

When you give the Excel the same complimentary treatment you are doing of the Mantus (you still have not looked at the bolts that hold it together) you might be qualified to comment. You have never tried an Excel - save your criticism until you have used one.

Frankly I find it, I'll try to to be 'nice' and not fall foul of the moderators, that you are happy to extol the virtues of the Rocna - and you have used one for a significant number of years and constantly define the number of days you have been at anchor and not once have you mentioned that a Rocna clogs - many people have posted of Rocna's clogging but you - with so many nights at anchor, so many anchorages - not one word. Credible?

I fail to understand how you can make negative comment on use of a cast steel toe, its environmentally friendly, its cheap, its does not melt if you ever need to re-gal. The major advantage is - it works - but you would not know this as you have never used one.

Equally - you have never used an alloy Excel. I have used one for the last 12 months. Please try to accept that using one is better then guessing. You think it so important to bag the Excel - please buy and try one of each (like I have done), try them and then comment.

I rate the Excel along with a Spade. But you have not tried the Spade either - but you feel free to bag it, whenever possible.

In the interim you sound awfully like a salesman, for another anchor maker.

Jonathan

Jonathan,

First of all my declaration:

1. I do believe the EXCEL is good anchor. I never used one, but there is enough of good user feedback to believe this.
2. I had a mail correspondence with Rex and I do believe he is both nice and competent guy really.
3. I have no connection to any anchor maker in the world.

I have a Rocna. For me it is good anchor. It never clogged yet. I didn't anchor on the thick weed with Rocna, I anchored in thick mud and soft mud.
I didn't report clogging of my Rocna, just because I didn't have such an experience.
There were some reports of clogging the roll bar anchors in weed and mud. I believe this problem can regard roll bar anchors in general rather than Rocna in specific.
I can not find any criticism of Excel in Noelex posts in this thread.
I can not sing the song of glory for Excel, as I didn't ever use one.
May be it will change one time.
Noelex can not sing the song of glory for Excel, as he didn't ever use one.
May be it will change one time.

Does this everything make me sounding awfully like a salesman, for another anchor maker?
If so, Your post can be read as making You sounding awfully like a salesman, for well known anchor maker

It is not my intention to make any rant here, but I'm under impression that it is enough for You to read the word EXCEL in any Noelex' post to be sure he is bashing this anchor

Read again - all Noelex wrote is:

1. Excel is good anchor
2. It is interesting if aluminium version of EXCEL can be even better than steel one.
3. He feels other kind of aluminium for shank can be more resistant to corrosion issues.

Where is the bashing???
Or Rocna promotion (over EXCEL)???

Just do not be oversensitive

Cheers

Tomasz

[JonJo]

Hi Tomasz,

Thanks,

Jonathan

[Adventurebound]

Just bought my 6kg Rocna, the only one in stock in Perth. When the applause dies down, I'll put forward my next question. Instructions with the Rocna state it is not specific for rock and coral but will hold and may get stuck [implying that this is where it is least effective] In a tandem setup, the second anchor should be one for rock and coral. What anchor specializes holding in rock and coral?

[noelex 77]

Nothing holds reliably in rock. It is very much a lottery. If the fluke, or the anchor itself, gets jammed between the rocks it can hold, but there is a high risk that you cannot get the anchor out.
In practice you just do not anchor there. The charts often give an indication of the type of of bottom. None of the listed anchorages in the pilot book or cruising guides will have a bottom like this, because it is just not suitable.

If forced to anchor in a rock bottom the best idea is to use the cheapest anchor you have because it will hurt less if you loose it. As the anchor cannot dig in a sophisticated design is not very important. The fishermen sometimes use a grapnel anchor, with its multiple points it is more likely to grab something. Sometimes the flukes are made thin enough that they can be pulled straight if caught, but it is only suitable for temporary stops. A Fisherman's anchor (or the derivatives), or a Bruce (with its three cornered fluke) are more conventional anchors that have a better chance than most of grabbing.

A more realistic problem is a thin layer of sand over smooth rock. This is not a common anchoring substrate, but is seen, and can be a bit of nightmare. The anchor cannot dig in because of the rock layer underneath. The best solution is to hunt around until you find an area that has slightly thicker sand.
This substrate is not reliable but the large concave blade area incorporated in the design of your new Rocna makes the most use of the limited depth of set.(Although a big anchor for the boat size is much better).The Danforth anchor is also quite good. The convex blade anchors are the worst. The smaller blade area and the lower resistance of convex shape means they need to bury deeply to hold which is not possible.

You should not anchor on Coral. You will damage it.
However a lot of the anchorages in the tropical coral regions regions are in areas where the bay has a rim of coral, but the centre, where you anchor, consists of a a coarse sand composed largely of dead bits of coral that have broken up crumbled and dropped to sea floor.
It is not a demanding substrate, the sand is quite soft, most anchors do very well in this type of bottom. The Rocna will do very well, but I have used even the humble CQR for many nights in this type of substrate and felt quite secure.

(Note the above coral references are to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific islands. I have not sailed around The west coast of Australia. Someone else will be able to give you some local guide as to the type of substrates found)

[noelex 77]

If you are looking for an anchor to compliment the Rocna a Fortress (or the Guardian which is cheaper version) would be my first choice. It is an ideal stern anchor that can be easily carried. It can also be rapidly swum out using a small fender if you run around. It has very high holding power. If your are still keen to do a lot of tandem anchoring it can be added for very little extra weight.

Finally if you want to stop for lunch it is a very lightweight anchor to deploy.

The other alternative is a specialist weed anchor. The Fisherman's is often chosen but it is not a great option for tandem anchoring because one fluke that sticks up above the seabed. This can sometimes catch the rode. The Marsh anchor is very popular in the sometimes weedy cruising grounds around South Australia region. It only has a very limited fluke area so needs to be heavy and big. It gets some good reports but I have not seen it underwater so I cannot pass on any first hand observations with this anchor. However, it is one of the few specialist weed anchors that will not catch the rode and is readily available in Australia.

Talk to the locals and get an idea of the common problem substrates in the area you plan to cruise before making any final decisions.

[Adventurebound]

Ok, thanx Nolex. I'll see how confident I get with the Rocna. The extra work of a tandem would be saved for very high wind conditions. Might make a hand winch on the bow to raise the anchor[s]. Met a pleasant guy at the marina. He said he had a line going from the anchor line to the back of the boat where he collected and stored the anchor. He never had to go to the bow to anchor. Still trying to visualize exactly how that works.

[marlinmike]

Good choice, after a little time you'll have great confidence with it and never look back, as in, are we drifting.........?

[Adventurebound]

Originally Posted by marlinmike

Good choice, after a little time you'll have great confidence with it and never look back, as in, are we drifting.........?

Thanx, from now on the only thing that will be drifting is my mind. [you know, long lonely voyages without female company]

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Adventurebound

Ok, thanx Nolex. I'll see how confident I get with the Rocna. The extra work of a tandem would be saved for very high wind conditions. Might make a hand winch on the bow to raise the anchor[s]. Met a pleasant guy at the marina. He said he had a line going from the anchor line to the back of the boat where he collected and stored the anchor. He never had to go to the bow to anchor. Still trying to visualize exactly how that works.

Don't think too many recommend or use anchor in tandem system. always better with a larger anchor. If anchor size is marginal plenty of chain if not all chain is in order. For overnight anchoring I would imagine you will not be in extremely deep water and lighter all chain rode is manageable by hand with gloves.

Cheers

[boatman61]

Don't have a boat.. so do I have the right to comment...
Me..?? I love the Bruce with all chain.. but then I'm a Luddite who never use's the engine to 'back down' on his anchor... don't buy yachting magazines either to trawl through the latest and greatest lump of metal and their dumb tests... and all those theoretical numbers that seem like the bible to folks..
Often wonder why they don't get some old boat and anchor it in a forecast storm instead of doing tests on a sandy beach using a tractor with a steady pull at the most favourable angle... no jerking, pitching and tossing... apart from the 'experts'...
Only anchor ever 'failed' on me is the Danforth type..

[Coops]

That's just heresy Boatie. Not reading yachting magazines and heeding what all those journalistic experts say. You should be ashamed of all those miles at sea that you have done in ignorance and sheer bliss from just being there.

Coops.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Don't have a boat.. so do I have the right to comment...
Me..?? I love the Bruce with all chain.. but then I'm a Luddite who never use's the engine to 'back down' on his anchor... don't buy yachting magazines either to trawl through the latest and greatest lump of metal and their dumb tests... and all those theoretical numbers that seem like the bible to folks..
Often wonder why they don't get some old boat and anchor it in a forecast storm instead of doing tests on a sandy beach using a tractor with a steady pull at the most favourable angle... no jerking, pitching and tossing... apart from the 'experts'...
Only anchor ever 'failed' on me is the Danforth type..

HI Boatie.
One Awld fella who taught me bits and pieces 35 years ago was of the same opinion as you. He had all chain on the anchor. He would go upwind/tide, drop it and let it back to where he wanted to be, then when it held, dropped a load of chain... this is from recollection so I might have it slightly wrong. I asked him if it ever moved....... he just gave me the awld fella look like "I dont believe you are asking such dumb questions.."
I dont remember what anchor it was.

[Adventurebound]

Originally Posted by downunder

For overnight anchoring I would imagine you will not be in extremely deep water and lighter all chain rode is manageable by hand with gloves.

Cheers

My yacht draws 1 foot with the keel up, downunder. For fun, say I anchor 5:1 sope in 1 foot water, I need 5 feet anchor rope. In an emergency I could tie a few lengths of shoelace for anchor rope.