Identify this anchor

[Michael Conway-Brown]

Maybe "Force 7" make?

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Michael Conway-Brown

I think your anchor is a Chinese Delta knock-off that works poorly.

See post #35. This means it is a genuine Delta.

Deltas have cast steel not lead ballast.

[Michael Conway-Brown]

All the Delta anchors I've seen have the Delta name cast right into the steel.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Michael Conway-Brown

All the Delta anchors I've seen have the Delta name cast right into the steel.

When new they have a sticker on the shank announcing “Delta” (the “a” is sometimes replaced with the mathematical symbol for Delta) , but this rapidly wears off. The only permanent mark is on the underside of the fluke (see post #8).

Are you perhaps thinking of the CQR?

Below is a photo of a genuine Delta:

[wsmurdoch]

Older Delta anchors made by Simpson Lawrence have the Simpson Lawrence cube mark on their bottom. (the anchor had just been re-galvanized and the shop drilled the hole to see if there was a void.)

[vk4hr]

We had this style anchor and replaced it after it failed several times in sandy mud. We upgraded to the Excel #6.
The Delta is now our 2nd anchor

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by Ryban

Another good overview video where he ranks all the anchors he tested is here:

One really important note about his tests is that the majority of them are done in mud or soft mud bottoms, whereas the vast majority of anchorages in popular tropical cruising grounds are sandy.

"Popular tropical cruising grounds" may be sandy, but I wonder what percentage of total sailboat anchorings are set in "popular tropical cruising" grounds. Personally, I have been cruising either on my own boat or my parents boats since the early 70s. In the last 2 years we've covered 7,000 miles, a large percentage swinging on our own anchor. With the exception of a few days at charter or on friends boats, I have never been south of the Chesapeake Bay. Granted, we found a fair number of hard sand anchorages in Quebec, PEI, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. But not too many in "popular tropical cruising grounds."


My point is that many people assume that the only people sailing, or the only ones worth mentioning, are doing a tradewinds circumnavigation. The assumption being that no one anchors in mud or sails upwind. The vast majority of sailors routinely do both of those.

[rossdv8]

U switched to delta and used one for about ten years across a couple of boats. It held comfortably in all bottoms at up to 40 knots wind and sometimes 2 metre breaking waves rolling through one anchorage (Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays).


At that time I was sailing little 'Quarter Tonners' (26 foot racing class) and they were sometimes a handful in those conditions. But the Delta was fine provided I stuck to my normal rule and laid out twice the boat length in decent chain (for that sized boat I used 10mm) and then the usual 5:1 scope plus the maximum tide range.



I found out over years on various sized yachts that the ideal minimum chain length before the Nylon seemed to be about twice the hull length. It was a pain to pull up from deep water, but once it was lying on the bottom, all the anchor even had to do was stop the heavy length of chain dragging.


That rig also worked on the old CQR, but I had far fewer jammed thumbs handling the Delta, than with the CQR

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by KneadingWater

Newby asking newby question.



This is a photo of our secondary anchor for a 2005 IP420.
What is the anchor type (and from there I can learn about what it is best used for).



I don't have a weight (at present) and there are no markings.


Thank you.

Looks like a Delta.
With your question you have entered the never ending 'my anchor is better than yours" blog.