Photos of Anchors Setting

[noelex 77]

Sorry, it is just a photo from the surface in this anchorage. It was too cold even for my Mermaid and the water here is not as attractive for swimming. 10m @ 5:1.

The Mantus has set quickly and level, but not as deeply as it normally does. Some of the anchorages in the more southern group of islands we are visiting have a very hard substrate. The holding is actually quite good providing the anchor can gain penetration, but the anchor does not set quite as deeply. The concern is always that that there can be an area of rock just under the surface.

[Kenomac]

Now, you appear to be anchored in the hard stuff I was describing last August from Sardinia. The same type bottom which we dragged a couple of times and caused us many times to perform multiple sets using the Ultra. Good luck.

[noelex 77]

This Bruce anchor belongs to a friend of ours. They have only been cruising six months, but had a flawless anchoring technique.

Unfortunately, their Bruce was not quite so good and for the first three attempts failed to hold their setting force of 1700 on both engines (it's a cat) for 20 seconds.

On the forth try it did hold and this was the result (they dropped around 100m from our anchor in the previous shot). This is a hard substrate and the fluke is at least reasonably buried although the anchor is still completely on its side:

[Prairie Chicken]

Attached are two images of the same set. The first is a little funky as I was adjusting levels to get a better view of the subject. Our Rocna was set in 5.5 m with a 4:1 rode but these images were taken the following morning from the surface while she was lying on chain.

The anchor has dug into the sand with a bit of list. I believe there is a harder surface beneath the sand as typically the Rocna sets flat in this sort of sand.

[Prairie Chicken]

On the few encounters we had with weed this fall we found the Rocna was reluctant to dig in. This was the second attempt to set in this anchorage. In the first instance the anchor was laying on it's side on the weed after having been dragged under power. I dove on the anchor after the first attempt & there was no doubt we were moving, and not just because of the anchor's failure to set. Perhaps only 10 m astern and to the right of our anchor was a sunken mooring assembly of at least three roll-bar anchors, likely five, as I could see the heavy chain connecting them running out in a star shape but couldn't actually see the last two. The sunken buoy marking it's spot would be of no aid to an unsuspecting sailor.

In this set we were again in about 5 m with about a 4:1 scope. Again this was taken the following morning in glassy conditions.

[JPA Cate]

Prairie Chicken,

Thanks for adding your pictures to the thread. It's all grist for the mill.

Noelex,

Now that the season is coming to an end, I've been wondering about your Rocna that also performed satisfactorily for you. How much does it weigh? That Mantus that has been doing such a good job this season, it is a very heavy anchor. Do you think it sets so well because of its shape, or its weight? My question, I guess, is relative to your opinion of how much bigger is better? and the thoughts behind the opinion.

Thanks.

Ann

[SVNeko]

My questions also. Would like insight into whether the Mantus performance was due to its shape or simply massive size.

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[noelex 77]

This is another very hard sand anchorage. The anchor was dropped in 9m @5:1.

The anchor held our full reverse setting criterion on the first drop as per usual. It has set in the typical very short distance, but only 2/3 of the fluke is buried. Very hard sand like this does provide a lot of holding power if the fluke penetrates, but anchors need to be reasonably buried to "shuffle" around to a new wind direction so a deeper set is more reassuring.



I was curious to see if using a longer setting time would result in any improvement. Our setting technique is to gradually work up to full reverse and hold that for 30 seconds. This is about average for experienced cruisers, but some hold full reverse for a minute or more.

So with my Mermaid watching I applied full reverse for a minute more. She managed to catch this photo from the bottom while the full setting force was being applied. You can see there is virtually no chain catenary left. The chain looks straight all the way to the boat. The angle of pull on the shank is governed by the scope once you get up to this sort of force (about the same as 30 knots of wind).

The extra minute of setting time did very little as you can see. Perhaps the fluke has buried a tiny bit more, but it is a marginal difference.

[noelex 77]

Those who have followed the thread from the beginning will know that Mantus supplied the anchor at no charge for me to test.

A very confident offer from Greg knowing how happy I have been with the same sized Rocna for the last 5 years. However, I value my reputation and to remove any suggestion of favouritism, I have decided to treat the anchor as a loan only short term.

Frankly this anchor is too good to return though, so I have paid full retail price (less the standard CF discount) for the anchor.

My reports have always been "warts and all" and will continue to be so. The winter gales should provide some testing conditions for the Mantus, which will continue to be my primary anchor. I will report its performance as before.

[surfmachine]

Mate. Don't worry about the critics section. Keep your money! We should be paying you for all your time and efforts to give us all extremely important information about your hard won experience on this vital topic of anchoring.

Wonderful posts Noelex.

Cheers from Keith.

[Tayana42]

#1. Thank you for the wonderfully valuable thread. Post showing your Mantus as well as the photos of other anchors and setting techniques are the best education on anchoring I have found anywhere. Please keep it up. I'm still learning.


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[JPA Cate]

Tayana, it's November now, I don't know how long the mermaid will want to take pictures!

I sure wish some of the Aussies would post more pictures: different anchors, different bottoms, plus it's summer here.

I agree, this has been an extremely interesting thread. It has been my unabashed favorite!

Ann

[Tayana42]

Ann, you are our other favorite "mermaid."


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[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

In this set we were again in about 5 m with about a 4:1 scope. Again this was taken the following morning in glassy conditions.

Did you catch the anchor diving bug from me last summer? What camera are you using?

Ken

[BigBeakie]

Noelex,

Compliments to the mermaid on these photos, they are excellent.

Your last photo in the harder bottom substrate made me wonder re the bigger is better question. In that bottom, where there is not as much penetration, do you believe that if you had high winds, ie. significantly above 30 kts, that the bigger anchor would just dig in more with the additional force? Or would it be at risk of releasing and then dragging?

I realise that is what we would all want to know , but what is your opinion on what would happen in that photo if we could video it and apply much greater force, such as 50 kts wind on a high windage cat?