Photos of Anchors Setting

[Opie91]

I can not wait to try my Mantus out this spring. You really pushed me over the edge with all your posts and pics. Thanks!!

[chouliha]

Noblex Once again thank you for all the effort you put in to these posts. I have been following along for some time and think it's a wonderful thing your mermaid does taking all these pics! Plus your explanation of each pic! Terrific!! Thank You!

Just curious what size boat you are using for these tests?

Regards

Chuck


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[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by chouliha

Just curious what size boat you are using for these tests?

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

We have a 48 foot aluminium cutter rigged cruising boat. It is a one off design made for a French couple who circumnavigated.

[noelex 77]

The water is getting colder and my mermaid came out shivering a little after this swim .

The underwater photos provide a bit more detail. Since the surface photograph I took when we arrived, the wind has swung 120 degrees and back again. You can see the characteristic hash marks made by the chain on the seabed. The anchor did not move. This is quite common.

It depends a bit on the depth of set and the size of the anchor, but if the wind is 20 knots or less a well set anchor will not rotate even if the boat and chain swing around. Many people imagine their anchor constantly moving, but a well set anchor takes a reasonable amount of force before it will even begin to rotate. Around 20 knots of wind is common point for anchors to rotate with the typical well set slightly oversized anchors that most cruisers use.

Note the isolated stones on the surface. Generally this points to similar stones buried under the substrate. An anchor that takes a long distance to set is likely to meet and be upset by one of these stones. Of more concern is that when faced with a stronger wind, an anchor that moves back a long way as it buries deeper is more likely to break out. Anchor tests don't use these sort of substrates because the results tend to be erratic, but in the real world these are the sort of things that are encountered.

A larger anchor is also a help. A small anchor will be hampered by even small stones that a larger anchor will push aside. Bigger is better .

There are some largish stones lurking close to the anchor visible in the third photo and probably more under the surface. An anchor that takes many metres to set and then moves back another metre or more as the wind picks up is a poor choice for this sort of substrate. Unfortunately, in the more populated areas manmade rubbish is very common and causes similar problems to these natural hazards.

[noelex 77]

The marks in the sand provide a record or history of what has happened to the anchor during setting and subsequently. I have made some notes on these photos to try to illustrate the wealth of information that can be gleaned looking at the pictures.

[Wotname]

Very nice (informative) analysis

[Tayana42]

Thank you Noelex and Mermaid for these terrific photos and analysis. Very informative and a great education for those of us on the hook. Your work is very much appreciated.


S/V B'Shert

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

I hope we don't hit magma . We are not very far from the volcanic island of Santorini, which supposedly lead to the demise of the Minoan civilisation when it exploded 3000 years ago. The main population centre was over a 100km away from the island so it must have been an enormous eruption.

This is close to the easiest substrate. There is not the tough hard sand layer that is present in many of the anchorages that I have photographed in this thread. Almost all anchors do well and look good in this sort of bottom. It is soft enough that any design of anchor will penetrate, but firm enough to still provide reasonable holding.

In high winds those anchors with only a small blade area can struggle to generate enough resistance, but it takes a lot of force before you see this. Watch for slow drags in this sort of substrate. An anchor struggling will often remain set, but slowly work its way backwards in the stronger gusts. Usually the owner is unaware.

The roll bar is the last part of the anchor to bury. It only starts to get buried when the fluke and almost all the shank are under the substrate. The Mantus has a big roll bar so the fluke is currently buried a long way down.

I took the photo below simply by placing the Mantus roll bar on the almost identical weight Rocna (57 and 55 kg respectively). It gives an impression of the relative size difference of the roll bars on these two anchors.

Let's hope the magma layer is a bit deeper .

I'm thinking of upgrading my Delta but because of my Selden bowsprit I have been looking for a roll bar less new gen anchor. Maybe the Mantus will work for me, so next time i'm on board I'll get out the tape measure

[Garrettw]

I live down the street from the Mantus facility. They were at the local boat show here a week ago and I bought one to augment my Delta, mainly because of Nolex's experiences here. The Mantus guys even brought the anchor to my boat and helped me install it! Seriously, who does that? We took it to an anchorage yesterday that usually gave the Delta fits. It has very loose mud that the Delta hated to set in. I can't recall ever getting it to set in less than two tries. The Mantus set hard almost instantly, even before I had a chance to play out much more than 2:1 scope. This is obviously anecdotal to anyone reading but it is nice to have some positive reinforcement of a purchase decision like that.


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[Sun and Moon]

Wow, what a great thread! I've learned so much about anchors and anchoring, and about what a well-set anchor looks like. Can't wait to get back to my boat and try it out! I also can't believe how poorly most boats are anchored, and how few drag, given how poorly they are anchored.

Thanks so much to Noelex and the Mermaid for all the work they put into this.
- Jim

[NornaBiron]

This winter we are in the Red Sea, anchoring in most places is prohibited if buoys are available. Where possible we pick up a mooring from a reef, relying on the wind to keep us away from the reef or using a kedge or stern mooring line as well. Generally the sand is a very thin layer over rock or coral so, when we do get the chance to anchor, we have to look hard for a good piece of ground.

Here are a few shots of our 45kg Spade, a 50kg Rocna, a Manson Supreme 27kg (I think), a 20kg Bugle and a 15kg Delta, all in the same anchorage. Last, we have us tied to a reef at Shab El Bahari. We are close to the reef so are also using a stern mooring line

[Prairie Chicken]

Garrettw, as great as Noelex's posts are, it's good to hear from someone else in another part of the world with different techniques. Glad to hear the Mantus performed so well in those conditions.

[fjwiley1]

This is/has been one of CF's most informative Thread with the first Post on 5/12/14. May not be the longest but must say the most enjoyable..... no one got upset about different opinions....

Thanks noelex77 n Mermaid....you are appreciated for a lot of your hard work by both..(Cold water too)

Life is good if you Keepa Smilin...🐬


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[Sailor g]

This thread has been so informative...and costly. I know I am looking more seriously at the new gen anchors. Seeing results is much more convincing. They still need to give you a commission!

[NornaBiron]

Here are some sets in our anchorage today. The sand is deep and soft with a clay type substrate. On our first attempt we laid out chain at 5-1 and slowly applied full power astern, it held for 40 seconds and then dragged backwards. We reset in another position with slightly more chain and applied full power astern for 1 minute. You can see our 45kg Spade has set well, it is the one with the red float. In the same anchorage there is a 27kg CQR with a good result, two 15kg Deltas - one good, the other could do with applying more power, a Manson Supreme 27kg showing a pretty good set but it always seems to lay on it's side, and another Spade, 25kg I think, showing a very good set.

I will try to photograph the Manson in each anchorage (we are sailing together) and see if the side set is a feature!