Rocna 55 (121lb) vs Mantus M1 (125lb)

[SV__Grace]

The original Rocna changed my life when it was first introduced as it set easily and fast every time and held like the dickens.

Later moved up to a larger boat with a bowsprit roller we switched to the Vulcan (recently introduced at the time with zero user reviews so we took a chance) as the roll bar wouldn't fit of the original Rocna Very different anchor- can be finicky to set (absolutely requires 5:1 scope before dragging or will skip on the surface) but held us through many gales and we trusted it 100% once set.

Following the tests of Panope, Practical Sailor, Morgan's Cloud and others the data seems to be favoring losing the roll bar as it is prone to fouling, especially upon resets, which might be rare, but makes sense and my priority is to sleep well at night by maximizing safety and performance and minimizing risk.

Based upon the test data and recommendations from the above, including our beloved Panope, losing the roll bar is prudent, and the two best rated non-roll bar anchors are Excel and Spade. So of course I had to have them both and love 'em as I get the experience I had with the first Rocna- they both set fast, easily and reliably every time (given a decent bottom).

[pbmaise]

I suggest thinking a bit long term...one of these anchors is far more easily regalvanized.

[Tsailor46]

At the risk of stirring up bottom mud on things here,



Reco, also check out vikinganchors.com



They build a really nice HT steel product also, and their outstanding performance has been borne out multiple times in SV Panope testing also... at price points south of Mantus options, to boot.



Just sayin

[carlwk3c]

The 4 bolts on the Mantus are EACH strong enough to hold past the point where your chain would likely break.
I normally anchor our PSC 34 with a 35# CQR on 5/16 G40 chain. (It has never dragged except once in Luperón when it fouled on about 10’ of chain someone left on the bottom. Of course, since we were in the process of backing down after deploying the anchor, we realized it wasn’t set, pulled it up, unfouled it, and it set perfectly on the next try. So, I’m not interested in “CQRs suck” comments or debates.)
That said, our storm anchor is a 65# Mantus. It fits on our bow roller just fine and for 3 hurricane seasons in Grenada it’s sat there waiting to be deployed if our mooring failed in a storm, or if we had to cast off the mooring to get out of the way of a dragging boat and were unable to go back and pick up the mooring. (Much easier to deploy the anchor than pick up a bouy in a heavy blow with waves.)
The advantage for us of the Mantus, compared to a comparably sized Rocna, is the ability to disassemble it and stow the pieces. It only takes a few minutes to put it together snd torque the bolts down, but that time is if no consequence since we would have it together and ready to go before conditions deteriorated to the point it was needed.
In summary, I am convinced that the Mantus anchors are every bit as durable as their similarly sized Rocna cousins.
When it comes time to replace our 35# CQR, or when the mood strikes me, I will in all probability replace it with a Mantus.

[Muaddib1116]

Originally Posted by SV__Grace

The original Rocna changed my life when it was first introduced as it set easily and fast every time and held like the dickens.

Later moved up to a larger boat with a bowsprit roller we switched to the Vulcan (recently introduced at the time with zero user reviews so we took a chance) as the roll bar wouldn't fit of the original Rocna Very different anchor- can be finicky to set (absolutely requires 5:1 scope before dragging or will skip on the surface) but held us through many gales and we trusted it 100% once set.

Following the tests of Panope, Practical Sailor, Morgan's Cloud and others the data seems to be favoring losing the roll bar as it is prone to fouling, especially upon resets, which might be rare, but makes sense and my priority is to sleep well at night by maximizing safety and performance and minimizing risk.

Based upon the test data and recommendations from the above, including our beloved Panope, losing the roll bar is prudent, and the two best rated non-roll bar anchors are Excel and Spade. So of course I had to have them both and love 'em as I get the experience I had with the first Rocna- they both set fast, easily and reliably every time (given a decent bottom).

I've put a Maine cruising season on a 110lb Excel and a 121lb Vulcan each. They were both really good as far as I could tell. I didn't notice a large difference in setting performance. They both had one or two sets where I could drag during power setting, so I re-anchored. My gut feel is that the Vulcan sets slightly better. I got the Vulcan because its short shank fit my boat better, so I hope that when I head south next fall it continues to impress in tropical sand.

[BBill]

Between the two I would choose the one that isnt bolted together. Otherwise, choose the one that works best in the bottom you will be anchoring in. There is no such thing as one anchor doing it best in all bottoms.

[Dr.No]

After extensive research, I went with a one piece 88 lb. Sarca Excel, as the absolute BEST for my 22,000 pound empty 53 footer. These are made in Australia, and the import guys in Vancouver talked me down from going larger. I have a 176 lb. Lewmar Claw as the hurricane anchor. I recommend that you look at the Sarca Excel. Cheers!

[SV__Grace]

We have the exact same anchor, Excel #8, which is two sizes up for our 38,000 lb/20 ton ketch.

Same guys tried to talk me out of upsizing but as a full time cruiser who lives on the hook I subscribe to the maxim that your primary bower should also be your storm anchor.

We've been using it for two full years now and love it.

Originally Posted by Dr.No

After extensive research, I went with a one piece 88 lb. Sarca Excel, as the absolute BEST for my 22,000 pound empty 53 footer. These are made in Australia, and the import guys in Vancouver talked me down from going larger. I have a 176 lb. Lewmar Claw as the hurricane anchor. I recommend that you look at the Sarca Excel. Cheers!

[My Wind Lass]

Well this has been a very interesting and enlightening discussion. I am also pleased that regardless of all this intellectual and experiential pondering, I managed to chose a most appropriate anchor for my boat based on commonsense and a little research. I bought an M1 48kg/105lb anchor.

[BlueH2Obound]

Originally Posted by My Wind Lass

Well this has been a very interesting and enlightening discussion. I am also pleased that regardless of all this intellectual and experiential pondering, I managed to chose a most appropriate anchor for my boat based on commonsense and a little research. I bought an M1 48kg/105lb anchor.

That is the exact same anchor and size we have used for the last three years and 9000 nm. Love it. We DID purchase the Mantus anchor roller as the one we had didn't fit the M-1 well.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

A bit confusing... did you mean to write Manson or Mantus?

Apologies for the confusion, I think I accidentally over edited.

I have had extensive experience with:

Mantus
Manson Supreme
Rocna Vulcan
Rocna Traditional (rollbar).

The mantus is the dinghy anchor, which I use on a 13 foot skiff (approx. 1,000lbs). It is identical to the M1. The Manson Supreme and Rocna Rollbar were on a 28 foot, 8,500 lb boat. The Rocna Vulcan on a 40 ft 22k lb boat.