Videos of Anchors Setting

[Tayana42]

Steve, again thank you for this truly invaluable set of videos. Seeing how anchors really behave is the best data we have.

I admit I'm disappointed in the results of the Rocna test. My experience with the 25kg Rocna has been flawless, but I never use such a short scope. Still, you showed 4 other anchors that coped exceptionally well with the same short scope. I can't argue with that. For now I'll be sure to use 4:1 or 5:1 with my Rocna.

Great work and thank you Steve.


S/V B'Shert

[Panope]

Your welcome Tayana42,

I felt the same disappointment when I tested my Manson Supreme in this same manner. Like your Rocna, it had always performed perfectly in my REAL WORLD use of the anchor.

That said, If I did not have a workbench covered with many of the worlds finest anchors for me to choose from, I would happily have kept my Manson. Even after discovering its flaws.

I've made it known that my favorite anchor is the Spade. However, I am not so sure it would be my choice if I had to purchase the anchor at full retail with my own money.

Cheers,

Steve

[Panope]

Speaking of that "work bench covered with with some of the worlds finest anchors", I have started to relieve myself of some of this metal that I have acquired. It is my intent to NOT have an "anchor sale" so to speak. Instead, I will slowly dispense with the anchors to acquaintances and local people. Nothing against selling anchors to my 'internet friends', it's just a nicer experience for me to personally bolt one of my anchors onto someones bow rather than pack it into a cardboard box for shipping.

The 44 pound Genuine Bruce will go to my boss who has a power cruiser with a severely undersized Claw.

The 34 pound Super Sarca will possibly go to an Australian friend who has a boat in my area.

Previously, I indicated that I would keep the 44 lb. Mantus aboard Panope (disassembled) as a "back-up" to my primary anchor. I have since acquired and tested an ALUMINUM Sarca Excel #5 and it is now my preference to keep it aboard instead of the Mantus.

The Mantus is no question the faster and more reliable re-setter. However the Aluminum Excel is much lighter (27 lb.) and only has two pieces (instead of three) and two assembly bolts (instead of six). This makes the Excel a much more agreeable anchor to stow and handle by hand. In fact, the Aluminum Excel is so light that it can easily be rowed or walked, making it a very viable stern type anchor. I also have a 10 lb. Fortress for this use but in many ways, the Aluminum Excel trumps the Fortress (such as better short scope performance, lack of fouling, and far fewer parts to assemble).

The 44 pound (actually 40 lb.) Mantus has been given to my best friend as a house warming present. He and is lady just bought their first live-aboard, an Islander 37 that came with the most pathetically small CQR copy I have ever seen. They will sleep soundly.

Steve

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Panope

Rocna.

Video #63:

Another excellant video, thanks Steve, very interesting that it seems to suffer the same clogging as the Manson supreme. I wonder if they would do the same in sand? And I also wonder if sarca style slots would help unclog them, assuming thats the reason for the setting issue?



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[malbert73]

Seems to me the reason the Mantus does better than the rocna is because the wider base where roll bar attaches seems to promote more aggressive setting. Probably same limitation of Manson as well.
In any case the Mantus is impressive and stands out among the roll bar anchors. On my old boat I had a Mantus and now I have a rocna. Happy with both but I noted much more of a jerk with Mantus when setting. Now I think I understand why.


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[Panope]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Another excellant video, thanks Steve, very interesting that it seems to suffer the same clogging as the Manson supreme. I wonder if they would do the same in sand? And I also wonder if sarca style slots would help unclog them, assuming thats the reason for the setting issue?



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Your welcome Snow. My guess I is that the Rocna (and Manson) would not have this clogging problem in clean sand. I did do a few reset tests of the Manson at my Sand/Gravel site and it did fine except when the it became fouled with vegetation rooted to rocks.

Good suggestion about the Sarca style 'slots'. Perhaps I will cut some into the fluke of my Manson as I continue to modify it. But before I do that, I have some other ideas for re-shaping the fluke tip.

Steve

[Panope]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Seems to me the reason the Mantus does better than the rocna is because the wider base where roll bar attaches seems to promote more aggressive setting. Probably same limitation of Manson as well.
In any case the Mantus is impressive and stands out among the roll bar anchors. On my old boat I had a Mantus and now I have a rocna. Happy with both but I noted much more of a jerk with Mantus when setting. Now I think I understand why.


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I'm sure you are correct about the wider rollbar of the Mantus promoting setting and the anchor does stand out. That said, we should note that the Super Sarca has a rollbar that is quite narrow and it also performed perfectly in this re-set test.

Steve

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Panope

Noelex, thanks for posting your video here.

Here is my latest offering. I picked up where I left off with the Fortress re-set testing in video #60

Steve

Video #61:

Hi Steve, I was wondering about the difference between this and video no 7 where the fortress does very well. See 3:30 mins

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHxO8mbAyk

Is it on the same bottom?

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[Panope]

Snow; yes, that is the same, very consistent bottom. However, there were two noteworthy differences in the test protocol: In the earlier test (#7), scope is a bit longer at 3.9 to one rather than 3.5 to 1. Also, my boat handling technique was not as precise during the earlier test resulting in only a 150 degree 'swing' of the anchor rather than my later 180 degree re-sets (repetition is a great teacher)

I have noticed that whenever an anchor (any anchor) does the infamous 'backflip' during the reset test, it only occurs when I 'nail' the reverse course, having the chain pass by very close to (or touching) the anchor. Conversely, when I miss the mark and the chain passes by with a little distance from the anchor, the anchors tend to rotate rather than be torn from the seabed.

Perhaps a 're-set test' protocol of having the boat pass by at some angle other than 180 degress (like 150) might be a more accurate, real world test. However, this would be very difficult for me to repeat accurately.

Steve

[malbert73]

Steve- love your videos. Don't want to throw a wrench but in 180 degree windshifts in real world conditions I've rarely seen my boat drift more than 1-1.5 knots. I do wonder if many anchors will do great with slower speeds and real world scope of 4 or 5:1. But I imagine the ones that you have seen excel probably would do even better with what I suggest. And I guess like you said better to use a harsh test to hash out differences


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[Panope]

I hear ya, Malbert. I'm the first to admit that it is kind of a ridiculous test. It's ONLY validation comming from the anchors that pass it.

Steve

[Steadman Uhlich]

Steve,
If you were to pick three anchors, based on your tested ones, which would they be for:

1. Primary or Bower
2. Secondary (backup, in case the Primary is lost or fouled)
3. Stern or Kedge

Given what you wrote up above in the latest posts, I am reading your preferences as:

1. Primary : Spade
2. secondary. : Sarca ALUMINUM Excel #5
3. Kedge : Fortress

Is that correct?
--------------

Also, have you written or posted any kind of ranking of the anchors or scoring of any kind?

[Panope]

Steady, Yep, those are my current favorites. Here is some more complete data:

Boat is 34 feet. 15,000 pounds.

1. Primary - 45 pound galvanized steel Spade. Rode is 160 feet 3/8" BBB chain backed with 200 feet 5/8" nylon brait.

2. Secondary - 27 pound Aluminum Sarca Excel #5. Stored disassembled, down below. The anchor is light enough that it can be easily deployed from my 8 foot rowing dink yet it is a strong, 'full size' anchor that can act very well as a primary.

3. Stern - 10 pound Fortress FX-16. Stored disassembled, down below. The anchor is small enough to use as a dinghy anchor yet powerful enough to hold the mother-ship.

I have been thinking of making a stern rail bracket. Recently, I should have deployed the Fortress (to align the boat with swell) but didn't because of the inconvenience rigging the disassembled anchor. Rode is 12 feet of 5/16" chain and 120 feet 9/16" nylon three strand - stored in a plastic laundry hamper in Lazarette.

Don't forget the big 65 pound Forfjord patiently waiting in it's hawse pipe for that 'once in a blue moon' situation where nothing but a big dumb hunk of metal will suffice. It is connected to a rode consisting of 80 feet 5/16" G4 chain backed with 350 feet 5/8" brait. This rode can be readily disconnected from the Forfjord and used elsewhere.

I have not done anything specifically to "rate" the anchors that I have tested. That would be a real challenge as things like price and longevity have a very different value from one person to another. As an example, should I give the Spade a poor rating because it is expensive to purchase? Certainly a wealthy person will not blink at the price but for others, it is out of reach.

In the end, I think it best not to tell people what kind of anchor (or boat) (or politician) to choose. My tests are a very small piece of a large puzzle. People will have to come to their own conclusions that are tailored for their unique situations.

Cheers,

Steve

[cwyckham]

Hi Panope,

I see that you mentioned that you're not sure if the Spade would be first choice if you had to pay full retail. I agree that the Spade and also the Sarca Excel are excellent anchors that are unfortunately very expensive in North America.

What would your second choice be (ie, one that is more affordable in North America)? Would it be the Mantus?

I ended up with a Manson Boss since I couldn't use a hooped anchor due to my bowsprit. Spade was also my first choice. I'd consider a Vulcan now too (not available when I bought the Boss).

Is anybody importing Sarca Excels into North America yet? They're just too expensive to ship one at a time from Australia. They need to be brought in by the pallet by sea. Maybe I should import a pallet and sell them to forum members who've watched your videos :-)

[Panope]

Cwyckham,

Checkout 'Ground Tackle Marine' of Victoria B.C. Canada:

Ground Tackle Marine

They are now a North American Distributor of Anchor Right Products. I noticed that a #5 Steel Excel is $750 Canadian. This equals $575 U.S. at the moment. Not a bad price.

I'm not sure what I would by if I were shopping for a Primary anchor today. Certainly, the Mantus is a very compelling option given the price and brilliant performance in my tests. However, I continue to wish the Mantus had just a little bit more meat on it's bones. It looks like a gangly teenager to my eye. I do plan on a trip to Alaska one day and the possibility of the Anchor getting hung up in boulders is not out of the question. I want a very strong anchor.

Perhaps I'm being unreasonable or weird about this but my gut as served me well in the past and I am not going to start ignoring it now.

Steve