CQR Type anchor

[irwinsailor]

CSY.. I;m sure that what ever I say will be wrong here but here goes. My CQR dragged on me one time in 3 years. Sometimes it would take several tries to set but would stay set. The Delta seemed to set faster be did not hold. It dragged 5 or more times this past season. I spent alot of time learning about anchors and the Delta is highly regarded by many boater including you. Ao I'm sure that the delta will be a good choice in other area that we will be going to.

[CSY Man]

I;m sure that what ever I say will be wrong here but here goes.

Why is that..Do you have a history of being wrong..?

Well, I have the opposite experience:

I dragged severeal times with my CQR, finally after sitting up a whole night on anchor-watch, I got read of it and bought a Delta, 2 sizes bigger.

Have not dragged ever since and that was 5 years ago and probably 150 days/nights for anchor, including encounters with numerous squalls and storms.

I always set the anchor good before I put my guard down.
If the weather is good and is forecast to stay good, I back down on the anchor with 2000 RPM, if there is storms in the area, I go full power in reverse and use severeal lines of sight to make sure we don't drag an inch.

For scope I use a minimum of 7:1 on an all chain rode.

The above is rather conservative, but the results have been 100% succesful.

Not sure what the bottom conditions are in your area, but if it is rocky and not suited for a plow type anchor, then a CQR would not have been any better than a Delta.

Same in soft mud, the Delta or CQR will slowly drag backwards as you attemtp to set the anchor, the only remedy is to pull it up again and find a different spot..Which I have done several times, even with the big Delta.

If the anchor can not pass the holding test of at least 2000 RPM in reverse, go somewhere else.
It is not the fault of the anchor, rather the bottom is unsuitable for anchoring, regardless of type or brand.

(I have one Fluke type anchor on board that can be adjusted from 32 to 45 degrees angle so the flukes will dig deep in soft sand or soft mud, but that would be for an emergency In an every day anchoring situation, if the anchor don't set, I just pull it up and find another spot, say 100 feet away, then try again.
That usually does the trick)

So, uh, to sum it up, don't give up on yer Delta, if ya use good technique, have good scope and have a good bottom, then a good anchor will hold yer boat in a blow...I promise...

[irwinsailor]

I do agree with you that I should not give up on the anchor. I think that the mud bottoms that we have around here are the main problem and it may have been luck that the CQR held better. The Claw holds very well in my home port so with the two types of anchors that I now carry I should be covered.

[CSY Man]

The Claw holds very well in my home port so with the two types of anchors that I now carry I should be covered.

Yeah, but be careful with them claw anchors: They set well, and they seem to hold, but the ultimate holding-power is not much to write home about.


If memory serves me right, the Bruce 44 has a max holding power of about 1,800 lbs in good sand, whereas a 44 Delta or CQR are up to 3,500 lbs or so.

Read the Dashew bible, the chapter on anchoring, then read it again:

(in a nutshell they are saying that the Bruce sets fast, but to match a plow in max holding power, ya need to go several sizes up on the Bruce, in other words, to match a Delta 88, go buy a Bruce 110, etc.)

In my case I have a Delta 55 on a 33' boat...To match the 4,500 lbs holding power of my anchor, I had to go for a 88 Bruce or bigger....Don't think so, too much money and weight up front and this gorilla is getting older every day, not going to pull up an oil-rig anchor every time I go sailing..

Before I bought the Delta I did some research on all the anchor "tests", searched high and low on raw numbers on ultimate holding power and talked to guys with time on the hook, etc.

To me, for my kind of sailing, the Delta spoke loud and clear.

Now-a-days there may be better anchors out there, but I have not tried them yet, or talked to guys that have experinece on them, or survived bad storms on them, so I will stick to the big Delta for survival and comfort, it is a proven piece of metal, and it is paid for.....

[irwinsailor]

I read the same things that you have pointed out. That is why I was disapointed with the Delta. Everything that I heard and read said it was a very good choice. A older couple that I met this summer that were doing the great loop in their CSY 44 watched me try to anchor with the Delta. Later when we talked they asked me what anchor I was using. I told them that it was a Delta, He said "I thought so" He went on to say that in 22 years of full time cruising the Bahamas and east coast that they have never seen a better anchor choice than the CQR. And that is all they use. He did say something that I have no problem agreeing with... "anchors are like religon". They also said that in the Bahamas when people see a boat dragging they say "the Bruce is lose". Mud must be a bigger problem that I thought.

[CSY Man]

A older couple that I met this summer that were doing the great loop in their CSY 44 watched me try to anchor with the Delta.

Hmm, who was that?
I know quite a few of the CSY couples, on the 33s, the 37s, and the 44s, etc.

Have not heard any Delta bashing from them guys.

Hmm, Bill and Carol went North last summer, did ya meet those guys..?

(Ha-ha, they use a Bruce 66 on their 44 W/O..Told 'em to get a Delta many times, they are however happy with the Big Bruce...
No big squalls yet, I guess.)

[CSY Man]

Mud must be a bigger problem that I thought.

Nah, not much mud in the Bahamas.

Have only met muddy anchorages in Florida a few times, but even so, 90% good sand, 10% bad mud.

Can't think of any mud in the Bahamas, but there is a few places with bad holding in sand:

"Honeymoon Harbour" North of Gun Cay.

"Chub Cay" in the Berrys, facing West..

Them places, with a squall, and a bad anchor, could spell the end of yer boat and yer cruising plans.

Have seen it a few times: Big boats with big anchors dragging up on the beach, small boats with small anchors on the rocks.

After ya see that a few times, and hear the screams for help, ya buy a big anchor, set it properly, with a proper scope and stay awake when the wind picks up if there is any doubt....

When ya get tired of staying awake to save yer boat, ya get a bigger anchor and spend 20 minutes setting it, every time.

Do not copy the Sea-Ray crowd, the guys that will toss the cute little wannabee micro-anchors off the bow, then go back and mix Margaritas in the galley, with the bikini girls sunning their hides on the fore-deck, until the boat drag up on shore to a certain destruction...Not good.

Seen it many times:
The New Yorker type gold-chains and hair-does makes no difference, they are still dragging in the storm, and they have no clue what hit them...Don't go there..Go 2 sizes bigger and all chain, then some

[irwinsailor]

I do not remember their named or the name of their boat for that matter, The boat was white with a blue stripe and carried 2 CQR anchors. He was 82 and she was about 80. They were very nice people. They said that they left the mast in Stuart florida. As for your advice about having a large anchor I listened to you and others. The 88lb Delta is at least one size larger than my boat should have. Any larger and I could not carry it on the pulpit.