Quandary
Well-Known Member
I have hesitated to post this but have decided to be brave and go ahead; the issue this time is slightly different as handleability when deploying and recovering is the big issue for me.
My last boat was A Sigma 38 with an open pulpit and powered windlass which carried a CQR and Bruce anchor. We have downsized to a Finngulf 33, typically Scandanavian, with fine bow profile and double rail pupit. I have a thing about keeping weight away from the front end of any boat. When I went to buy a 15kg. main anchor for the Finngulf the only one in stock locally was a 10 kg. Delta which so far has performed well for the last two seasons ( though it has not been tested above F5-6) with 45m. of 8mm. chain plus a reel of 14mm. nylon rope. Our reserve anchor is a 22kg. genuine Bruce which I have had for many years, (originally a mooring anchor for a Trapper 300 it was then only put down once a season with 1/2" chain so it got well dug in.), it has about 15m. chain then rope.
I keep the Delta anchor and chain behind a home made removable bulkhead beam in the aft part of the bow anchor locker unless I intend anchoring again within 24 hrs. when it can stay on the bow roller. (The boat has a through deck Furlex). The chain is contained by old polythene washing up basin with a hole in the bottom to let it drain. Despite the smaller gap in the double rail pulpit I have no problem deploying and recovering the Delta by hand, however the bigger heavier Bruce would be quite a big problem so I need to replace it.
My intention is to get a 15kg main anchor to replace the 10kg. Delta, remove the Bruce and keep the 10kg. in the cockpit on board as a reserve/kedge. The issue is handling as I want to continue to keep it in the locker most of the time. I like the Delta it digs in well and is easy to stow but I am inclined to think that two anchors should be of different type and the 10 kg is only adequate, but this might be a mistake?
No one around here stocks a choice of anchors so I am dependent on 'scuttlebut' for info.
I fancy a Spade which seems to be the daddy of modern anchors but I think the UK price is ridiculous for something you can not see before you buy. I had seriously considered the Rocna or Manson but the big tubular roll bar looks awkward for getting the anchor under the pulpit and stowing though I suppose it can be used as a handle, however Rocna's response to a recent poster with a galvanizing problem seemed decidedly lukewarm ( they offered to re-galvanize rather than replace) and again you cannot examine or handle the product until you buy it (though I understand you could make a paper replica of the Rocna, the weight and balance would be hard to replicate). A 15 kg Bruce type from Lewmar/ Bainbridge is more widely available to see and handle and they are quite cheap, also there is apparently a rare cheaper version of the Spade called a Sword or Oceane though I have never seen one. The Manson is stocked in Inverness which I can reach by boat but Gael Force is a long way from the marina so I could not try it on the bow.
I used to have a Sigma 33 OOD which would have had similar weight and windage to the Finngulf, the prescribed one design anchors were a S.L. CQR with a smaller Bruce kedge though I have forgotten the weights which were probably in pounds, oddly, the smaller Bruce seemed to perform better in kelp. Danforth/ Fortress shape anchors while well regarded seem to be for the E. coast
If I already had a 15kg Delta I think I would have been happy with a 10 kg bruce reserve. On the W.Coast of Scotland where I am, most of the recognized anchorages are mud or sand, the biggest problem is the kelp in places like Canna; I tend not to anchor over rock if possible.
Would anyone like to comment again on a suitable anchor taking account of performance and handleability or should I start saving close to £500 for a Spade. I know that you have all been over this before, I have read the YM and PBO tests and all the old anchor threads which all seem to end with a guy called Smith, but my big problem is that I can only see and handle a Delta or Bruce. I have walked around marina pontoons and looked at Spade, Manson and Rocna anchors, visually the quality of the engineering and galvanizing seems to be in the above order but again I have not handled them, based on visual design rather than performance the Delta or the Spade look better (prettier) than the roll bar anchors.
I am not intending to install a powered windlass in the forseeable future; any insight based on experience would be gratefully received, apologies again if you think this has been raised too often but when you are intended to spend hundreds of Pounds on something you cannot see, you need some sort of help?
My last boat was A Sigma 38 with an open pulpit and powered windlass which carried a CQR and Bruce anchor. We have downsized to a Finngulf 33, typically Scandanavian, with fine bow profile and double rail pupit. I have a thing about keeping weight away from the front end of any boat. When I went to buy a 15kg. main anchor for the Finngulf the only one in stock locally was a 10 kg. Delta which so far has performed well for the last two seasons ( though it has not been tested above F5-6) with 45m. of 8mm. chain plus a reel of 14mm. nylon rope. Our reserve anchor is a 22kg. genuine Bruce which I have had for many years, (originally a mooring anchor for a Trapper 300 it was then only put down once a season with 1/2" chain so it got well dug in.), it has about 15m. chain then rope.
I keep the Delta anchor and chain behind a home made removable bulkhead beam in the aft part of the bow anchor locker unless I intend anchoring again within 24 hrs. when it can stay on the bow roller. (The boat has a through deck Furlex). The chain is contained by old polythene washing up basin with a hole in the bottom to let it drain. Despite the smaller gap in the double rail pulpit I have no problem deploying and recovering the Delta by hand, however the bigger heavier Bruce would be quite a big problem so I need to replace it.
My intention is to get a 15kg main anchor to replace the 10kg. Delta, remove the Bruce and keep the 10kg. in the cockpit on board as a reserve/kedge. The issue is handling as I want to continue to keep it in the locker most of the time. I like the Delta it digs in well and is easy to stow but I am inclined to think that two anchors should be of different type and the 10 kg is only adequate, but this might be a mistake?
No one around here stocks a choice of anchors so I am dependent on 'scuttlebut' for info.
I fancy a Spade which seems to be the daddy of modern anchors but I think the UK price is ridiculous for something you can not see before you buy. I had seriously considered the Rocna or Manson but the big tubular roll bar looks awkward for getting the anchor under the pulpit and stowing though I suppose it can be used as a handle, however Rocna's response to a recent poster with a galvanizing problem seemed decidedly lukewarm ( they offered to re-galvanize rather than replace) and again you cannot examine or handle the product until you buy it (though I understand you could make a paper replica of the Rocna, the weight and balance would be hard to replicate). A 15 kg Bruce type from Lewmar/ Bainbridge is more widely available to see and handle and they are quite cheap, also there is apparently a rare cheaper version of the Spade called a Sword or Oceane though I have never seen one. The Manson is stocked in Inverness which I can reach by boat but Gael Force is a long way from the marina so I could not try it on the bow.
I used to have a Sigma 33 OOD which would have had similar weight and windage to the Finngulf, the prescribed one design anchors were a S.L. CQR with a smaller Bruce kedge though I have forgotten the weights which were probably in pounds, oddly, the smaller Bruce seemed to perform better in kelp. Danforth/ Fortress shape anchors while well regarded seem to be for the E. coast
If I already had a 15kg Delta I think I would have been happy with a 10 kg bruce reserve. On the W.Coast of Scotland where I am, most of the recognized anchorages are mud or sand, the biggest problem is the kelp in places like Canna; I tend not to anchor over rock if possible.
Would anyone like to comment again on a suitable anchor taking account of performance and handleability or should I start saving close to £500 for a Spade. I know that you have all been over this before, I have read the YM and PBO tests and all the old anchor threads which all seem to end with a guy called Smith, but my big problem is that I can only see and handle a Delta or Bruce. I have walked around marina pontoons and looked at Spade, Manson and Rocna anchors, visually the quality of the engineering and galvanizing seems to be in the above order but again I have not handled them, based on visual design rather than performance the Delta or the Spade look better (prettier) than the roll bar anchors.
I am not intending to install a powered windlass in the forseeable future; any insight based on experience would be gratefully received, apologies again if you think this has been raised too often but when you are intended to spend hundreds of Pounds on something you cannot see, you need some sort of help?
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