Another anchor thread

R

robertj

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 May 2007
Messages
7,313
Visit site
I have already upgraded my anchor connections etc. after taking the advice of Vyv with
the anchor-wichart shackle-4 links of chain-kong connector-main chain, now it's the anchor!

I've read so much about rocna etc and if up to spec are good anchors yes?
Has any one ideas or have others of the new age anchor which they swear by Manson etc etc?
I want an all purpose anchor that will really hold at the moment i have the kedge and bower are both Bruce.
I will keep one as the kedge.

Not a troll genuine advice and feedback wanted
 
Last edited:
Personally, I beleive that oversizing the anchor is more important than the type of anchor. On my previous 34' boat I had a 16Kg Delta and never had a problem.
 
There is so much discussion of this in the archives -- if you do a search you will find more information than you will have the stomach to read.

I've used them all, and like many others find the new gen anchors to be a real cut above the previous ones.

I like the Spade best myself, but opinions differ. I've had a Rocna -- also very good. The Manson is apparently also very good. Any of these will be noticeably better than the Delta, which I have also had -- provided you are comparing like sizes, of course.

As Jimi says, size matters a lot -- a bigger Delta probably better than a smaller Rocna, for example.
 
I used a Delta for many years, and still carry it. I then bought a Rocna that cost about three times as much and performs maybe 10% better. The Delta has always been good except in very soft mud, where it can drag in strong winds. However, this is almost the ideal bottom for a Fortress.

You can buy a Delta and a Fortress for the same price as one new generation anchor. In the majority of cases you will not have a problem with the Delta on Atlantic coasts with a fair proportion of sand in the bottom.

The Fortress is, IMHO, pretty much the ideal kedge. It is light to handle in the dinghy, holds very well in most bottoms and is fairly easy to recover manually. A Bruce (or copy) would not be my choice for this job.
 
Really you need at least 8 anchors:

Soft Mud
Hard mud
Soft sand
Hard sand
Gravel
Lava
Rocks
Weed

I might have missed one or two. You see the problem.

There is no substitute for weight although I am assured that size doesn't matter. :D

We spent 12 years with a 60 lb CQR and have now swapped for a 25 kg Spade. We havn't tried all the botton combinations yet but can vouch for it's exceptional holding in weed and hard sand.

Good luck and plenty of scope.
 
Last edited:
Hello robertj, have you had trouble with your Bruce then?
Mine does seem pretty ideal, in good sand and mud, using all chain. It is getting a bit rusty now though.
If I did replace it I might choose a Delta, tho I am not too keen on the fabricated construction, at least it is a sensible price.
 
vyv_cox said:
I used a Delta for many years, and still carry it. I then bought a Rocna that cost about three times as much and performs maybe 10% better. The Delta has always been good except in very soft mud, where it can drag in strong winds. However, this is almost the ideal bottom for a Fortress.

You can buy a Delta and a Fortress for the same price as one new generation anchor. In the majority of cases you will not have a problem with the Delta on Atlantic coasts with a fair proportion of sand in the bottom.

The Fortress is, IMHO, pretty much the ideal kedge. It is light to handle in the dinghy, holds very well in most bottoms and is fairly easy to recover manually. A Bruce (or copy) would not be my choice for this job.
Click to expand...

I've heard this kind of positive opinion about the Delta from more than one sailor. I have only used one, a 25kg Delta which came with my present boat, bought three years ago. I used it for a year with fairly poor results. It was ok in sand or firm mud, but failed to set or set only with extreme difficulty in hard bottoms like in Worbarrow Bay. In such bottoms, the Rocna which replaced it was not 10% better but 300% better, setting every time with relative ease.

The Spade which I have now (and which I used previously for almost 10 years on another boat) sets much more positively than the Rocna -- a really big and noticeable difference in my subjective experience, especially in softish mud where I have had a lot of trouble getting the Rocna to set.

I totally agree about the Fortress being the ideal kedge. A brilliant anchor.
 
Hi, agree with most of the replies so far.
Here is my two penny worth.

After many many years os sailing as a live aboard our combination is as follows;

Main anchor is the ROCNA it holds so far in all conditions our kedge/second anchor is the FORTRESS it also so far holds in all conditions with the added benefit of beig light.

We also have a small grapnel fishermans anchor-never used yet.

Good luck

Peter
 
Dockhead said:
It was ok in sand or firm mud, but failed to set or set only with extreme difficulty in hard bottoms like in Worbarrow Bay. In such bottoms, the Rocna which replaced it was not 10% better but 300% better,
Click to expand...

You could well be right. The only time my Delta ever failed to set was outside Pwllheli marina, which is a storm beach with very hard sand. This was years ago when new generation anchors were unheard of. I have only used the Rocna in the Med where such bottoms don't exist.
 
Would put a shout in for the Kobra 2,has set well in all conditions, including hard compacted sand. In fact had an opportunity to snorkel and see it set in hard sand, my wife reversed very slowly and I could see it bury into the compacted sand, excellent.
Cheaper than any other new generation anchor, has performed brilliantly in all anchor tests and is endorsed by the real world users of it.
 
I am thinking of changing my anchor which is a 60 lb genuine CQR for one with a sharper point to deal better with the often weed covered local anchorages. In Marmaris the choices are limited. West Marine have the 25KG Rocna at an eye watering USD 999. (about £630 )
Local chandleries have some flimsy looking Delta copies and some much better looking (i.e. thicker steel) Bugel copies, which sell at 20 Turkish Lire per Kg!, i.e. TRL 640 or about £225 for a 32 Kg specimen.
The question is which to go for?
 
VicMallows said:
I would agree, especially combined with Jimi's comment about the importance of weight. I now have a 16kg KOBRA 2 for my Sadler29. Way over the top by most accepted wisdom, but it most certainly works.
Click to expand...

Yes agree, we went oversize at 20kg, fitted fine on bow roller and still cheaper than the competition. It is certainly not all about price but I see little point in paying a lot more for something else that doesn't do the job any better.
 
Norman E, CYC in Lefkas gave us the best deal on our Rocna when we purchased it a few years ago. I also saw a few models in Agmar chanderly on Leros. Greece is the wrong country, but Agmar is close so delivery to nearby Greek island should be resonable, if the ferries are not on strike:)
 
Thank you for that. Actually for the limited amount of anchoring I do, which is usually either in a sheltered bay with a line ashore, or stern to a harbour or jetty I am more interested in something that sets first time rather than ultimate holding power, so I am tending to think that the 32 Kg Bugel copy might be my best bet. They are quite common on yachts in Turkey. Any thoughts, and especially comments from people who use them?

Once in properly the CQR actually holds well. Its sternest test was a force 9 inside the harbour at Palon on Nisiros, where we swung on the anchor all night before being able to get a line ashore in the morning when things had calmed down a bit. The boat swung from side to side on it, digging it deeper and deeper, and when we came to break it out I had to use the swell to pull it up.
 
I do quite like the rocna but afer the recent probems were on the lines of a Manson. They do look similar is there anyone who has one.
Has rocna sorted all theproblems yet?
 
jordanbasset said:
Would put a shout in for the Kobra 2,has set well in all conditions, including hard compacted sand. In fact had an opportunity to snorkel and see it set in hard sand, my wife reversed very slowly and I could see it bury into the compacted sand, excellent.
Cheaper than any other new generation anchor, has performed brilliantly in all anchor tests and is endorsed by the real world users of it.
Click to expand...

Ditto. We have the Kobra 2 at 16kg for a SO34.2 and so far has set first time on the whole and not failed us.
 
ctva said:
Ditto. We have the Kobra 2 at 16kg for a SO34.2 and so far has set first time on the whole and not failed us.
Click to expand...

The 16 KG Kobra 2 is currently on offer here, £74.95.

I have no anchoring experience but I was strongly leaning toward a manson to replace my badly corroded CQR. Though after seeing several good comments about the Kobra 2 on this forum and others, and finding this bargain price for it I had to go with the 16 Kg Kobra 2, I'm expecting it tomorrow :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top