Anybody got a Spade A80?

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chinita

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Trying to convince myself to buy Aluminium rather than S80 Galvanised.

Boat is a little LM26. No windlass at present but considering fitting a Lofrans Royal manual. Up to about 40m 8mm chain planned. Perhaps with A80 no windlass required?

In the past I have always gone for weight of anchor.

Is the holding power through the Spade design really as effective in a 7kg Aluminium as a 15kg Steel?

All comments appreciated.
 
chinita said:
Trying to convince myself to buy Aluminium rather than S80 Galvanised.

Boat is a little LM26. No windlass at present but considering fitting a Lofrans Royal manual. Up to about 40m 8mm chain planned. Perhaps with A80 no windlass required?

In the past I have always gone for weight of anchor.

Is the holding power through the Spade design really as effective in a 7kg Aluminium as a 15kg Steel?

All comments appreciated.
Click to expand...
what is you cruising area apart from local
 
I reckon you'll want a windlass to lift the chain, regardless of what anchor is on the end.

On Kindred Spirit (same chain as you, and a 25lb CQR) we had a Simpson Lawrence vertical-axis manual and that was just right. Never overpowered, but not so slow as to be annoying which I think a back-and-forth pumping job would be.

Trouble is I don't think they make them any more.

Pete
 
prv said:
I reckon you'll want a windlass to lift the chain, regardless of what anchor is on the end.

On Kindred Spirit (same chain as you, and a 25lb CQR) we had a Simpson Lawrence vertical-axis manual and that was just right. Never overpowered, but not so slow as to be annoying which I think a back-and-forth pumping job would be.

Trouble is I don't think they make them any more.

Pete
Click to expand...

30 x 6m/m for the East Coast is quite enough for a 26 footer
 
Thanks for comments so far.

Should have explained; boat is lying on the Algarve. She has been used very lightly in freshwater (in Berlin!) and in local, benign waters. She currently has a Fortress FX16 (unused) which reflects this.

Problem is that the Fortress lives in the locker and there is no way to fit to the bow roller. Will be bringing her back to East Coast via Med and canals at some stage in the next couple of years and would like an anchor which can handle both Med swell/winds and East coast tides/wind.

Quite happy to fit the windlass (and Samson post) but more interested in whether the geometry of the Spade is as effective in Alu as Steel. Both models are oversized for the boat - but I am comfortable with paying a little extra for that security.
 
I have used an A80 for about 10 years, but as a stern anchor on a rope only rode. This is on a 29 ft boat.
I have found the holding to be very good, but I cannot compare it with the steel version which I have no experience of.
If there is a weak point, it is the ability to set well if the scope is too short (angle too great). But once set, very good holding.

If you look at the Spade website though, you will find that the recommended boat size is smaller for the A80 as compared with the S80.
http://www.spade-anchor.com/-Prices-.html
 
I have had the aluminium version. It was good at holding. What it wasn't good at was rocks. We were anchored in a rocky harbour in benign conditions. The anchor got stuck in rocks. We had a manual windlass that eventually got it out. The anchor was destroyed. The shaft had split along its whole length. I couldn't believe it was hollow. We queried this with the manufacturer who tried to suggest we hadn't got the correct size for our boat. I pointed out that they were given the details of the boat prior to selection by them. Anyway, the anchor didn't fail under normal load imposed by a heavy boat. It just wasn't up to the job. They agreed to supply us with a new anchor so we had the steel version instead. This proved to be an excellent and durable anchor. I would buy the aluminium version again
 
geem said:
I have had the aluminium version. It was good at holding. What it wasn't good at was rocks. We were anchored in a rocky harbour in benign conditions. The anchor got stuck in rocks. We had a manual windlass that eventually got it out. The anchor was destroyed. The shaft had split along its whole length. I couldn't believe it was hollow. We queried this with the manufacturer who tried to suggest we hadn't got the correct size for our boat. I pointed out that they were given the details of the boat prior to selection by them. Anyway, the anchor didn't fail under normal load imposed by a heavy boat. It just wasn't up to the job. They agreed to supply us with a new anchor so we had the steel version instead. This proved to be an excellent and durable anchor. I would buy the aluminium version again
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Very interesting.

Please clarify, do you mean you would or wouldn't buy aluminium again?
 
The aluminium spade is unfortunatly not as good as the steel version.
Its ability to set in hard substrates is significantly compromised.
 
Sybarite said:
The fortress is a good anchor. Have you looked into the cost of modifying the bow roller to take it?
Click to expand...

Not yet, but it is a good suggestion. Probably need a S/S extension of about 6" in order for the fluke to clear the bow. This may even be necessary with a Spade. The present bow roller has a convenient shackle pin to secure the shank. I shall shortly be asking the question whether drilling a hole (approx 8mm) through the shank of the new anchor would be the harbinger of disaster!

I asked about the Spade as I have recently met two experienced owners who stated that they have never had to re-set theirs. In the past I have been pretty satisfied with a Delta and a Fortress FX23 on a previously owned larger boat. The set up I would like is a Spade bower with the FX11 available to tandem in extremis (an unlikely event I hope) or as a kedge.
 
The Fortress is a great anchor, but it does have some problems occasionally not resetting to a change of direction. This makes it less idea as main anchor.

If you still want to use it does it need to be on the bow roller?. They are very light. A bracket on the pulpit, or foredeck would still allow for rapid easy deployment.
 
chinita said:
I shall shortly be asking the question whether drilling a hole (approx 8mm) through the shank of the new anchor would be the harbinger of disaster!
Click to expand...

I think most anchor manufacturers advise not to; the fact that the Spade's shank is hollow makes it seem like an even worse idea to me.

Better solution would be a miniature version of the "devil's claw" with a big bottlescrew, as used on ships. I came up with a design using an off-the-shelf chain hook and a stainless over-centre catch used on horseboxes, but I haven't actually done it yet.

Pete
 
noelex said:
If you still want to use it does it need to be on the bow roller?. They are very light. A bracket on the pulpit, or foredeck would still allow for rapid easy deployment.
Click to expand...

This is how it has been used before (if ever) I suspect.

It is not easy to deploy in a hurry. The problem is that it will not fit between the bottom of the roller furling drum and the top of the roller through the pulpit (if it did, I would be quite happy to keep it in the anchor locker); it therefore needs to be chucked over the pulpit! This leaves the problem of how to get the chain/rode sorted out as it will be draped over the top rail of the pulpit - not a pretty sight. All the chain/rode would have to be deployed and the bitter end fed back through the roller to the secure point in the anchor locker.

A bracket on the outside of pulpit with the chain fed back to the anchor locker via the roller might work.
 
chinita said:
Just Googled 'Devil's Claw' but it appears to be a cure for Arthritis!
Click to expand...

It's basically a big hook that goes onto the chain, connected to a bottlescrew (or similar mechanism) that can be wound up tight to pull the anchor against its housing so it doesn't move.

See:
220px-Securing_devils_claw.gif


A ship would probably also have a "guillotine" that closes on the chain and prevents it running out (but doesn't draw it taught) and/or chain stoppers which are similar to the devil's claw but clamp onto the chain more positively and may not have a mechanism to draw tight. Finally the windlass brake will be on.

You don't want the anchor launching itself at sea!

Pete
 
Last edited:
chinita said:
Trying to convince myself to buy Aluminium rather than S80 Galvanised.

Boat is a little LM26. No windlass at present but considering fitting a Lofrans Royal manual. Up to about 40m 8mm chain planned. Perhaps with A80 no windlass required?

In the past I have always gone for weight of anchor.

Is the holding power through the Spade design really as effective in a 7kg Aluminium as a 15kg Steel?

All comments appreciated.
Click to expand...

I used an A80 for about 6 years around North Wales with no problems on a 10.3m boat and we anchored a lot.


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