Best Value For Money New Generation Anchor

[Neeves]

Have you tested the Ultra, which I think is made in Turkey?

Yes, excellent product - but I subconsciously or consciously seldom make mention as it tends to be much more expensive than its peers. I have heard it is cheaper in Turkey but cannot confirm this nor by how much. Here, in Oz, it is a favourite for its bling factor (it does look gorgeous) and most yacht owners are not that interested in an investment in jewellery for their yacht.

If someone wanted a stainless anchor - it stands alongside the other anchors in my list - and has had a significant investment in ensuring the hollow shank is as strong as possible with internal bracing.

As you mention Ultra - there is another characteristic of modern anchors.

Rocna, Supreme, Ultra, Spade (steel), Excel (steel) (effectively only available in Oz and N Am), Fortress have all been tested by Classification Societies (or their equivalent) and assessed as Super High Holding Power (SHHP) anchors (though some of the approvals have lapsed). This means they have been shown to have twice the hold as, say, Delta, Bruce and CQR and have been Proof Tested (which tests integrity of shank and build).

Based on user reports some of the other anchors would probably not meet Proof Testing requirement, for example look at the image provided by Noelex of the malnourished section of the Kobra shank.

 

[jordanbasset]

I have been looking at how anchors perform underwater for many years and I am still amazed by the vast difference between the excellent designs and the "also rans".

The best performing anchors in my view are the Mantus, Rocna, steel Spade and Manson Supreme. The Ultra is not far behind.

Of the other anchors mentioned in this thread :

I have not seen the Knox.
The Fortress is a great secondary anchor, but in my view does not cope with change in wind direction very well and is not as versatile at coping with different substrates (although it excels in soft substrates with a constant direction of pull).
The aluminium Spade is another specialised anchor that is best used when the lighter weight is essential (such as kedge).
The Kobra is sligtly better than the Delta and s great value, but in my view it is a long way short of the best performing anchors.

I hope this brief summary of my impression helps.

Photo of a Kobra:

From your picture of the kobra it looks to me like the securing bolt is not been put in as the angle between the shaft and flukes is wrong. In which case I am not surprised it had problems.

 

[noelex]

From your picture of the kobra it looks to me like the securing bolt is not been put in as the angle between the shaft and flukes is wrong. In which case I am not surprised it had problems.

Losing the bolt securing the shank/fluke on the Kobra is easily prevented, but it is something to check. On most bow rollers without the bolt, the weight of the fluke means the anchor has the normal shape, so it is easy to launch the anchor without realising the bolt is missing.

I have seen this done, and of course the anchor does not work at all. This owner tried several drops before we explained the problem:

The Kobra shown in the photo on post#20 does not have this problem. It is just the normal position the Kobra adopts while setting. This is another Kobra with the bolt in place and you can see the fluke/shank angle (and the result) is similar.

 

[[70521]]

Best Value For Money New Generation Anchor

I know I am Scottish and we have a reputation for being careful with money, but I can't see any good reason that you are giving to part with your cash on an anchor. Perhaps a case of your favorite tipple would give you more enjoyment.

 

[jordanbasset]

Just checked mine again and cannot physically move the point much beyond parallel to the shaft. I can make the angle more acute but the movement is less than 2 cms. Your pictures seem to be at right angles. Perhaps I put the nut in the wrong place all I know is that it sets very well . Being in Greece it is easy to dive down and even on hard compacted sand it is almost completely buried

 

[Neeves]

Jordan,

I concur, I have mine here and checked it against the images. Noelex images appear to show the shank almost at right angle to the flat of the fluke base and if this is the case - no wonder they do not set.

But maybe its all in the photography.

 

[jordanbasset]

Jordan,

I concur, I have mine here and checked it against the images. Noelex images appear to show the shank almost at right angle to the flat of the fluke base and if this is the case - no wonder they do not set.

But maybe its all in the photography.

Thank heavens for that. I have just spent ten minutes physically trying to move the point of the anchor to a similar position in the picture and it will not go anywhere near that angle

 

[sailaboutvic]

Oh dear we back to my anchor is better then your .
Maybe we should start by learning how to set our anchor before we judge anchors ,
There no dough that some anchors are a lot better then other and some are just U,S ,
But the best anchor in the world will still drag if it's not set properly and given the right amount of scope .
Going back to the OP question .
If you plainning to sail in the area where your Bruce works find , I wouldn't bother change it ,
If on the other hand your plain is to cruise where you are going to find different sea beds , I would consider one of the N G anchor as in , Rocna , Spade, Manson, Bugle .
In our case we have two , one is the fortress but our bower is an Rocna . Not that the Rocna is any better then the others I have mentioned .

Oh and one size bigger then you need goes a long way .

 

[noelex]

I agree if you not accustomed to looking at the Kobra underwater the fluke/shank angle does look strange, but it is just an illusion caused by the way the anchor sets.

The Delta (which of course has a fixed shank) does the same thing. If you look at the anchor underwater, at least from some angles, it gives the impression that the fluke/shank angle is much greater than it is in reality.

It is not an illusion caused by the camera, it looks the same when you see the anchor underwater in real life.

Here is one more photo of a different Kobra showiing the illusion of the apparant high fluke angle. This Kobra is struggling to set and has dragged a little in the shifting wind, but it was a very difficult substrate.

Note that these are all different Kobra anchors. They are not the same anchor and they are not all deffective. I have a lot of other photos of Kobras showing the same apearance of a high fluke angle, but they are a bit OT for this thread.

 

[RichardS]

Thank heavens for that. I have just spent ten minutes physically trying to move the point of the anchor to a similar position in the picture and it will not go anywhere near that angle

I looked at some images online of Kobras and the photos above are clearly not correct.

Richard

 

[Neeves]

I can confirm that I have found the Kobra to set well, so excellent hold, and quickly in a variety of seabeds. It is good in sand, as they all are, but with its long, narrow fluke makes it a quiet achiever in both weed and pebbles/stones. I found its setting ability reliable, or predictably good.

I was not over enamoured with the folding mechanism, thought it unnecessary (and liable to misuse/failure - maybe confirmed, or not, by the images)

It is very well priced - and good though it is I'm twitchy about the integrity of the shank (I have seen bent ones on bow rollers).

It is considerably better overall than any other cheap anchor, brand name or otherwise. It would have cost peanuts extra to upgrade the shank - what were they thinking of!

 

[jordanbasset]

Think I may have solved the discrepancy re the kobra. There are 3 holes towards the bottom of the shaft. I put the bolt through the lugs of the flukes and into the last hole of the shank nearest the point of the anchor. Have just tried moving the bolt to the middle hole and get a similar angle to that shown in the picture. As I said not sure it the correct hole I used but it certainly works that way.
.

Ww

/

 

[Neeves]

Think I may have solved the discrepancy re the kobra. There are 3 holes towards the bottom of the shaft. I put the bolt through the lugs of the flukes and into the last hole of the shank nearest the point of the anchor. Have just tried moving the bolt to the middle hole and get a similar angle to that shown in the picture. As I said not sure it the correct hole I used but it certainly works that way.
.

Ww

/

Confess, I do not recall there are/were 3 holes in the shank! But it is currently assembled as I last successfully used it and assembly for use seemed obvious (at the time) - like you maybe I just thought it looked right and did not consider other options.

I'll try to have a look at mine tomorrow, being mid evening here and not the best time to sort through 15kg anchors!

 

[noelex]

Think I may have solved the discrepancy re the kobra. There are 3 holes towards the bottom of the shaft.

You can see the bolt hold used on this photo of the Kobra I posted on post#29 if that helps.

The fluke angle looking steeper than reality is a common illusion that can see when viewing the Kobra other convex plow anchors underwater, even on models like the Delta where their fluke angle is welded and fixed.

This is a Delta:

This is a Shark:

Both appear underwater as if they have a higher fluke angle than they have when you see them out of the water. I think the illusion is related to angle the shank adopts in the sand and the fact you can see more of the back of the fluke which is more upright than the toe.

If the Kobra has a number of holes that can be used during assembly that certainly needs some investigation. Perhaps they have introduced an adjustable fluke angle? Can you post a photo? The only models I have seen have only a single hole that could be used. Like this: (appart from the smaller earlier model "Kobra 1" that folded differently)

 

[jordanbasset]

Off the boat for the afternoon, will try when I get back or maybe tomorrow morning - cheers

 

[doug748]

Google ULTRA ANCHOR 12 KG. Needs really deep pocket!

I see MAGNUM in the motor boat section is avin himself a new boat and will specify a 80kg Ultra. About 8 grand.

What a cheapskate - )

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Rocna or Manson Supreme or Manson Spade are the best. Better than Delta, and much better than Bruce (though Bruce is good back up) and infinitely better than CQR. It will cost over £200 but your boat let alone your life and nerves are worth much more if you need such security.

Mansons are odd to fit on bow rollers though and thus hard to retrieve and stow so might be worth checking. Deltas are not bad so depends on usage. I want to anchor a 10m boat in shingle and boulder in F6 and sleep securely in rolling seas so its worth it for me to pay out the extra and deal with the fittings, but it may not be for you.

 

[jordanbasset]

Okay stretching my technical competence and had to resize the picture to post but hopefully shows the holes (have put a piece of rope through the middle hole as was not clear on the picture otherwise)

 

[oldmanofthehills]

My problem is I have to lean past the end of a short bowsprit to lift the anchor (with similar cord) to ease it over the rollers and its inclined to jam whereas my Bruce or a Delta come up over the roller just on the anchor winch alone. However I'm off to Lundy and its gusting F7 in a not very sheltered anchorage so I surely wont want to manage with just my Bruce

 

[Neeves]

Okay stretching my technical competence and had to resize the picture to post but hopefully shows the holes (have put a piece of rope through the middle hole as was not clear on the picture otherwise)

View attachment 66335

I have to wonder what the 'spare' hole is for. It could be for a tandem, but you could as easily use the brace rod. And tandem anchoring is so rare and of, very, questionable usefulness. If the shank rotates forward, in its folded position, will the 'spare' hole clear the fluke and allow the bolt to be reinserted and lock the shank in the folded position? I'm assuming the top hole, above the fluke, is to allow securement of the anchor on the bow roller. But certainly if you used that spare hole you would have a shank almost vertical and a worthless anchor.

Ignoring the hinge - its a brilliantly simple design, cheap to produce, performs well - and if you accept the possible downsides (or manage them) really good value for money.