Bruce Anchors

[bob_tyler]

Any experience of Bruce Anchors as compared to CQR (genuine), Danforth or W.H.Y?

They seem to be the most common in the Med. and stow over the bow so neatly.

How do they hold?

 

[BrianJ]

I personally have never used one, however I know lots of cruising folk who swear by them.
Brianj

 

[Guest]

I have found the bruce to be an excellent anchor in all bottoms except mud. The flukes are not large enough to stop it creeping in mud with a good blow, although it doesn't let go. In grassy bottoms it often has trouble biting through the grass but if you drag it very slowly for a while it usually finds a hole and sets. It is especially good in rocky bottoms where the flukes will catch between rocks. Most anchors will catch like this but the nice thing about the bruce is it won't bend with the strange angular pull you can put in it once it catches. I've had to straighten my other anchors after similar situations, but never the bruce.

I've never owned a CQR so this was ment to be a positive comment on the Bruce, no reflection on the CQR.

 

[Guest]

For an anchor that stows well on the stemhead, the Delta comes out best in most tests I have read.

 

[gunnarsilins]

Funny! Sailing mostly in the Baltic Sea, where there is a lot of anchorages with mud I´ve found the Bruce superior to CQR, and the opposite on sand!
But, one reason could of course be that the Swedish variety of mud seems to be much denser compared with UK

 

[vyv_cox]

Anchor comparisons

My partly objective observation is that there is little to choose between any of the well-known types, because other factors, such as technique, warp used, scope, etc have such a strong influence.

Example 1. Four of us anchored for three days that included an easterly 8-9 in New Grimsby, Scillies. The tide flows strongly through here, about three knots in each direction, and the islands offer little protection from the wind. New Grimsby is far from ideal in an easterly anyway, but there was nothing else available.

We were a 50 ft ketch on a Bruce, 2 x 35 ft on CQR and myself in 29ft with a Delta. All with suitable all-chain warp and very much accustomed to anchoring, being based in North Wales. Although New Grimsby is renowned for poor anchoring due to the very heavy weed growing there, not one of us dragged.

All around us were many other boats with the usual range of anchors and warps, varying considerably but mostly with a short length of chain plus warp. The majority seemed to be dragging for a large proportion of the time. Anchoring technique ranged from pretty poor to abominable. We watched one, heavily crewed, French 40 footer called Barracuda. Every 15 minutes a crew member would walk forward, haul the warp and anchor aboard, throw the whole lot over the stem in a big bundle and go below. We watched this for more than 24 hours (we were on anchor watch all night). Each of us went aboard other boats that were dragging and at risk of tripping our anchors, to show them the correct technique. In most cases this was effective.

Example 2. Yesterday we anchored off Middelharnis for lunch, using the Fortress, 5 m of chain plus Anchorplait. The bottom here is sandy mud and it is very easy to obtain solid holding. We were nicely sheltered from the wind behind the breakwater, in about 3 metres below the keel. While we were sitting there a 30 footer came in our general direction, obviously preparing to anchor. They had a CQR, some chain and rope. They made five attempts and dragged on each one. It looked to me as though they had nowhere near enough warp out. Eventually they gave up and went in to Middelharnis, where there are pontoons and a good wall, no doubt to blame the CQR for being a poor anchor.

My conclusions - perfect the technique, use all chain when it really counts, rope plus chain when appropriate, and it makes little difference what anchor you use.