Does anyone here have any advice to give about anchors?

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago on my 29ft cruiser/racer yacht with a bar and wooden seat thing plus the roller reefing drum all in the way at the bow. I was not confident with the 6kg Delta looking anchor that was on there so I have just put a 10kg Delta (proper one not a cheap copy) on there. It just fits in the anchor locker and it can be threaded through the obstacles at the bow without a problem and as it happens it can be parked ready to go on the bow roller without damaging the gelcoat. I have already slept on the one night, had it up and down a few times as a lunch hook and it all seems to works fine. In fact it is perfect to handle. The 10kg Delta came from a previous yacht and I was happy with it on there. It is now on 20 metres of chain which I thought would be rather a lot of weight in the bow of a fairly light yacht, but I found the sailing performance this weekend was excellent, no complaints and will sleep better. BTW I carry Fortress as well.
 
MagicalArmchair said:
Rocna every time, I got a bit OCD when I was doing my research to get my anchor for Triola (Albin Ballad 30). Check out the PBO stuff in the below, makes for some interesting reading.
http://www.albinballad.co.uk/technology/rocna-anchoring-solution/
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I am totally convinced by the reputation of the Rocna - both the scientific testing and the personal testimonies. I will definitely fit the Rocna if my bow configuration allows it but I was asking for advice on non-Roll bar alternatives, in case the Rocna does not fit.

At the minute the Kobra 2 that Neeves suggested is the #1 alternative. (Unless I can find a Spade in a fire sale!)
 
But:

"A new anchor test has been published in the July Issue of the German Nautical magazine YACHT. Unfortunately… in German!.. Just a few notes: - Anchors have been tested in three different sea bottoms: Sand – marl/gravel – Mud. - They have been using a Bavaria 38 sailing boat which is equipped with a Volvo engine D1-30, 20,1 kW / 27,3 hp, not powerful enough to give strong pulls, they have set the upper limit to 250 daN but they say that it is in the range of effort that can be measured with force 5 to 6 wind.. - Two winners with four stars are the Kobra II (198 euros) and the Supreme one ( 387 Euros) - The Rocna achieved only 2 stars for a price of Euros 440………. - Supreme ; In sand hold up to the limit 250 daN - in marl/gravel hold up to the limit 250 daN and set uncertainly at 150 DaN in Mud Rocna: In sand hold up to the limit 250 daN – doesn’t set in marl/gravel – set badly in mud"
 
Despite aficionados strident claims about the superiority of their particular "new-age" anchor, I doubt if there is any significant difference.

New-age anchor = concave, roll-bar, sharpened & weighted tip, with large fluke area. From Alain Poireau's comments about 15 years ago.

Included are Spade (as the original) Rocna, Manson, Wasi (or Bugel) and Mantus.
I suspect they're in descending order of cost.

Probably the "best" holding power to weight is the Fortress.

But if you know how to anchor the CQR, Delta and Danforth are all perfectly OK.

Unless made of money I'd suggest the one that sets you back the least is the best for you.
 
Ravi said:
If anyone out there can recommend any other, hopefully cheaper!, alternatives, I would love to hear.
If not, the 15 Kg Vulcan cardboard template is going into my suitcase.

Thanks.
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I have been through the same sort of process except that in my case I actually bought a Rocna then swapped it for a Manson and finally sold that one. Both Rocna and Manson dug in well and held well in normal conditions - I havent anchored in an F9. Both were a bitch to stow in the roller and I ended up hoiking them in and stowing in the locker. That in turn meant that to anchor I first had to manhandle 35lb of iron at arms length under the pullpit and into the rollwer with a real risk of both me and the anchor going overboard, or me having a hernia.

So I went for a Fortress. Half the weight, stow in the roller, and digs in well thanks to sharp flukes. Holds well too. Been a good change.
 
I have a Kobra 2. Works well for me on the albeit few occasions I have used it. Pound for pound or Euro per Kilo, I think it's excellent value. I have a 20Kg one on a 12 ton 40' yacht.
 
I've had a 9kg Vulcan for a season but only used it a few times in benign conditions for lunch stops. It seems extremely well designed and manufactured and digs in quickly. I doubt if the Rocna roll bar anchor is significantly better.
 
michaelchapman said:
Whatever you get, get a big one. The biggest you can fit on your bow roller, and that you can launch and recover.

Size matters.
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Any evidence?

Jonathan

edit:

In this thread:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?440143-Dragging-of-anchors

The question was asked - 'do modern anchors meet expectations is there any evidence of them dragging'

Basically if they are set then they are reliable, so yes they meet expectations. The replies come from a complete cross section of members who have modern anchors of a size recommended for their yacht, a size or 2 sizes larger and some smaller than that recommended (declaring my position, smaller). But ignoring our personal experiences - no-one has made mention that they wished they had bought a bigger anchor (but then whether big or small - they have not dragged). This is hardly conclusive - and the evidence is limited but there is nothing definitive to suggest you should spend more money than is necessary and go larger (the individual can decide what necessary means).

I am very receptive to objective reasoning as to why you should use a bigger anchor - but evidence so far is subjective.

close edit
 
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sailaboutvic said:
Check first that the roll bar Rocna won't fit on your bow,
I have seen gib sea with Rocna on their bow.

Manson. Before I brought my Rocna it was a Manson I was after but could get one locally and to get one derived was going to cost almost third again.

Now, having the Rocna, I am very happy with it, we did a quick, spur of the moment film Yesterday for another anchor Thread, just to show that if you dropped it correctly how quickly it would set, link below,
From the second the Co skipper started to drop until it was set it took two mins and a few second,
We would have normally left it a bit longer under power but, I wanted to make the film shorter so YouTube wouldn't take all my MB to upload it,
But has you will see the boat was rattling and shacking at 2500RPM with experience that tell me the Rocna was well in.

Depending how much anchoring you do and where, there are cheaper anchors about that will work well, like the delta, and within no time at all you will get more and more posting of other anchor,
but for us anchoring most of the year round and never knowing what surface that we are going to find, the Ronca works very well.


https://youtu.be/nlIEQ-zOuMM
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Can I ask about your solar panel position and fixtures on the guard wire?
 
I had my starboard bow roller modified by welding extra cheeks on to the existing ones. The roller is thus somewhat lower than it was originally, and by comparison with the port side one.This was originally done to try to get a Delta to self launch, only partly successful, but when I bought a Rocna it fitted perfectly. There is a photo of it on the Rocna website, Sadler 34.
 
Neeves said:
Any evidence?

Jonathan
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No evidence. Just a personal opinion that I should have made clear. My Vulcan seems to dig in immediately (in sand anyway). As far as I can tell, the sole purpose of the roll bar is to orientate the Rocna original so that it also digs in immediately. If the Vulcan is managing to achieve that without the roll bar then it seems that the designer has removed the need for the roll bar. When I had the Vulcan at home, it would not balance upside down and would always roll the right way up. It's a very clever design.
 
I had a very similar dilemma to the op on my similar sized, new to me, Dufour 30.

After previously having a spade on my old boat.

I settled on a 12kg Kobra 2.

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