Flook (TM) "Flying Anchor"

[Digger F]

Any forumites have any experience of one of these magic items ? It is an Ozzie patented design but reported to be great for kedging off or getting yourself out of a grounding. Mine is only 10kg but is rated up to a 12 mtr sailboat, All it requires is a length of 12mm nylon, launch it in any direction you want to go and it "flies" through the water at a ratio of 5 - 1.

 

[prv]

I'm in need of a kedge, and having seen one of these hanging up in Force 4 I googled what it was and discovered its party trick. Looked very handy - for situations where it's a bit marginal whether to bother getting the dinghy out of the locker and pumping it up, so perhaps you wouldn't bother, you could instead fly out the anchor and have peace of mind that you weren't going to swing into that rock. However, I asked for opinions on here, and mostly got negative ones: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?361374-Flook-anchor

Pete

 

[michael_w]

I bought one. Doesn't work, the drag of the rode stops it flying very far and mine refused to dig in as advertised. It got float tested, failed.

 

[sailorman]

I bought one. Doesn't work, the drag of the rode stops it flying very far and mine refused to dig in as advertised. It got float tested, failed.

Mebe the "Distance test" would work

 

[fergie_mac66]

whats needed is a small remote electric bot to take the anchor where you want it and then release . and your uncle is Robert the Man !

 

[Jamesuk]

I had a vision of a compressed air 'canon' anchor launch device, i am disappointed.

 

[LittleSister]

You're all doing it wrong! You just have to develop a good hammer throwing technique and adapt that to throwing the anchor. (p.s. don't forget to tell the crew to duck!)

 

[sailorman]

You're all doing it wrong! You just have to develop a good hammer throwing technique and adapt that to throwing the anchor. (p.s. don't forget to tell the crew to duck!)

That is similar to the distance test but the distance test uses no rode

 

[prv]

whats needed is a small remote electric bot to take the anchor where you want it and then release . and your uncle is Robert the Man !

Heh, nice idea. I guess you could save stowage space on board by reusing a couple of fenders as buoyancy sponsons, so you just need a battery and motor in a waterproof case to hang between them, with a remote controlled hook on the bottom to drop the anchor off.

Pete

 

[Andrew G]

I have only used mine once (came with the boat). It "flew" very well but once landed did not hold (soft river mud/silt. My main anchor held beautifully - I ended up getting the dinghy out and setting a real anchor - to keep me in the centre of a crockodile infested creek) - I would not trust it unattended. Ok if you were to use it in conjunction with a second anchor to "walk" the stern (ie fly it, pull it in a little, hold with the second, throw it again etc.). One test is not a good sample size but that was my experience. Andrew

 

[Neeves]

They never gained market acceptance in Australia. I am unaware of any chandlers having stocked them for years. I think you can still buy them from the designers, they are stocked in second hand boat bits shops.

Jonathan

 

[MASH]

There are no credible anchors I can think of that are made of sheet steel as opposed to being forged or cast and are held together with four loose nuts/bolts and four more loose hingeing strips of metal. Far too many failure modes imo.

But if it were any good we would all be familiar with it as a commonly seen and successful product, not so?

 

[DanTribe]

Someone recomended this anchor to me just recently I think.
Well , anyway, he said I should take a flying flook.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Radio controlled model boat towing a barge carrying the anchor? Barge could have a radio controlled release mechanism. If the barge carried (some of) the line as well, it would help the drag problem.

Daft idea?

 

[RogerLS]

I think this gadget was designed for use in Sweden and Norway where folk moor bow to rocks with stern anchor. The shores are steep to so almost any sort of "flying" might be useful. It would be married with a tape warp which should not give too much drag. That being said, I have never seen one in use in Sweden in the past ten years

 

[prv]

I think this gadget was designed for use in Sweden and Norway where folk moor bow to rocks with stern anchor.

Nope, designed in Australia for seaplanes

Pete

 

[sailorman]

Nope, designed in Australia for seaplanes

Pete

Wasnt that the original designed use for the world famous CQR

 

[prv]

Wasnt that the original designed use for the world famous CQR

I think it may have been, yes. Big flying boats like Sunderlands rather than the Cessna-on-two-kayaks on the Flook site, though.

With aircraft being the most weight-sensitive mode of transport short of space travel, it's not surprising that people have always tried to find more effective anchor designs so that they can have smaller, lighter examples.

Pete

 

[charles_reed]

There are no credible anchors I can think of that are made of sheet steel as opposed to being forged or cast and are held together with four loose nuts/bolts and four more loose hingeing strips of metal. Far too many failure modes imo.

But if it were any good we would all be familiar with it as a commonly seen and successful product, not so?

+1

 

[charles_reed]

Wasnt that the original designed use for the world famous CQR

Indeed it was - read the original paper and you'll realise that most people are laying the CQR wongly - probably resulting in the anchor's low rating.