Kobra II anchor

[bluedragon]

I believe quite a number of people went out and bought one of these last year after the favourable YM/French tests. Any feedback?

I don't want this to turn into another "what's the best anchor" thread, but just a simple question on the Kobra II vs. expectations.

I'm planning on fitting a roll-bar design, but will have to do some mods first. So as their fairly inexpensive, I thought I'd give the Kobra II a try until I get these done. Hopefully will always be a good back-up anchor anyway...

 

[craigsmith]

I don't have direct experience but it seems unlikely it would perform significantly better than a genuine Delta. It possibly gains some efficiency with finer geometry, but that compromises strength. Think carefully about why Simpson-Lawrence might not have made the same design decisions. Additionally, the folding shank mechanism is lightweight and dubious.

The YM test was just a translation of the Voiles et Voiliers test, and was heavily pro-French. Take what you will from that. The test itself appears to be the usual one-pull-only rubbish, giving essentially useless results, the article was suspiciously silent on such details. I would put no faith in the results.

 

[bluedragon]

The Kobra II is not the folding shank version. That's Kobra I. Ref. your comments about the French tests, that's why I was asking about real-life experiences from any forum members.

 

[Sybarite]

" the Voiles et Voiliers test, and was heavily pro-French. Take what you will from that. The test itself appears to be the usual one-pull-only rubbish, giving essentially useless results, the article was suspiciously silent on such details. I would put no faith in the results. "

What chauvinistic drivel.

 

[blackbeard]

" the Voiles et Voiliers test, and was heavily pro-French. Take what you will from that. The test itself appears to be the usual one-pull-only rubbish, giving essentially useless results, the article was suspiciously silent on such details. I would put no faith in the results. "

What chauvinistic drivel.

Chauvinistic or not, I couldn't comment.

What I will say is that I found the report in YM (November 2009) to be, shall we say, inadequate. Craig is quite right. It was a one-pull-only test (so far as I could tell from a badly written report). There were other problems too.

YM did a much better report of a better test a while earlier (December 2006) which demonstrated how it should be done; but it didn't include the Kobra.

The really interesting question: does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with the Kobra which they would like to tell us about?

 

[Steve_N]

I have a Kobra2 as bower anchor.
I can't fault it.
It sets immediately.
It has never dragged.
It sometimes takes a fair old pull to break it out.
It sits in a shallow pool of water in the anchor well but hasn't rusted.

I replaced am unwieldy great lump of a 45lb CQR with the 16kg Kobra (37' 10 ton boat).
Interestingly the latter has a far bigger fluke area and I find it a better performing anchor.
It's a joy to use in fact as it just does what you want it to every time.

Plus, as it was cheap, if I ever had to cut it loose it wouldn't break the bank.

Edit: P.S. have had it for 3 seasons now.

 

[ctva]

Like Steven N above, it just works. never had any problems with it and our cursing grounds are the west coast of Scotland. Only ever had to reset it once in Tinkers Hole when I looked down to see it had picked up a bit of weed. Had it for three years too. Would I buy another, yes.

 

[bluedragon]

Thanks Steve, I was really aiming this post at the likes of yourself, and not to become an opinion debate on the merits or otherwise of the French anchor tests. I merely mentioned them as it seemed to create a flurry of purchases, and it would be good to know what people think in reality 12 months on.

 

[VicMallows]

And another happy user....

I replaced the genuine CQR I had been using on my Sadler29 for 25yrs with a Kobra2 this season. I have been amazed how much easier it sets .... first time every time so far. Of course the fact that I've moved up from a 25lb (12kg) CQR to a 16kg Kobra might also be a factor!

I can't really see that the ability to (slightly) fold the shank supposedly for storage is any real advantage, but it certainly doesn't appear to me to impair the structural strength (unlike the mechanism on the Kobra 1 which I most definitely would not be happy with)_.


Vic

 

[noelex]

My experience diving on many anchors and observing their set and performance is that the Kobra is similar, but slightly worse, to the Delta.
It therefore rates on my scale above the first generation anchors, but below the performance of the Rocna, Manson supreme, and Spade.
The folding mechanism on the Kobra 1 looks flimsy to me and I would not trust it for overnight anchoring.

 

[jordanbasset]

My own experience of the Kobra 2 is similar to the other users of it, am very happy with it. Have used it down the French coast, Northern Spain, Portugal, Altantic Spain and now the med. Set first time every time and is held well in big winds.

 

[machurley22]

Sgeir of this parish has used one this season and thinks it the bees' knees. I've shared a few anchorages with him this year and having seen how positively it sets and the difficulty he sometimes has in breaking it out I would have to agree that it seems like a very capable hook.

Of course the real king of the moderately-priced modern anchors is the Raya (guess what I use as best bower) but you've probably missed the boat there since it looks like the manufacturer is no more.

 

[TonyMS]

We've used a Kobra 1 as our bower since 2002 (14Kg from memory, with 15m chain, on a 2-ton cat). Most years we have spent 5 months cruising, nearly every night at anchor, occasionally in very strong winds.

The anchor has behaved very well. There is no sign of any distortion, but it is now starting to rust on the sharp edges.

Like any other anchor, it needs to be set properly, ie given time to catch before applying full load. It resets reliably on change of tide. However, I like to use 2 anchors if there is a bad wind-against-tide situation.

Tony

 

[Blue Fox]

I had a Kobra 1, but several times had trouble with it, especially when it was resetting. Once, in a Danish anchorage, I found myself drifting along in the middle of the night when the wind had changed. At that occasion I had 'reversed' the anchor with the engine - so it should have dug in.
I changed it for a rocna and never looked back.

 

[RobBrown]

If you are going to look at roll bar designs in due course, I purchased the inexpensive version, a 14kg Bugel from a German chandlery for about £120 inc exchange rate & delivery and have had first time sets every time in subsequent 2 seasons use, something which couldn't be said for my previous bower, a25lb CQR!

 

[AMEX]

Had a CQR until last year. Moved to a Kobra II 16kgs.

Well, I now nickname it my "sleeping pill". The only time I have drifted was by force 8 when I decided to set up a second anchor as a precaution (quite gusty too). As it happens it got messy, spoiling the main one (the Kobra II) and I started drifting.

So I took it all out and went about to reset the Kobra II on its own. And so I was "back on the pills" and could resume the only thing I could do for a few days stuck there... zzzzz.

My new yacht will have a Delta so I should be able to compare again its performance but as far as I am concerned if I m not happy with it, I ll go for a Kobra II again.

Safe sailing