latest anchor test

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pcatterall

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Does the latest PBO 'test' indicate that we should all ditch our CQRs and Bruces and get 'spades and Rocna's' ?

I note that my my 2 anchors are a bruce and a cqr so not much anchor security for me then!

I notice that there were no 'fortress types' tested; are they no longer rated at all?

I tried to understand how/if the test replicated the angle of pull or is/was it assumed that there is sufficient chain/scope to make the pull virtually parallel to the sea bed?
 
Not having read the article I'd be interested to hear how they rate the anchors. Is it on the highest pull they managed, the average or the lowest? Most articles I've seen make a big thing about an anchor that managed a very high pull on an individual test. Occasionally the average of several but I've never seen a test that meets my criteria.

I don't want an anchor that can withstand a pull of 1000kg once in 10 tries. I want an anchor that will hold 500 kg every time. I look at the lowest pull.
 
I received my copy yesterday.

I'm still trying to understand how I went for 6 years of full time cruising with two CQR's and only dragged once. It seems I was unbelievably lucky. I think I'll go and buy a lottery ticket.
 
snowleopard said:
Not having read the article I'd be interested to hear how they rate the anchors.
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They had several pages of methodology, but I'm afraid the subject bores me so I only skimmed them. I think it was more than a single try, though, and was done over a period of months (years?). Main downside is they didn't seriously try to vary the bottom types - the main testing was done on one beach with a bit of comparison at one other place. So you get "Spade five times better than CQR", but applicable only to coarse sand.

Pete
 
pcatterall said:
Does the latest PBO 'test' indicate that we should all ditch our CQRs and Bruces and get 'spades and Rocna's' ?

I note that my my 2 anchors are a bruce and a cqr so not much anchor security for me then!

I notice that there were no 'fortress types' tested; are they no longer rated at all?

I tried to understand how/if the test replicated the angle of pull or is/was it assumed that there is sufficient chain/scope to make the pull virtually parallel to the sea bed?
Click to expand...

almost 100% of new Oysters have CQRs fitted
 
Therefore, prv, an article that analysed all the literature on anchor testing and presented conclusions, would be useful and maybe not so boring.
 
sailorman said:
almost 100% of new Oysters have CQRs fitted
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And from that we can potentially draw lots of different conclusions.

Oyster have got a cheap deal with the CQR distributor.
Oyster know nothing about anchors.
Oyster owners don't get involved with anchor selection.
Oyster owners dont anchor very much.
Oyster have conducted extensive research into anchors and concluded that the CQR is the best one to securely hold a very expensive boat.
Almost all Oyster owners have conducted their own research and have chosen a CQR.

Being a skeptical sort I am more inclined to believe the first two than the last two.:cool:
 
Oh, oh. Better get the cartoon out:

ar-2.jpg
 
I never anchor on a dried out beach, and then try to pull my anchor along the beach with an electric winch.:D It all seemed pretty far from the reality of anchoring.
 
SolentBoy said:
And from that we can potentially draw lots of different conclusions.

Oyster have got a cheap deal with the CQR distributor.
Oyster know nothing about anchors.
Oyster owners don't get involved with anchor selection.
Oyster owners dont anchor very much.
Oyster have conducted extensive research into anchors and concluded that the CQR is the best one to securely hold a very expensive boat.
Almost all Oyster owners have conducted their own research and have chosen a CQR.

Being a skeptical sort I am more inclined to believe the first two than the last two.:cool:
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Oyster have extensive experience in Yacht design,build & application.
i use a Bruce :p
 
There have been a few big new yachts going past here recently, mainly from Norway and Denmark. The really high specced ones like the Farr 50s and the big Rassys and X Yachts seem to sport very shiny stainless steel Bruce clones. I am not sure whether the choice is just being made on aesthetic grounds though, but if you are going to expose your anchor on the front of a very shiny boat you might want it to be shiny too.
(But then they say you never need to anchor in the Baltic so what would they know).
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
Therefore, prv, an article that analysed all the literature on anchor testing and presented conclusions, would be useful and maybe not so boring.
Click to expand...

Still be boring to me I'm afraid. I have a pair of CQRs; I know something modern would be better, but these are good enough. End of story really; I don't need to read pages of analysis.

Note I'm not saying the analysis shouldn't be done - important that a third party checks on the manufacturers' claims. Just that I don't have any interest in reading it.

(Also I'm not saying PBO shouldn't have run the article. Just cos it's not interesting to me doesn't mean it isn't to others, and it did at least seem reasonably in-depth.)

Pete
 
Quandary said:
There have been a few big new yachts going past here recently, mainly from Norway and Denmark. The really high specced ones like the Farr 50s and the big Rassys and X Yachts seem to sport very shiny stainless steel Bruce clones. I am not sure whether the choice is just being made on aesthetic grounds though, but if you are going to expose your anchor on the front of a very shiny boat you might want it to be shiny too.
(But then they say you never need to anchor in the Baltic so what would they know).
Click to expand...

Who are these people that never anchor in the Baltic? I couldn't disagree more. I lived in Sweden and sailed lots in the Baltic. Everyone anchors nearly all the time. The only difference it that the anchor is on the stern of the boat!
 
Quandary said:
(But then THEY SAY you never need to anchor in the Baltic so what would they know)
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Solent Boy
I dunno? I was quoting hearsay, I have never anchored anywhere near the Baltic, so like many on here speaking from a position of extreme ignorance and perhaps a little tongue in cheek, but without any intention to be provocative.
I talk to a lot of passing boat owners every day, its remarkable how few of them can reply to the question 'How do you find your anchor performs'.
On the presumption that most of the yachts going out and coming back through the Crinan Canal anchor at least 75% of the time and should be expected to know something about it, I have been carrying out a crude survey of visible anchors. Deltas seem to be most popular, followed by CQR, they massively outnumber the others which seem to be Bruce, then Roll Bar (Rocna and Manson are hard to identify once the labels are off) and a few Spades. Spades are a small minority, except on the French boats and we see even fewer folding anchors (Danforth/ Fortress) out here except on smaller yachts The major proportion of the Bruces are stainless steel on big Scandanavian yachts. The preference for Delta and CQR may be influenced by Scottish supply (Simpson Lawrence was much respected) as well as the anchoring conditions.
Next year I might take time to assemble some statistics.
 
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Quandary said:
...... but without any intention to be provocative.
I talk to a lot of passing boat owners every day, its remarkable how few of them can reply to the question 'How do you find your anchor performs'.
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:D

That is so funny, and typical, thanks, its these we gems that I look forward to. You have been away for a while, missed them. I think having dinner under the table with the dog has been the best yet.
 
PTB said:
.. nice spot .. where is it??
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Conwy Estuary, North Wales. We dried out (as opposed to going aground) last Thursday for a Barbie 13:30 and lifted 19:30. Seperate thread required suppose with the amount of comments we receive from the peeps passing by like " What happened?" "Have you had a few jobs to do?" "Will you get off alright?" etc etc. Thank you Simon the weather man for the nice weather you sent us:D
 
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