My choice of anchor is . . .

thrown him in the drink

  • yes

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  • and tied an anchor to his feet

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The only direct comparative experience I have is with CQR versus Bruce. I have a CQR and Bruce which are of the same weight - I use the Bruce as a stern anchor in the Baltic. Before that I used the CQR when I needed a stern anchor. Generally I found that on those conditions (water is typically about 3-5m deep and often with a bit of weed over what I think is mud) the CQR is a nightmare to get it to dig in. Using the Bruce, it nearly always bites straight away, and I then use the cockpit winches on the rode to dig it in as hard as I can. And yes, I've tried setting them both in the same place on the same day! Gave up with the CQR and once I'd attached the Bruce had no problem.

That's not very scientific, I know, and says nothing about their ultimate holding power, but I was amazed at the difference in them 'biting'. Bruce seems to be fairly universal as a stern anchor in the Baltic. And there of course the stern anchor is the 'main' one - it's not uncommon to see a yacht swinging by her stern for the night in the middle of a bay!
 
trouville, I love your postings, really some of the very best here. Please continue in this Forum. I will be in Cogolin in October, hope to see you there. Glass of wine is on me.
 
Yes SimonCr and trouville, I also have had the same experience. I have a Bruce as well and it worked great on the west coast of Sweden and in the Baltics. But since I have gone south into the Med, I only have problems setting it. There must be something very specific to Scandinavia and the Bruce, don't know what it is. For the rest I wholeheartedly agree with the postings above: the CQR seems to be the best anchor for most parts of the world.
 
Just another point of view..

Just another point of view:
From : <span style="color:blue"> mainesail </span> Catalina 310 Maine

I would recommend seriously looking at a Manson Supreme, Rocna or a Steel Spade I've owned just about every anchor made and still own them. My CQR never even gets dusted off any more and my Bruce is on loan to a buddy who never anchors . The Delta is not a bad anchor but also nowhere as good as either a Rocna, Spade or Manson Supreme.

I anchor out a lot and my Manson Supreme is now my primary anchor. I actually physically test my anchors and put them through the paces and compare them to each other. I also keep an anchor log book with scope, wind, depth, bottom type and anchor used for each anchoring.

The Bruce and CQR were good anchors a long time ago , and still are, but when compared to some of the newer designs they just don't compete in the same arena.

In my 37 years of boating I've NEVER had an anchor set so definitively and abruptly as the Manson Supreme or hold as well! I can literally drag my CQR 25 around a cove with upwards of a 10:1 scope, and my boat in reverse, at 80% throttle. My 33# Bruce is similar but does finally set and hold.

I'm not trying to slam the CQR, Delta or Bruce as they are all ok anchors. It's just that the Spade's, Manson Supreme's and Rocna's are excellent anchors and after driving a BMW I could never see going back to a Pontiac if you know what I mean..

I can't tell you how many CQR's I dove on, over the years, that were basically being used as a rock connected to chain. Probably 60% of the CQR & Bruce anchors I have witnessed on the bottom, in coves or anchorages, have been sitting on their side with about three inches of the tip barely caught in the bottom. I'm not saying CQR's can't be set, they can & I used one for 6 years, they just require more skill and patience to set, & set properly, than the newer designs.

From my musings over the years I would have to say that close to 50% of boaters, both power and sail, but mostly power don't even know how to set an anchor or attempt to! I've witnessed lots of catastrophic, vacation ending, dragings leading to serious hull damage over the years and every one still haunts me. Perhaps I take anchoring a little to seriously but the cost of an anchor is small compared to a six figure boat.

When diving on mine this was the set more often than not even after multiple attempts at getting it to set.. look at the picture of the CQR. It's laying on it's side and is NOT set. For a CQR to be properly set it must be vertical like a plow!!!!!! This picture typifies the "rock on a rope" most sailors experience, but never realize, due to the relatively benign summer conditions we mostly encounter. The funny thing is this was a picture that was displayed in Sail Magazine representing anchor tests! Usually the rock on the rope holds till morning giving a false sense of security until a breeze pops up.

I use my Fortress as a dedicated stern anchor a job for which this anchor is perfect. It's very light, to set out in the dinghy with, and holds like pit bull in one direction. It can be tough to set on a hard bottom due mostly to its weight but I have never not been able to not get it to set after a few tries.

The anchors on my boat are a Fortress (stern), Manson Supreme (primary) and Spade S-80 (backup). The CQR collects dust in my shed, the Bruce is on loan to a friend with a power boat and the Delta I let go with one of my boats I sold.

Both the Manson and the Spade cost less than the CQR but the Manson has much more surface are per pound than the Delta, CQR, Bruce or Spade because it does not need added lead "tip weight" like the Delta, Spade or CQR.

The sharpened tip also penetrates eel grass and weeds far better than any anchor I have ever used.

Picking the right ground tackle is only half the battle. You also need good technique, proper scope and you MUST set your anchor by either back winding the sails or using the full reverse power of your motor other wise you have a rock on a rope and might as well be using a cinder block.
 
OO gosh! I will try to get a place in port Cogolin for a week or two.The capitain though only seems to have room in the river which i wont accept(paid full price)

i can only find a place in StTropez or St Maxim for a week or two then ill come down bay either with my boat and anchor, or use my tender, or landrove,r if the goings boreing!

Given all is the same next year ill just "take" a place but im so well known its getting harder i may have to pay!!Or just stay untill thrown out.If there really isent a place to pay for!

The capitain knows my boat !I painted her white and he still recognises her as for Marines du Cogolin the capitains are those i knew when they were emptying the bins they did everything in the port and are realy great people!They are all but one very good people but still wont give me the shower code,well at least not more than twice when in the river.They are correct!

If i get back from the frozen Baltic in which direction my bows pointed (without motivation)Ill ask "what wine"?? and just one bottel?Such things i could never politly ask "then and there" but do make a differance

In the meantime ill take my CQR on deck but will anchor with my Danforth as its just to much to change the chain/line for no reason when needed.
 
Having enjoyed reading the many posts on Anchors,Ifeel that after 18years with C Q R as main anchor then 4 years with Delta,I would like to make a point that has so far been missed. Wind shifts especially thundery conditions when a 180 deg change is not unusual in the Med. Force 4 in one direction to f 8 is not uncommon, Danforth type,CQR etc little chance of resetting in my experience. Spending as I have done 4/5 months on anchor and never using a marina each summer the purchase of a Delta has been the best decision I have made. Being a keen mountain trekker I like to leave my yacht unattended for whole days at a time so a dependable 'handbrake' is essential.
 
Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing that information since (as you will have read) I have just bought a 25kg Delta this winter. Like you, we do not use marinas once we leave the winter berth and we are planning to be at anchor until late September, this year in the Balearics.

By the way, I haven't seen a single Rocna in the Med, have you? Given the results on the survey on the other thread running right now, isn't that surprising?
 
There is something seriously odd about the way this survey is panning out. The picture looks nothing like what you see on cruising boats that are actually in service anchoring regularly. The results look more like what you'd expect to see on Solent/Channel yachts in Chichester Marina. I don't believe it.
 
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Ive also given up with Lidel bread mix!When i followed the instructions and baked the bread at 200 degrees for one hour in an electric oven it burnt!![ QUOTE ]


Had the same problem with home grown mix of flour, water and yeast. Fixed by baking rolls for 12-13 mins at about 180deg, loves (farmhouse style) about 20 mins. Mmmmm Dam sight tastier with or without butter and jam than a CQR, Danforth, Bruce or whatever, and does not damage my fillings /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Small rolls i do in fact did the day before yesterday not so fast as yours! Mine took half an hour to rise then 20 minutes in a hot oven!

1 cup milk some sugar inch of butter yeast then 1 egg mix then add No55 flour untill it can be kneeded by hand without needing more flour.

If you have just been antifoulig or working on a Volvo engine which was very dirty then bakeings a good way to get clean hands

Bake the rolls for 20 minutes at 200 degrees
 
Indeed. Where is the Danforth/Brittany set which are very popular in the Med, and, as you say, the Bugel which is hugely popular. I have never seen a Rocna and have been deliberately keeping my eyes open. As you say, CQR looks about right for the number installed but surely not for a preference? Few people starting from scratch would choose a CQR over a Delta (a comparison I chose since some might not have confidence in new wave manufacturers). Can there be a single person out there who thinks the CQR is better than the Delta - even the manufacturers don't!
 
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There are one or two up there that I suspect have been 'massaged'.

[/ QUOTE ] Fantastic . . . .

Not much point in setting up or participating in polls if you believe that the results must be false in some way just because they don't bear out your own unsubstantiated opinion.

I think this is probably the last post I will ever contribute to an anchoring thread.

Now, what sort of cheese do you like? Ninety percent of liveaboards like cows cheese - virtually no-one eats cheese made from sheep or goats milk.

- W
 
On my 44ft boat in Greece ive 2 x26kg Delta and an 20 kg danforth
In very big winds i join the two deltas together with 4 mts of chain head to shank,with this ive sat out many a gale waiting to go around Peloponnise.Have never used the Danforth as I had a bad experiance with one on my Sun Charm39. cheers bobt
 
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Not much point in setting up or participating in polls if you believe that the results must be false in some way just because they don't bear out your own unsubstantiated opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's not very scientific. If you conduct a test, experiment, poll or similar and the results seem to contradict the evidence of your own eyes, you have to look at them critically to see why. Perhaps - just perhaps - there is a problem. It could be that despite the question, the majority of respondents were not cruising yachties. Or maybe they are, and that by a fluke they are not a representative sample. All sorts of things happen to make the outcome of polls suspicious but if one is not critical of the results one is in danger of being misled.

The result of this survey to date does not reflect what any of us see with our eyes - the CQR figure is representative of the number out there but is it representative of peoples' preference? Perhaps, I don't know, it is possible, but most of the others don't make sense. Why is Bugel so low? It is a hugely popular European cruising anchor - not seen much in the UK which makes the survey results look rather like a UK survey and not a long-distance cruising survey.
 
<<<Can there be a single person out there who thinks the CQR is better than the Delta - even the manufacturers don't! >>

And not just the CQR. I visited the Rocna agents at LIBS. After discussing the various anchors, tests, videos, etc, the agent asked me what I used, to which I replied that I had used a Delta for the past 12 or 13 years. His reply was "Well, that's a good anchor. You wouldn't want to be changing that for a Rocna!"
 
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