Rocna- what to buy instead?

uxb

uxb

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So here's me now the almost owner of a boat after a few years off the water, looking to buy a decent anchor and fancying a Rocna.

After wading through the mega thread on the cheapo Chinese Rocna efforts I'll deffo not be going there- unless they start making them in NZ again.

Seems like a Manson might be the one? But where are they made?

I hate buying Chinese and also hate companies who sell skills and jobs into cheap markets so always try to find a home made,or Your-Oh made at a pinch, product- which is becoming harder by the day.
 
uxb said:
So here's me now the almost owner of a boat after a few years off the water, looking to buy a decent anchor and fancying a Rocna.

After wading through the mega thread on the cheapo Chinese Rocna efforts I'll deffo not be going there- unless they start making them in NZ again.

Seems like a Manson might be the one? But where are they made?

I hate buying Chinese and also hate companies who sell skills and jobs into cheap markets so always try to find a home made,or Your-Oh made at a pinch, product- which is becoming harder by the day.
Click to expand...

Right---stand by for the bunfight!

Rocna are now to be made in Canada. Get one that is DEFINITELY made in Canada!
Alternatively: Mansn Spade ,Bugel, Delta.
I have the last,replacing a genuine CQR, which took such a good hold(on an abandoned mooring:mad:) that even the tripline wouldn't shift it. Delta so far is brilliant.
Whatver anchor you get----get one size bigger than recommended!
 
Spade?

Supposedly as good or better than Rocna for holding, plus the absence of roll-bar ought to make it easier to stow.

I hear they're pretty spendy though.

Pete
 
Just carry a good mix of anchors to suit the ground you're going to anchor over.

2x Delta, 2 x Fortress, a CQR and a 4 leg foldable Grapple are what we carry, changing the anchor as we need to for the ground we are anchoring in!

A Manson would be my next anchor when I need one though!

Agree with 'go a size bigger than recomended' though.
 
Anyone know where the Manson is made?

I DO NOT want to buy Chinese if I can possibly avoid it.

In my shed I currently have two Danforths and a 65 lb CQR. I'll keep one of the Danforths but the CQR is way oversize for my new boatie.
 
Manson Anchors

Mine was made in a big shed in New Zealand by a gang of Kiwis in boiler suits, did not need to have bubble wrap on it either. Have a look at the Manson website?
 
Depends how big your budget is. If money is no object in the search for the last 5% of holding power, Manson is a fair bet. If you want a good general purpose anchor at a fraction of the price, get a Delta.
 
We will be in replace anchor mode for our new to us live aboard boat in the USA, to replace the 66lb Bruce copy claw. Rocna is out for obvious and stated reasons (despite the excellent backup we would have from West Marine USA). I looked at Spade and from previous posts on here way back when the French designer was a forumite, plus tests I have read, I would rate them highly, if only they were affordable, but maybe they are less over here than in the USA! Manson (and Rocna for that matter) pose bow stowage problems for us with their roll bars and our plank bow platform, not insurmountable I know but nevertheless adding to cost and hassle. Delta I have used for ten years over here even in some very wild conditions and I rate them highly, plus they are affordable to the point we can go one size up anyway and still be solvent. We would keep the Bruce copy as a secondary, we have a Danforth as secondary at present which will also stay and we are taking a small Fortress (FX-11 for up to 33ft boat) with us as a stern anchor since we have it.
 
Coaster said:
I'd buy another Rocna.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised that you are so sure.

I had total faith in my Rocna before the questions about the quality of the metal, and the integrity of the inventor and suppliers. Now, I'm unnerved.

I'm not sure that I can believe anything that I read previously about the Rocna, and frankly I'm still to be convinced that the new guys are going to manage to satisfy previous purchasers of Rocna anchors.

Will I ever be able to be sure that by using a Rocna, I have done my utmost to secure my boat at anchor? These Canadian guys have their work cut out to convince me because I am now doubter.

To illustrate my concern, I have just been on the various Spade anchor websites. The prices are a bit eyewatering, but their proposition is very convincing.

In spite of reassurances from Rocnaone that the situation will soon be resolved, my impatience may get the better of me and I may just jump ship anyway with this whole Rocna rigmarole.

The Rocna guys have never understood that their customers are trying to pay ridiculous amounts of money to buy themselves out of aggro, not to secure a front row seat in a bun fight.

I guess I could just buy a Spade anchor, and consign my Rocna to another marine-leisure-industry-promise-that-didn't-deliver. As the wife keeps telling me: 'stop whinghing, it's only money. And if this will shut you up it's worth it.'

Cheers

Garold
 
Brute Force

The OP doesn"t say what sized boat he or she now has.

What he/she has in their shed would do very nicely surely? BTW there aint a 65lb cqr but there is a 60 and 75.

Faced with the Rocna/Wocna dilemma I upsized a cqr from 45 to 60 which I am very happy with indeed.

Lets just say that as popular opinion tends to shuffle in one direction, in the other direction are a lot of good secondhand or unused even, older style anchors.

Not for everyone I know, but, say, the OP now has a boat from 30 to 40 feet, even a 75lb cqr from the shed is not really 'overkill', or is it?
 
prv said:
Spade?

Supposedly as good or better than Rocna for holding, plus the absence of roll-bar ought to make it easier to stow.

I hear they're pretty spendy though.

Pete
Click to expand...

They have brought out a cheaper version which excludes lead in the toe.
 
There are plenty of good anchors out there.

It all depends on how much and where you anchor.

The more nights you anchor (or intend to) the more you should invest in your anchor. If you anchor one or twice a year in mud just for lunch, your requirements are going to be much different from someone who lives on the end of their hook 6 months of the year in remote parts of the globe.

If you spend more than around 30 days on your hook for as long you own it, rather than spend those nights in a marina, it will have paid for itself, no matter which anchor you buy for your size of boat.

The Spade often get berated for it's price, ours paid for itself in the first year.
 
uxb said:
So here's me now the almost owner of a boat after a few years off the water, looking to buy a decent anchor and fancying a Rocna.

After wading through the mega thread on the cheapo Chinese Rocna efforts I'll deffo not be going there- unless they start making them in NZ again.

Seems like a Manson might be the one? But where are they made?

I hate buying Chinese and also hate companies who sell skills and jobs into cheap markets so always try to find a home made,or Your-Oh made at a pinch, product- which is becoming harder by the day.
Click to expand...

Here is a comparative test :

http://www.bluewatersupplies.com/new_gen_anchors.htm
 
Ariadne said:
Just carry a good mix of anchors to suit the ground you're going to anchor over.

2x Delta, 2 x Fortress, a CQR and a 4 leg foldable Grapple are what we carry, changing the anchor as we need to for the ground we are anchoring in!

A Manson would be my next anchor when I need one though!

Agree with 'go a size bigger than recomended' though.
Click to expand...

I recently tied up next to a boat (in Bembridge) that has four bow rollers. Not sure that the bowsprit would have stayed above the waterline if he'd rigged a an anchor on all four though. Unless you're on a monster boat where on earth would you stow all that steelwork? I struggle to find space for a second anchor (a 25lb fisherman to back up the 20lb CQR).
 
uxb said:
I hate buying Chinese and also hate companies who sell skills and jobs into cheap markets so always try to find a home made,or Your-Oh made at a pinch, product- which is becoming harder by the day.
Click to expand...

So where will your chain come from? There are a few European suppliers, although some of the examples I have are not particularly good, especially the galvanising. The vast majority of chain available through chandlers comes from one of two suppliers, both of whom buy from China.
 
Chain reaction

I have not bought any chain for more than ten years but I hope the galvanising is better than on the shackles which I have been buying. I have bought shackles from reputable chandlers and from commercial (fishing) suppliers, pricey ones at several times the price in a hardware shop. All of them are covered in rust after less than a years light use; it never used to be like this in the distant past; the chain they are attached to is still clean. If they can not galvanise shackles any more; how long should I expect the galvanizing on new chain to last?
This is a serious question as my anchor chains are now teenagers and beginning to show the odd rusty link, am I better to persevere with it or take a chance of having a bucket of rust by buying new stuff.
 
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