spade anchor, worth the money ?

NZ Manson anchor - new design - performed very impressively in joint Anglo-American yachting tests.
Certainly it is the make that I would buy, if I needed to replace an old faithful or equip a new boat.
 
If you are not planning to sleep on your anchor then 250 is a bit steep. Almost anything will do. Ask people who anchor where you plan to do your bit.

Otherwise get something decent and bite the bullet. Any modern anchor will cost but also perform reasonably.

I have an Oceane and four other anchors.
 
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Plastimo Kobra almost as good, fraction of the price. Came 2nd to Spade in the Viole et Voilier exhaustive test.

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Looks like a plough - which seems to be old technology?
 
Ah, it has been a while since we have heard from Craig, good thing you said the code word. Apparently he has a wealth of interests to chat about apart from anchors, just no one has found any of them yet...

Watcha! Craig, how's it hangin ya drongo.
 
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If you are not planning to sleep on your anchor

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erm . . . /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Why else does one anchor? If it is just a lunch stop then chuck anything down.

If however you want to sleep soundly then divide the cost of replacing your boat by £250 and see if it makes sense.

We have a Spade and love it. Once set it has never budged, and it usually sets instantly except on rock.

Nick
 
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If you are not planning to sleep on your anchor then 250 is a bit steep. Almost anything will do.

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Err.... from me too.

Sounds like scarlett doesn't like boats.

In the immortal words of that great man Radar O'Rielly "Boats are be people too you know".


thinking ... thinking....... think M.A.S.H
 
Another vote for a spade, about 100 nights at anchor now, has set first time every time bar one and yet to drag.

I'm also of the camp that says, like liferafts, this is one area of kit where you don't skimp, you might not be planning to spend nights at anchor but it is the council of last rersort if you need to stop the boat drifting into a hazard.
 
Yes Webcraft, you have got my drift. If he just wants to stop for lunch somewhere then all he needs is to find out what those who use that particular area use. EG. Is it rock, mud, weed, shingle etc? Lots of people from my club never anchor in anything other than Humber mud for a lunch stop. Anything will do as long as it is not too heavy otherwise it will hurt your back when you pull it up with a ton of mud on it.

But if he wants to sleep soundly in bad weather he needs to spend real money. If I was looking for a new anchor I would consider a Hydrobubble. I use a similar system with my Oceane.
 
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Ah, it has been a while since we have heard from Craig, good thing you said the code word.

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Doesn't usually bite until someone says how good the CQR is.

Which, of course, it is.
 
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spade of the size i need 250 quids, ....

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That, at current marina prices, is less than 10 nights when you might prefer to go into a marina if you don't have confidence in your anchor.
So your anchor will pay for itself in one season ...
Bargain, I say. Even apart from the safety factor ...
 
Never mind a quite sleep - what if you get into trouble on a lee shore in strong winds and need to drop an anchor pdq which you can be confident will hold you with minimal drag. Thats why I changed from a CQR to a more modern, efficient anchor (in my case a Rochna; no link to Craig!)
 
I will be buying a Rocna or a Spade when I get to Malta.

Whilst the CQR has held reasonably well in sand up to winds of 20 knots, I have dragged a short distance in sand, and couldnt get it to dig in in sand and weed.

The result is that I am not confident in the CQR unless I have actually swum and had a look at it. Even then, if the wind changes a few times, I am never convinced that it has reset in the right direction.

If, as people say, you actually "feel" the modern anchors digging in, then I owe it to myself to give it a go.

All the feedback from owners of both Rocna and Spade anchors seems to be positive.

Are they worrth ten times the cost of a Bruce, or a CQR, or whatever - If they do what it says on the tin, then yes.
 
We had a Spade on our last boat and was going to get one for this boat until I saw the price. Decided instead on a Rocna 25Kg. Size-for-size, the Rocna is much cheaper. We also have two 45LB CQRs and a 20KG Bruce. The Rocna is the one that lives on the bow roller. I have been very impressed with it so far. It sets instantly and hasn't dragged yet. We anchor quite a lot in a tidal river and multiple direction changes of 180 degrees on each turn of the tide doesn't seem to phase it at all.

...and no, I'm not related to Craig or anything to do with the company - I'm just a happy customer!

Cheers,

Jerry /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
After having my CQR drag on several occasions, once just as we were turning in, hours after setting the anchor, I went for a Spade and haven't yet failed to get it to set firmly and stay set. I bought it in Jersey, where they import them - hence no VAT and no carriage - saved a fair amount. Put it to immediate use, hence it became part of the ship's inventory, and not an 'import'....that's my story, anyway....
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Brian
 
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