What anchor should I buy?

M

Mikehp0

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 Oct 2012
Messages
91
Location
Lymington
Visit site
My Prestige 38s ' Zen Dog' has the factory Britany anchor.

I've had it drag a few times despite a scope comprising all chain , normally 6 times depth.

I'm keen to upgrade in the hope of better holding and therefore more relaxed lunch stops in the western Solent, Studland Bay, off Bournemouth Pier (for the air show), Newtown Creek, Brownsea Island, Lulworth Cove... All my neighbours seems to have modern fancy anchors. I've read the adverts and some articles but I'm after practical, first hand experience.

Zen Dog is 39' long and weighs 8 tonnes with fuel and water.

What type and size should I go for? Where should I buy it?

Many thanks in advance for your help.
 
You are going to get some contrasting and contradicting answers, but for what it's worth I rate delta anchors. Always go one size larger and never had one drag. Have anchored in three of the places you mention and lots of others.
 
I have the same as Jimmy, but only 60m of chain. No problems for us on a Bavaria Sport 37 that weighs 9t with fuel and water. Based South of France.
 
For the anchoring you do, any of the new generation anchors will do.

We have a Spade and find that it’s excellent. It’s never dragged and I feel very confident in its ability to stick to the bottom. I suspect I’d be saying the same thing if we’d bought a Rocna etc.

Here’s a ‘reasonably’ unbiased description of what’s available. https://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/new-gen-boat-anchors-explained.php
 
Last edited:
Good question....

Depends on the type of ground you want to anchor in and if you hit the mud, sand or shingle with your hook.

I found Delta a good allrounder.
 
On my boat of a similar size I went 80 metres of 8mm chain and got a Mantus 25kg. They have a good rep and I was going to be cruising in the Scilly Isles and wanted no nonsense holding. It glues you to the seabed.
 
simonfraser said:
so many factors, this thread will drag on.
i anchor in soft mud, Deltas don't hold well enough for me, even one size bigger.
the Knox i recently bought is excellent, no problems.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, most of my anchoring is in soft mud and never dragged once, even in some seriously blustery conditions. What size delta on what size boat have you found below par? I currently use a 10kg on a 29 foot 5 ton boat that came from factory with a 6kg. I never used the 6, so don't know how good it would have been, but I suspect I would be less happy with Delta had I stayed with it.

Of course there are plenty of other factors that we cannot take into account here. Chain or warp, ratio of rode to depth, boaters experience to choose the right spot to drop the hook etc etc.

Like I said at the beginning, there is no right answer to the OPs question, just lots of opinions, many of them that will contradict each other. :D
 
CLB said:
That's interesting, most of my anchoring is in soft mud and never dragged once, even in some seriously blustery conditions. What size delta on what size boat have you found below par? I currently use a 10kg on a 29 foot 5 ton boat that came from factory with a 6kg. I never used the 6, so don't know how good it would have been, but I suspect I would be less happy with Delta had I stayed with it.

Of course there are plenty of other factors that we cannot take into account here. Chain or warp, ratio of rode to depth, boaters experience to choose the right spot to drop the hook etc etc.

Like I said at the beginning, there is no right answer to the OPs question, just lots of opinions, many of them that will contradict each other. :D
Click to expand...

10kg delta on 26ft of mobo dragged repeatedly.
same location / chain etc. with a 9kg Knox no prob.
 
I find Deltas only work in sand. Had a lot of trouble with them in anything else.
Rocna/Mantus/Supreme etc seem to work very well in a wider variety of sea beds. I have a Rocna.
What ever you pick get the biggest one that will fit.
 
Sorry. I Did a search before posting because I didn't want to sound like a newbie and upset people. . I have an electric car. Their forums are full of 'what sort of charger/cable do I need'? Old lags tend to reply 'do some googling / read the ****** manual'... Have I started that sort of thread?
 
Mikehp0 said:
Sorry. I Did a search before posting because I didn't want to sound like a newbie and upset people. . I have an electric car. Their forums are full of 'what sort of charger/cable do I need'? Old lags tend to reply 'do some googling / read the ****** manual'... Have I started that sort of thread?
Click to expand...

It’s a classic thread but not in quite the same way. NMEA0183 wiring is probably the equivalent to your charger thing ;). Anchor threads instead have no single objectively-correct answer and people can bang on endlessly about their preference. Probably worse in the sailyboat forums than here, though ;)

All that said, obviously the right answer is the Spade anchor like I have :D. Never dragged or failed to set first time in eight years of frequent anchoring in various conditions around the Solent, West Country and Channel Islands, sometimes in quite strong winds and tides. I’m more likely to anchor overnight than for a lunch stop, and am happy to leave the boat anchored with the Spade while going off for a walk around an island or a meal ashore.

For your sized boat you probably want the S100 model. The one downside of Spades is that they are not cheap.

Pete
 
Mikehp0 said:
Sorry. I Did a search before posting because I didn't want to sound like a newbie and upset people. . I have an electric car. Their forums are full of 'what sort of charger/cable do I need'? Old lags tend to reply 'do some googling / read the ****** manual'... Have I started that sort of thread?
Click to expand...

Brilliant, go on the lounge forum and post something about electric cars! Always gets an electrifying response, more devisive than an anchor post these days.


PS I have an electric car and a Rocna anchor ?
 
Mikehp0 said:
Sorry. I Did a search before posting because I didn't want to sound like a newbie and upset people. . I have an electric car. Their forums are full of 'what sort of charger/cable do I need'? Old lags tend to reply 'do some googling / read the ****** manual'... Have I started that sort of thread?
Click to expand...

no, we find a Nissan leaf electric ,works great in sand
 
I sail a boat with flappy things called sails, but have in the last year progressed from a Danfoth to Rocna via a Delta. Whilst the weights have been different on all 3, I feel that the Rocna is by far the best of all of them. In your place I would look at any of the latest generation anchors that would fit your boat. The Valcun? (made by the Rocna people) I have heard mixed views of how well it works. My Rocna came from Jimmy Green Marine and the Delta from a chanderly in the CI. All have be genuine rather than copies as far as I'm aware.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top