Rocna put to bed

[Delfin]

Rocna has been communicating to those who own their product and have asked about the multiple test results showing that they have*(by Rocna's own definition)*used substandard steel in their anchors that they would be coming out with the definitive response that would put all naysayers to shame. *I have received PMs from useful idiots taking me to task for my observations and testing on that basis. *Well Rocna finally has published their answer.

(Drumroll.....) They have acknowledged that contrary to every statement they have previously made, that they do in fact use sub specification steel in their product, and have removed the bogus quality claims they were*shocked, shocked to find on their website, just*like the Inspector in Casa Blanca was shocked to find that gambling was going on in Ric's Cafe.

http://www.rocna.com/news/

You'll note in the press release that even though they have to cop to the obvious fact of manufacturing deception, they can't quite bring themselves to be completely honest even now. *Instead of addressing the accusation that the sub standard steel made the anchor shank subject to bending on side loading, they pretend the issue is the anchor shank pulling apart in a straight line pull like taffy. That never was the issue, and any anchor of any design would similarly test as shown in the picture. They have simply dodged the problem they will continue to have with side load failure shown in a great many pictures documenting that effect.*

I guess this proves what many have been saying for some time. *The Rocna is probably a good design, but is sold at a premium price even though manufactured out of materials inferior to equally capable designs.

As always, buyer beware.

 

[bobofthenorth]

Many years ago my father told me "never try to teach a pig to sing - its damn hard work, the pig won't thank you for it and even if you succeed it won't sound all that good." I think the pig has sung and I'm very happy with my Sarca. Thanks again Carl.

 

[Edelweiss]

"never try to teach a pig to sing - its damn hard work, the pig won't thank you for it and even if you succeed it won't sound all that good."*

----------------------------------------------------------------

Cute, I like that one:

My fathers pig saying was, "Never argue with an employee. . . . .

It's like mud wrestling with a pig. ........

You aren't going to win . . . .

and the pig likes the mud!!"*

I wonder how many others are out there.

LB

 

[Conrad]

Or,

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It won't work, and it annoys the Hell out of the pig.

 

[hollywood8118]

oh heck... just shoot the pig... I would rather have bacon than a singing pig!

HOLLYWOOD

 

[Peter B]

I find this revelation a bit depressing really, not only because the original design was by a fellow Kiwi, but because I suspect it is only because the design is such it does indeed dig in with such grip, it is only because of this feature that sufficient side force loads are able to be applied to reveal the structural deficiency of the currently used materials with the shank bending. Most other designs would have pulled out long before. I suspect they didn't give their design sufficient credit for being able to reveal this weakness. It follows from that therefore, I think, that if they reverted to fulls specs manufacture, like the originals, it would once again be a damn good anchor, but all this rubbish has tarnished the name for a long time. Meanwhile I also am happy with my Super Sarca, an Australian design which is making deserved inroads into the market. So good people, don't let the above put you off entirely from considering other anchor designs if you are having issues with your present design. Progress is slow, but does occur.

 

[Delfin]

Peter B wrote:
I find this revelation a bit depressing really, not only because the original design was by a fellow Kiwi, but because I suspect it is only because the design is such it does indeed dig in with such grip, it is only because of this feature that sufficient side force loads are able to be applied to reveal the structural deficiency of the currently used materials with the shank bending. Most other designs would have pulled out long before. I suspect they didn't give their design sufficient credit for being able to reveal this weakness. It follows from that therefore, I think, that if they reverted to fulls specs manufacture, like the originals, it would once again be a damn good anchor, but all this rubbish has tarnished the name for a long time. Meanwhile I also am happy with my Super Sarca, an Australian design which is making deserved inroads into the market. So good people, don't let the above put you off entirely from considering other anchor designs if you are having issues with your present design. Progress is slow, but does occur.

*Peter Smith seemed to have understood the need for 800 steel in the shank, or at least that is what he said was required because of the design. *Manson validates that assumption by using that grade of steel, although increases the amount of steel in the shank also a bit so that would make it slightly better even if they were made out of the same steel.

I think what happened is that when the Smith's sold the manufacturing license to the Bambury's, the latter decided that they could make more money by moving production to China, leave current vendors unpaid and substituting lower quality materials. *So that's what they did. *Lying about it, trying to blame former employees for it, smearing the competition, falsifying test results, falsifying accredidation, etc. were consistent with the activities of slime balls who place profit well ahead of all other ethical considerations, all while posing as a manufacturer of a premium product. *Hard to imagine that Craig Smith wasn't aware of these shenanigans, which makes him even slimier than his natural disposition already makes him.

I think they knew that they would have supporters no matter how slimey they were, and they have proven that to be the case. *Seems like once someone buys a Rocna, they take some kind of loyalty oath that prevents them from honest evaluation of what they purchased. *It will be interesting to see how this resolves itself in the marketplace, but in the meantime, Rocna's official position is "yes, our anchor isn't as strong as the competition's that hold just as well, but at least it's more expensive."

Might work.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Well said Carl! I an surprised that the Rocna anchors wern't sold at "Amway" parties! They had that much annoyance factor.

 

[Conrad]

Peter B wrote:
I find this revelation a bit depressing really, not only because the original design was by a fellow Kiwi, but because I suspect it is only because the design is such it does indeed dig in with such grip, it is only because of this feature that sufficient side force loads are able to be applied to reveal the structural deficiency of the currently used materials with the shank bending. Most other designs would have pulled out long before. I suspect they didn't give their design sufficient credit for being able to reveal this weakness. It follows from that therefore, I think, that if they reverted to fulls specs manufacture, like the originals, it would once again be a damn good anchor, but all this rubbish has tarnished the name for a long time. Meanwhile I also am happy with my Super Sarca, an Australian design which is making deserved inroads into the market. So good people, don't let the above put you off entirely from considering other anchor designs if you are having issues with your present design. Progress is slow, but does occur.

*You're depressed? We bought one of these at the Vancouver boatshow in February, milliseconds before all of this Chinese controversy came to light (at least that we were aware of.)

I will say that so far it has set beautifully and overall works well. Time will tell if it does the job that we expect of it. *

*

 

[Peter B]

Ah well, Conrad. Let's face it, you are unlikely to be exposed to the extreme conditions still necessary to bend said shank, and in the meantime it is setting and holding nicely, and anyway, a bent shank is not as disastrous as a broken one, so sleep easy, and try to put this latest stuff out of your mind, and enjoy the boating.