I think it's because it's one very obvious and visible thing on a boat that reflects the owner's beliefs (assuming they picked the anchor on their boat).* So if someone says the anchor design they favor isn't worth squat, that's like saying to the owner "You don't know squat because you picked a stupid anchor."
So defending your anchor is, in effect, defending your intelligence, smarts, competence, etc.
It's a little silly because in reality, almost all anchor designs will work fine in almsot all of the situations we encounter as recreational boaters.*
The other reality is that under extreme conditions, I think the liklihood that most if not all anchor designs will fail or have problems is greater than the liklihood that they won't.* But how many of us on this forum are going to be caught in an open, exposed anchorage in the southwestern Pacific in 80mph winds gusting to 100 with the associated swells and waves?
So we buy anchors like we buy cars.* It's all very nice to buy an Aston Martin penis extender based on the fact it will do 212 mph but when the reality is that you're going to drive it on your daily commute at an average speed of 35 mph, all that performance is sort of irrlevant.
But you will defend that Aston Martin to the hilt because, hey, it will do 212 mph.
We bougth the anchor we bought based on testimonials that were mostly from long range cruisers who actually do encounter the kinds of conditions that we will never encouter.* So it's our Aston Martin. A Ford Focus would probably suit us just fine most of the time.* It's unlikely that we will ever go 212 mph, but it's cool to know we can.* And we'll defend our choice because it represents who we are.
That's my theory on your query, anyway.
