Mantus Anchors

Many of the 2nd and 3rd generation N owners who have switched to rocnas needed to modify their pulpit rollers and lock down assemblies. All the info you need is archived there. No need to ask the same questions over and over.

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I've heard the "size matters" and "bigger is better" for ever. Those sayings must have started in the US Because we seem to come out of the womb worshiping the biggest things. Even living in the state w the biggest mountain gives bragging rights.

But w anchors it would seem so obvious that it shouldn't need mentioning however one hears it over and over again. I have two anchors that are over sized (35lbs for my boat (30')) and "bigger is better" no doubt motivated me to some extent but it's clear to me that design is the biggest element of excellent anchor performance. With two anchors the same except one being bigger any fool knows the bigger will hold the boat better. Of course being bigger means it's also heavier and heavy works the same way as bigger. Any anchor that is heavier will deliver better performance all other things being equal. So bigger or heavier is better ... no doubt and needs no discussion.

I hung on a 13lb anchor for a day and a half in a 50 knot gale and experienced no dragging or other performance shortcomings. Mud bottom as that anchor would set in none other. And it's common knowledge the Danforth by Fortress is the highest performance anchor in the world. So it's obvious that design is very important ... more important than big or heavy. I have used 7 or 8 different kinds of anchors and never dragged any of them but I attribute that anchoring success mostly to the fact that I've seldom anchored in windy conditions. So lots of anchoring w a given anchor does not prove it's holding performance but it does say a lot about it's setting abilities. And dependable setting is probably more important than holding capabilities most all of the time.

So any anchor discussion worth reading will be centered around the design of anchors both old and new. The majority of pleasure boaters use one of two anchors that are 50 years old. I think one of mine is 100 years old. But some new anchors have better holding power than most.

Most boats come w one of those two anchors when they are purchased so to get another anchor would cost money and perhaps require pulpit modification. And before they get around to buying new they discover theis old anchor works quite well. Or perhaps in their minds "well enough". The Danforth and Claws are much cheaper and most boaters find them completely satisfactory and refuse to spend the considerable extra money to get a new anchor so they remain on most boats and because of that they are the most common/popular anchors.

We here on TF aren't "average boaters" so more of us get new anchors but still it seems most of us continue to use proven older anchors. Perhaps a poll would be in order .. for primary anchors.

cafesport said:

Many of the 2nd and 3rd generation N owners who have switched to rocnas needed to modify their pulpit rollers and lock down assemblies. All the info you need is archived there. No need to ask the same questions over and over. Sent from my iPhone

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Dont think I need to modify the pulpit, there's a N43 next to us and it's not modified and it has a ronca.

The final decision is in, were going with a Ronca 70 that will be coupled with the 400 Ft of 3/8 chain on the boat already.

N4712 said:

The final decision is in, were going with a Ronca 70 that will be coupled with the 400 Ft of 3/8 chain on the boat already.

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Assuming Rocna build issues are behind them, 70 kg sounds about right.

sunchaser said:

Assuming Rocna build issues are behind them, 70 kg sounds about right.

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3/8 chain should be fine right?

N4712 said:

3/8 chain should be fine right?

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Alloy or 3B? You may want to swap ends since you're putting on a new anchor, assuming the near bitter end is in good shape.

sunchaser said:

Alloy or 3B? You may want to swap ends since you're putting on a new anchor, assuming the near bitter end is in good shape.

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Not sure, the chain looks fine as the boat was basically never used and just sat ( good and bad thing). Our windlass has a pulling weight of 3500LBs which i imagine should be enough.

The 3500 should work fine. The anchor chain will have markings on the links, likely saying G4. G4 is the alloy, what you want. If the markings say 3B you may have a problem. Assuming Nordhavn sized the anchor and chain my guess is its G4. If in doubt, call N at Dana Point. They'll know what you have and need.

sunchaser said:

The 3500 should work fine. The anchor chain will have markings on the links, likely saying G4. G4 is the alloy, what you want. If the markings say 3B you may have a problem. Assuming Nordhavn sized the anchor and chain my guess is its G4. If in doubt, call N at Dana Point. They'll know what you have and need.

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Were going be at the boat tomorrow, I'll check it out. Thanks for informing me.

N4712 said:

Dont think I need to modify the pulpit, there's a N43 next to us and it's not modified and it has a ronca.

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Sorry…but it's Rocna, Oliver….Rocna…R..O..C..N..A….just saying'
And yes, as others have said, you wouldn't go wrong with a Rocna…or a Manson Supreme…in that order, in my view..unless you could get your hands on a suitably sized Sarca Excel, that is...

Peter B said:

Sorry…but it's Rocna, Oliver….Rocna…R..O..C..N..A….just saying' And yes, as others have said, you wouldn't go wrong with a Rocna…or a Manson Supreme…in that order, in my view..unless you could get your hands on a suitably sized Sarca Excel, that is...

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Sorry, Peter something in my head that makes me say ronca, I guess because it easier to say I really don't know but y'all get the gist

N4712 said:

Sorry, Peter something in my head that makes me say ronca, I guess because it easier to say I really don't know but y'all get the gist

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You're welcome Oliver, and by the way, I was serious about seeing if you could gets Sarca Excel. You would certainly not have to modify your pulpit or roller system for that, and it is derived/evolved from one of the best roll bar type anchor makes. Getting one might not be all that hard, and you certainly would not regret it. After all, a Nordy deserves 'the best.'

SARCA in Action - anchorright.com.au

Peter B said:

You're welcome Oliver, and by the way, I was serious about seeing if you could gets Sarca Excel. You would certainly not have to modify your pulpit or roller system for that, and it is derived/evolved from one of the best roll bar type anchor makes. Getting one might not be all that hard, and you certainly would not regret it. After all, a Nordy deserves 'the best.' SARCA in Action - anchorright.com.au

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They look good, but shipping for an 150Lb+ anchor from down under will cost as much as the anchor itself? As for the roller, don't think I'll have to modify looking at the M/V Duet's blog they just added an roller at the other end of the pulpit, which is an N50 with identical deck hardware.

N4712 said:

They look good, but shipping for an 150Lb+ anchor from down under will cost as much as the anchor itself? As for the roller, don't think I'll have to modify looking at the M/V Duet's blog they just added an roller at the other end of the pulpit, which is an N50 with identical deck hardware.

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Rex Francis of Anchorright has advised me that until get gets a NA distributer, he is doing a deal whereby he just charges about wholesale equivalent, so even with shipping, it comes out close to what we pay retail down under. That's not a bad deal…worth an email..?

sales@anchorright.com.au

Pete, you missed your vocation, you would have made a brilliant salesman.

But N4712 ( by the way what type of identifier is that), the Sarca is definitely worth a consideration.

Andy G said:

Pete, you missed your vocation, you would have made a brilliant salesman.

But N4712 ( by the way what type of identifier is that), the Sarca is definitely worth a consideration.

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I think I might have ended up better off finically if I had Andy - bit late now though.

I think N4712 = Nordhavn 47 model/type, and hull number 12…is that correct Oliver..?

Peter B said:

Rex Francis of Anchorright has advised me that until get gets a NA distributer, he is doing a deal whereby he just charges about wholesale equivalent, so even with shipping, it comes out close to what we pay retail down under. That's not a bad deal…worth an email..? sales@anchorright.com.au

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I'll shoot them an email and see. But I'd rather go with Rocna because of their existence use on nordy's around the world, but that's just me.

Peter B said:

I think I might have ended up better off finically if I had Andy - bit late now though. I think N4712 = Nordhavn 47 model/type, and hull number 12…is that correct Oliver..?

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Correct indeed.

Peter I've been swapping emails with Rex, he's going get me quote For an 88Kg Sarca Excel shipped, and well See from there.

N4712 said:

Peter I've been swapping emails with Rex, he's going get me quote For an 88Kg Sarca Excel shipped, and well See from there.

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That's good Oliver. For a personal feedback from an owner of a vessel about the weight/size of yours, I suggest you PM Benn of Tidahapah, as he has two Excels, one galvanised std issue, and one which can be dismantled. The latter being a much more robust construction when assembled than the Mantus. But unless it was for a spare, like Benn has his for, who wants to be able to dismantle their main anchor anyway..?

Peter B said:

That's good Oliver. For a personal feedback from an owner of a vessel about the weight/size of yours, I suggest you PM Benn of Tidahapah, as he has two Excels, one galvanised std issue, and one which can be dismantled. The latter being a much more robust construction when assembled than the Mantus. But unless it was for a spare, like Benn has his for, who wants to be able to dismantle their main anchor anyway..?

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Alright, I'll shoot him an PM.

N4712 said:

Peter I've been swapping emails with Rex, he's going get me quote For an 88Kg Sarca Excel shipped, and well See from there.

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For what it's worth, you might ask Rex what he thinks about sizing. I am a big fan of Bigger is Better, but an 88kg anchor is a few sizes larger than you probably need. By way of comparison, my 80 kg Ultra is one size larger than recommended for our 55' and we weigh nearly double what your vessel does. And hanging off our bow it looks really big.

That said, if it fits, it sure won't hurt, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Delfin said:

For what it's worth, you might ask Rex what he thinks about sizing. I am a big fan of Bigger is Better, but an 88kg anchor is a few sizes larger than you probably need. By way of comparison, my 80 kg Ultra is one size larger than recommended for our 55' and we weigh nearly double what your vessel does. And hanging off our bow it looks really big. That said, if it fits, it sure won't hurt, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

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I did, he said he as equipped boats with similar displacement, with great results.

No doubt bigger is better BUT even a small amount over what one needs is waste. Fear of their own abilities and peer pressure coming from those that feel wise singing the bigger is better song. Easy to say w a 100% chance of being correct and easy to do for skippers that feel insecure.

Most of us really don't know what we need. It takes years of anchoring to find out. So to look for standards and observing what others are doing is a smart thing to do but I also think it's over done and most trawlers are burdened w too much ground tackle. I've heard of many talk of getting much more capable anchors but never of downsizing the hook. From the stories I've heard on this forum going from a Claw to a Rocna one should or could reduce the size of their anchor to one half the older lower performing anchor. Never even heard talk of that though. Bigger is better ............ Whatever.

Being on the river I think the bigger is better when it comes to anchors allows me to sleep better at night. Beside the current & wind there is the occasional limb or tree that floats by. Had a tree about 6" trunk drift into the chain & the bow last year during the middle of the night. The only thing it did was scare the hell out of me but with a smaller anchor it could of been much worse. The biggest problem was getting it untangled the next morning.

Nobody mentions Fortress which was the best in that test. It's light and holds great.

I see cruising boats with two different anchors on the bow mostly and they store a Fortress for backup. I'm thinking the Mantus is my next choice.

Capthead said:

Nobody mentions Fortress which was the best in that test. It's light and holds great. I see cruising boats with two different anchors on the bow mostly and they store a Fortress for backup. I'm thinking the Mantus is my next choice.

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FX-37 & 300' of 5/16 BBB chain, the Fortress is the best anchor I've found for the bottom conditions on the river.

A Fortress and nylon rode is the obvious for faster lighter boats.

I think a Fortress as a primary makes a lot of sense w a backup like a Claw or other anchor that's good in the rocks. Why not reap the rewards of all that holding power most of the time.

Peter and Oliver, Is there reason not to consider the Super Sarca as well as the Excel? Fitting on existing setup? Just wondering.
Bruce