Mantus Anchors

BruceK said:

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

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Im considering the excel, got quotes. Just got to make a decision.

Of course Oliver you must remember that Pete and Bruce had an epithemy while watching Lord of the Rings and being a little hard of hearing they thought Gandalf said, " one anchor to rule them all".

BruceK said:

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

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Bruce, on yours and mine, no. But on a Nordhavn, and the type of bowsprit/pulpit they have, I would think the Excel would be nicer, that's all. Still sets well and quickly, still good for all bottoms, higher holding power, looks neater - less agricultural. That's one other reason for me to recommend an anchor which (gasp) does not have a rollbar configuration like the Mantus and Rocna, (as well as the Super Sarca).

Peter B said:

Bruce, on yours and mine, no. But on a Nordhavn, and the type of bowsprit/pulpit they have, I would think the Excel would be nicer, that's all. Still sets well and quickly, still good for all bottoms, higher holding power, looks neater - less agricultural. That's one other reason for me to recommend an anchor which (gasp) does not have a rollbar configuration like the Mantus and Rocna, (as well as the Super Sarca).

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Due to logistical reasons and wanting a size up from what I really needed. I landed with the Rocna. Some of you may disagree, but that's you problem not mine.

I had a chance to us my mantus over new years. Anchored 4 or 5 times in the.keys. a storm blew up one nite while in key Largo, winds aroundn35 to 40ph. We never moved an inch. On my first launch of the mantus, I was backing down when the.anchor hit the bottom, thought I was gonna pull the windless out of the deck.

Motion 30,
I like it when an anchor does that but the best anchor I have doesn't set like that. Violent and quick setting I suspect doesn't foretell of great holding power.

Seems to me you bought a really big anchor. How big is it?

105lbs

At 105lbs a cheap Claw should do fine.

Don't know how big your boat is but I see a lot of windage.

I'd be looking fwd to seeing it in an anchor test compared w others.

I still think the Manson Supreme is best overall if one can handle cleaning it.

manyboats said:

At 105lbs a cheap Claw should do fine.

Don't know how big your boat is but I see a lot of windage.

I'd be looking fwd to seeing it in an anchor test compared w others.

I still think the Manson Supreme is best overall if one can handle cleaning it.

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I am 44' with a weight of 40,000. I did have a to small 45lb manson surpreme. I carried over from a smaller boat. When it did set it held fine, but had trouble getting a set in the heavy sea grass one finds in the.fl keys. Mostly why I went so big, figured a heavier anchor would push tru the grass easier. So far that does seem to be the case

Motion,
Sea grass seems to be troublesome. I've only encountered it once on a river bar at the head of a deep fjord. The drop-off was so abrupt I decided to use a 2nd anchor a bit like a shore tie. Set it in as close as possible and set the main in deep water (about 80'). My anchors slid over the grass like oil spilled over a steel floor. No resistance at all. There was almost no wind and we anchored w the main on a very short scope. That was the only time I could'nt get an anchor to set. I anchored at another river bar in Alaska and couldn't get my usual anchors to hook up. My last try was w my old Danforth (the original w the forged shank) and it set instantly.

SO ... if your new Mantus has conquered grass it must have the makings of a high performance anchor.

And my Supreme seems to set rather slowly but it always sets and holds. It's probably the best anchor I have as it's flexible and consistent. And of course the anchor tests say it has great holding power from 3-1 scope up. One test did a 3-1 pull and it held over 4500lbs of tension. As most know here I put a lot of stock in that.

Bottoms in Florida must be mostly sand. Do you have rocky bottoms at all?

The pic is of the river mouth where we encountered the grass.

Eric
I think a danfort. style with its sharp entry is the answer for heavy grass. but in my experience those anchors do not reset well in changing tides. there is a lot of heavy grass and Biscayne Bay and other parts of the keys. The good thing is generally you can see the bottom and know what you're up against. I don't believe there's any rocks in South Florida perhaps a bit of Coral in places. 15ft is a deep anchorage here

Just my 2cents

Just got back from 7 months cruise, central fla to key west to Rodrigues cay to Bimini to Georgetown exumas to Naussau then back to centra fla.We anchored every night. We bought the 125 lb. Manta , Our trawler weighs approx. 40 tons Is 54' with 23' beam. The windage factor is high, we also have 600' of chain , We had winds 15 to 60 mph but mostly 15 to 25 mph most of time it was a windy 7 months. I felt very at ease having that anchor , The only time it didn't catch was it tall , thick grass and weeds . We anchored in a lot of places where the explorer charts said poor holding or marginal and had no problems. That anchor got me a lot of sleep.A lot of the anchorages had swift currents in tight places , between the tide changes and 30 mph winds and the only thing to hit is iron rock , some weeks the wind blew for the whole week and we would hunker down waiting for an opportunity to leave. The anchor works.

Wman2blame said:

Just got back from 7 months cruise, central fla to key west to Rodrigues cay to Bimini to Georgetown exumas to Naussau then back to centra fla.We anchored every night. We bought the 125 lb. Manta , Our trawler weighs approx. 40 tons Is 54' with 23' beam. The windage factor is high, we also have 600' of chain , We had winds 15 to 60 mph but mostly 15 to 25 mph most of time it was a windy 7 months. I felt very at ease having that anchor , The only time it didn't catch was it tall , thick grass and weeds . We anchored in a lot of places where the explorer charts said poor holding or marginal and had no problems. That anchor got me a lot of sleep.A lot of the anchorages had swift currents in tight places , between the tide changes and 30 mph winds and the only thing to hit is iron rock , some weeks the wind blew for the whole week and we would hunker down waiting for an opportunity to leave. The anchor works.

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That is a great testimonial for the Mantus.

I agree w Don "That is a great testimonial for the Mantus."

Still don't think the roll bar is a very ideal device and have an alternative in mind. I like the SARCA because it's roll bar is smaller in dia. I also like the probably that it sets in an upright position. And seems to do well at short scope. And so does the Manson Supreme so I can't blame that on the roll bar.

Some anchors don't need much to force them into a position where they work well. Claw, CQR and the Bulwagga come to mind. But none of those anchors are high holding power anchors.

The Manta is the fourth roll bar anchor and all seem to perform very well. I own a roll bar anchor myself but have only used it 3 or 4 times. My 2nd generation XYZ seems to work better. The designer/manufacturer probably won't agree but I think a big part of the XYZ is also for insuring the anchor orients itself correctly to perform well ... or to set basically.

The roll bar anchors have been around long enough now so we shouldn't consider them just a new kinky thing that has little chance to pass the test of time. But a roll bar isn't as effective at holding boats in place as a good concave fluke so as time marches on probably somebody will come up w a small shank and efficient fluke that dosn't require appendages that rob the anchor of performance just to make them behave while setting.

I've been using a 45lb Mantus this summer and it is significantly better in the conditions we anchor in than the 45lb CQR it replaced. It sets quickly and securely. Two days ago we were anchoring for the night about 20 miles from Juneau in 20 mph winds near the head of bay where the bottom shoals up rapidly from 150 feet to 10 feet. I found a small shelf in about 40 feet of water and set parallel to the beach with 140 feet of chain out. Between the wind and my wife's aggressive move astern, when the anchor set I got down behind the bulwark thinking the line I was using for strain relief on the windlass was going to part. When retrieving the anchor the next morning it gave up its hold on the bottom easily when I passed over it. So far it hasn't disappointed. It has set well on rocky bottoms and in kelp.

Tom

I noticed the first boat at our marine when I was down there this morning sporting a Manson Boss. This anchor does look intriguing, and might well be Eric's next anchor. From its fluke shape, adjustable slot, deep penetration, quick-setting characteristics, and, I suspect, good short scope performance, it should be good. Might even give the Sarca a run for its money..? At least it is available in America already via West Marine at least...

Chuck Hawley interview explaining the Boss anchor

tpbrady,
Excellent testimony. Thanks for the input. A lot of experience like that and one could have a lot of confidence. I like the fact that you got what probably is a standard size for your boat. If you've got a high performance anchor you don't need oversized. And you didn't have a 45lb anchor replaced w a heavier one and then tell us how much better it worked. As if it was the design. Give us an update as time goes on.
By the way how dependably and smartly did your CQR set? I have no experience w the CQR but it's reported to do well in mud. I used an anchor that I thought would only set in mud on a trip from Alaska to Washington state and it set every time. Must be a lot of mud up there. Perhaps not much else.

Pete,
No ... if I was to buy another Manson anchor it would be a bigger Supreme. My supreme is only 22lbs. .... a little undersized for my boat. Yes I was hot to get the Boss when they first came out. Handled one at a boat show and it seemed light and flimsy. The Supreme seems indestructible by comparison. I would like to hear some reports about how they set too.

Eric,

The reason I replaced the CQR with the Mantus is I was never happy with how it performed. I can't say if ever definitely set the way the Mantus does. It kind of stopped the boat and seemed to hold well but several times it seems to have come to rest on its side and just slide along the bottom. Then you had to pick up and start over again.

We have about 30-40 more nights on anchor this year so I should get a good feel for the Mantus.

Tom

Very interesting all this anchor worship. Just want all to know my anchor really shines when compared to most other anchors and I don't even polish it.

OMG it looks like an Ultra.

And that fits your text too.

Does it work as good as it looks? The only other anchor I know of that is as beautiful as the Ultra is a Claw. All others look industrial. But the Claw and Ultra are a bit sculpture. Spade is a runner up though.

Bulwagga

This wins all beauty contests.

Does it work as good as it looks? There are so many variables with anchoring including the person at the helm that using testimonials as to which anchor works is hard for me to get a handle on. All I personally can say is that I have used Danforth-Bruce-CQR-Delta-Manson-spade and Ultra some on East Coast others PNW. It's my opinion for what ever that's worth that the last three mentioned seem to set faster and drag less if at all and I would use any of them including close cousins with a fair degree of confidence.

Mant us Anchors

After reading most of the posts on Mantus anchors, I never ran across anyone that is actually using one. I purchased the 8 pound anchor and put it together yesterday and 2 of the galvanized bolts stripped before they completely tightened. I can get more from Mantus or the local hardware store but here is my main concern.
If the anchor plows into mud, grass or sand, how do you retrieve it? Nothing on the Mantus site explains this. It looks like it really holds well. Does anyone have experience using this anchor before I get mine stuck?
Thanks in advance.

I would assume it works the same as a Rocna or a Manson Supreme. The three looks almost identical. It would be retrieved the same as those anchors.

Marin said:

. Our piece of sh*t Bruce anchor set fast in every bottom we encountered. And it also failed almost every time a substantial load was put on it as it has for other boaters we know. This is why we relegated it to propping open a door in the garage and got one of the proven, best-holding anchors in the world to replace it..........

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It seems odd that something that works well for many folks would be described as a "piece of sh*t" by someone else. Perhaps you have different bottom conditions than other folks or (Heaven forbid I even suggest this), you are not setting it properly.

My boat came to me with a 22 lb claw anchor and it never failed to set and never let loose even in my area with reversing tidal currents over a period of several years. I upgraded to a 33 lb claw just because I could and of course, I've had the same results with it.

There is no "best" boat anchor and if the anchor you are using holds your boat reliably, there's no good reason to replace it with something "newer".

I just spent a year doing the "loop" and anchored out 75 nights. I have the 35 lb. and have owned it for three years. It has been rock solid and never dragged. During the loop trip I encountered many different anchoring conditions and the Mantus always did it's job and this is with only 25' of chain and the rest nylon. I am a very satisfied customer.


Rafe

We have an 85# Mantus. It has never failed to set on the first try, usually within an anchor length. It has never dragged, although we have not tested it in high winds (over 20kts). It can take some pulling to get it out of the bottom when it's set deep, but not enough to ne a problem. I'd rather have to pull a bit than deal with a light set.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with it. We're going on an extended trip up the inland rivers next year, and expect to need to do some stern anchoring. I'll get a 25# Mantus for that purpose.

I have a 105lber. Sets quick and has held in 50mph winds. To pull it, drive past it and pull it up

Ancient thread...but I wonder if anyone has considered that a hundred pound anchor will regularly set (quickly) vs say a 35 pounder. Characteristics likely change with weight/size.