Rocna in Grass?

Hop-you sell anchors. What do you answer when someone comes in and asks what anchor is the best?

In grass you have to have enough WEIGHT to even get to the borrom.

Perhaps a STEEL , rather than aluminum anchor would work better?

Yachtsman or CQR should work fine , as would a real Danforth say 60H.

N4712 said:

Just checked out AC, seems there is light grass and good holding so it won't give an accurate outcome, but I'll let you know none the less.

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Hey Oliver,

Light grass and good holding when you first pull in but it gets heavier as you move up into the cove, IIRC. We generally go a little further in than the majority of the pack, there is a bit more northerly protection up in there. We once went way in in the old boat (3'4" draft and prop protection) there is heavy grass up in there.

We also anchored once on the Western side off the beach on a really calm night, it was great.

Doug

THD, It seems that anchors are a very local thing. There are very few roll bar anchors in my area. The big sport fish boats carry Danforth type, often Fortress, flat on deck. Cruising boats with pulpits have Delta's hanging on them. Who knows what you'll see on sailboats.

I don't stock a roll bar anchor yet. The Rocna sales rep is pushing me to bring them in and she's a pretty lady. The freight charges from Canada to Miami are pretty steep.

Schaeffer Marine, the sail boat rigging manufacture, is the US distributer of the Manson line. I already do business with them so they would be easy to get.

I've never tried a roll bar anchor but I suspect they are not as effective in grass as a non roll bar anchor. Right now I'm really happy with my Delta in grass. Much better than the Danforth it replaced.

manyboats said:

SARCA should be better.

.

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X 2 for Super SARCA or go SARCA Excel

THD said:

Hop-you sell anchors. What do you answer when someone comes in and asks what anchor is the best?

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The answer to that would be whatever anchor was in stock.

My Delta has also been good in grass.

One would think the best anchor to penetrate hard bottoms and grass would be one w a very large percentage of the anchor weight bearing down on the fluke. Claws win the prize there but only penetrate well on soft bottoms as the fluke tips are very blunt as in not sharp. Danforths are somewhat sharp (especially Fortress) but they all try to penetrate at a very shallow angle and w very little weight on the fluke tip. Rocnas and Supremes carry most of their weight well away from the fluke tip .. aft. The roll bars don't help in this regard either. They set on their side so their fairly large shanks don't contribute much to fluke tip pressure from weight either.

Many anchors (like the SARCA) when sitting straight up transfer ALL the weight of the anchor plus much more from the pull on the rode to the fluke tip. And on the SARCA the tip is turned down slightly. The Supreme and Rocnas tip has the tip beveled from underneath helping the tip ride up and over the bottom when right side up. But of course they set on their sides so as long as they do the bevel seems correct. But they won't lay on their sides w/o considerable scope.

Penetration of anchors is IMO dependent basically on;

1. Weight on the tip.
2. Sharpness and shape of the tip.
3. Angle and attitude of the tip as it's presented to the bottom.

Moonstruck said:

The answer to that would be whatever anchor was in stock.

My Delta has also been good in grass.

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OK, everybody, I have been taken to the wood pile for the comment about Hopcar. I hope Parks knew that it was in jest. Mia Culpa. Believe it or not, but I have actually done business with Parks. I recommend him and Hopkins Carter very highly.

Having grown up on a farm where we routinely plowed the fields I would think the pointy sharp things would get through the grass better. .
I have a Bruce and have found it much more difficult to set in Eel grass but great in the mud. The other day I had a very quick set as I had lost power close to some rocks. The old Danforth grabbed right away and held us tight in the wind.
I see a lot of Rocna's and "claw" styled anchors up here in the PNW.

N4712 said:

Just checked out AC, seems there is light grass and good holding so it won't give an accurate outcome, but I'll let you know none the less.

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Oliver, unless it's blowing a gale, Great Sale Cay will not be a very good anchor test for your Rocna. You will probably be hanging out in the 7-8' of water area. I have never had a problem setting in that area.

What to look out for is where the sand is thin over coral rock. That can be diffucult to set an anchor. You will find some of that close into the cays. Just take your dinghy out to see if the anchor is buried. The water is usually clear enough to see. I have a "lookie box" I use for that.

Moonstruck said:

Oliver, unless it's blowing a gale, Great Sale Cay will not be a very good anchor test for your Rocna. You will probably be hanging out in the 7-8' of water area. I have never had a problem setting in that area. What to look out for is where the sand is thin over coral rock. That can be diffucult to set an anchor. You will find some of that close into the cays. Just take your dinghy out to see if the anchor is buried. The water is usually clear enough to see. I have a "lookie box" I use for that.

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Yeah, but what ever we'll at least be able to get it wet. I'll look out for the coral. I was also looking at the anchorage right on the other side of the island which has sufficient depth. BTW, any fishing around Great Sale?

N4712 said:

Yeah, but what ever we'll at least be able to get it wet. I'll look out for the coral. I was also looking at the anchorage right on the other side of the island which has sufficient depth. BTW, any fishing around Great Sale?

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I have not seen any fishing around there. It looks pretty barren. If the wind is out of the West the other side could be used. However, the prevailing winds in that area are easterlies.

How much of failing in the grass is relative to size and weight? I can understand that as anchor size gets smaller it might be tougher to penetrate the bottom, but does that change with bigger anchors of the same type? Can't imagine a 2,000 pound anchor or most any style will have a problem cutting through the weeds.

I have a 30KG (67 pound) Bruce (real one, not a copy), and am wondering what to expect when I finally find some grass. So far it's been great; digs in first time every time; has never slipped; stays put when the wind changes 180 degrees; doesn't seem to mind the 60 degree swings my boat constantly does at anchor. What should I expect from it in grassy bottom?

Ted

"The answer to that would be whatever anchor was in stock."
Don, That's exactly what I would have said If I had thought of it.
In fact I try to stock the types of anchors that people ask for in my area.
Currently that's Delta, Danforth style in steel and aluminum, and the Lewmar Bruce knock off.

I'm trying to decide on which roll bar anchor to stock.
I'll be interested in Oliver's report.

O C Diver said:

How much of failing in the grass is relative to size and weight? I can understand that as anchor size gets smaller it might be tougher to penetrate the bottom, but does that change with bigger anchors of the same type? Can't imagine a 2,000 pound anchor or most any style will have a problem cutting through the weeds.

I have a 30KG (67 pound) Bruce (real one, not a copy), and am wondering what to expect when I finally find some grass. So far it's been great; digs in first time every time; has never slipped; stays put when the wind changes 180 degrees; doesn't seem to mind the 60 degree swings my boat constantly does at anchor. What should I expect from it in grassy bottom?

Ted

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Often discussed is the ability for bigger anchors of ALL types to work better because their sheer size and weight overcomes things like thin bottom types (grass, mussels, reasonable thickness oyster beds, hard but thin layers).

My 33 pound Bruce on my sportfish never had an issue with setting...never did test it in extreme conditions but held fine in varied bottoms in 35 gusting higher tropical storm winds but nicely protected anchorages. I would thing greatly oversized Bruces are a great anchor...just as good as their newgen little brothers but only when over 50 pounds to overcome some of their shortfalls and way oversized for their poor holding power reputation (for their sze).

Ask a man about his car and odds are he'll tell you it's great. Ask him about it after he's sold it and you might get a different story.

Sarca user here.
I`m thinking, thread title could have been "Rocna out to Grass" (like retiring an old racehorse).

I said nuss-ssing...

hmason said:

Ask a man about his car and odds are he'll tell you it's great. Ask him about it after he's sold it and you might get a different story.

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How true! One never hears "my neighbor on the float has an XXX and it's really great".

We all seem to have a little self centered problem. Kind of a "Why don't you just get smart and use what I use and in time you'll come around and think what I think". This is obviously true as a lot of us rave about how wonderful our stuff and ideas are and seem to find it puzzling why others don't jump up and agree.

A lot of it stems from the fact that we have experience only w our stuff. I thought my 18lb anchor did a super job of holding us firm in a 50 knot gale but a Rocna may have done as well or perhaps another kind of anchor. One guy thinks a 34' boat is just too small and another thinks 34' is really big.

On the positive side it's great that so many of us love our boats so much. Makes it much easier to pay the money and do all the work required.

And of course loving ourselves is good for self esteem.

my Mason supreme had difficulty settings in grassy bottoms. admittedly at 45 pounds it was too small for my boat.my new mantus at a 105 pounds is way over size and sets the first time. I do sleep better on the hook now

Rocna's are great

Over the past six months and about 1500 miles we have used our new 88lb Rocna alot and have been very happy with its performance in a variety of bottoms and weather situations.

We certainly sleep well although we always use our Anchor Watch program

motion30 said:

my Mason supreme had difficulty settings in grassy bottoms. admittedly at 45 pounds it was too small for my boat.my new mantus at a 105 pounds is way over size and sets the first time. I do sleep better on the hook now

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Motion,
I suspect the size of an anchor has little to do w it's ability to set properly. Small boats and small anchors don't seem to have a problem. I really think the design has almost everything to do w setting. And setting wise I'm betting your Mantus is a very good choice.

Holding is another matter dependent on a different agenda. Mostly the size of the fluke/s and it's angle in the bottom. The shape of the fluke too but to a lesser degree. Concave is best but convex works well too and has it's own benefits. Weight is a factor also but not as primary as the above.

But all things considered your 105lb Mantus should keep you in place.

Doug,were leaving tomorrow for west end then the day after head to Great Sale to anchor for the night, I'll let you know how she does once we arrive at a marina with wifi.

OK, cool. Have fun and a safe crossing.

Oliver, if you see a big sportfish with a very tall tower named Tumbleweed, say hello to my friend John. He hangs out in that area. Usually at Grand Cay, but he gets around.

HopCar said:

Oliver, if you see a big sportfish with a very tall tower named Tumbleweed, say hello to my friend John. He hangs out in that area. Usually at Grand Cay, but he gets around.

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Will do!

Oliver, I should mention that John owns his own backhoe. You and your Dad can talk hole digging with him.

HopCar said:

Oliver, I should mention that John owns his own backhoe. You and your Dad can talk hole digging with him.

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Oh ok, I only know of one boat with an abnormally tall tower, does john happen to own a 60 or 65 hatteras?

No, it's a 72 foot Buddy Davis.

Oh ok, I'll keep a look out.