Cap I'm not the OP. He's got more guts than I. Hypothesizing? Well I do like hypothesizing and think it should be a big part of forums. What's the point of discussing things if you're not going to be analytical.
eye,
Actually it's Ed right? Dosn't say in your avatar.
Yes the "handle" is a righting strut. Does the same job as the roll bar but w much less drag and is more stylish. Draggo has had difficulty at anchor tests. I know part of the why but not nearly all of it .. or even half probably. The XYZ in the pic (center) has never been tested to my knowledge. An XYZ that was very similar (that was his mud anchor) was tested and did very badly not setting. I think it was the tip. The XYZ in the bottom pic was the one that I originally had and in the Practical Sailor anchor test in April 06 it outperformed all comers including Rocna and Fortress. I rarely got the thing to set though. Sent it to the landfill in Thorne Bay when we moved south. But for some reason I bought another XYZ .. the one in the post above and in the center below. It set fine and worked well otherwise too but I sold it to an XYZ admirer in Thorne Bay. Had the shank and back fluke but Draggo would'nt sell me the SS tip. So I made my own. It worked really well even in a 50 knot gale. I thought w the wide chisel like tip it wouldn't set in anything but mud. Used it 9 or 10 times coming down the coast and it set all those times quickly and was great. Can't recommend the standard anchor as I've only used it twice. And I wouldn't recommend my chisel tip as it's very experimental.
My runner up for this thread was a big Claw. But it has a flaw IMO and I haven't used it in a blow. When you hang on an anchor in a 50 knot blow for hours it's amazing the trust that develops. I would definitely have chosen the Supreme but I haven't been w it in a gale.
On my "had to" list fitting on a bow roller wasn't there as I store the XYZ flat on deck like a Danforth. I'm not that vain about my anchors so good looking wasn't there either. And I don't care what other people have so being popular wasn't on the list. Some people buy stuff to attain image.
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Eric
North Western Washington State USA
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