SARCA EXCEL First try

Well, first time anchoring with the Sarca Excel.

Solid 20 knot winds, so it was already tense.

Dropped in 110' of water, put out 350' of chain.

The boat caught, swung around and stayed there all night.

Chart plotter track showed every swing, no dragging whatsoever.

Wind shifted in the middle of the night and the bloody thing reset all by itself and showed no dragging.

Can't say my old Bruce would not have held, it was a good anchor... But first try the Sarca Excel set and held, living up to its promise.

How big is your anchor? (And I promise not to say "it needs to be bigger")

Good news! Wow, deep water. Did you give it a good "drive in " first set? (Of course not for the "self reset", that`s DIY by the anchor and 20 kt breeze.)
I`m guessing you have Rex`s email, if not ask me, I`ll find it, he`ll be interested.

Not bad at all, when you consider that's effectively only 1 : 3 rode ratio, and in 20 kn of wind, you normally want a lot more than 1 : 3. However, I have often thought that this is another benefit of all chain, so that in very deep water, the sheer weight dangling there must create so much inertia, and hold the chain coming away from the shank pretty flat, in spite of what Eric would call a 'short rode', as even just 1/3rd of 350 odd feet of chain must weigh a so much on its own, it would act like a kellet in effect, and tend to hold plenty of chain along the bottom. This in my view, supports the contention that in very deep water, the usual rules of thumb re rode length are not all that applicable.

3 - 1. No problem man.

Ok, the anchor is 80 lbs.

I did not get a chance to set it. The wind was blowing hard enough it set itself, but I did get a chance to set it today at Another anchorage and it set very smartly.

I agree 3:1 is short, problem is deep anchorage makes for a very large swing circle, too large for the size of the anchorage.

I love the all chain rode and new windlass. What a hassle free experience.

Kevin, I wasn't familiar at all with that anchor so I looked at their site. Nice looking anchor.

Just curious, what made you pick that one, and since their site shows no US dealers, where did you buy it?

Can you refresh our memories with a picture of said anchor and windlass?

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s42/my-new-anchor-19030.html

not "my" new anchor but a link to thread about the Sarca anchor.

This rode ratio thing needs commonsense too, anchor in 5ft of water I say 15 ft 3:1 of rode is not enough; at 110 ft depth, I don`t think the 3:1 minimum applies.
Mike, doubtless Kevin will tell you more but he chose it, and imported it. Without raising anchor issues, Sarca are good gear.
I buy stuff from the US on cost. Even with shipping, save 50% on Racor elements, save around 20% on the St Croix crane.

All chain and windlass. The only way to go for primary.

So far my Sarca ExCel has only been tested in shallow water, soft bottom, and little wind. Sets quickly, and holds solidly. No real test. Thanks Kevin for posting your results. I am happy so far.

That's the nice thing about anchor tests. They subject the anchors to serious loads. Loads that cause many to fail. If some to many don't fail there's no indication of what the capabilities are. Without serious loads (I'm think'in above what Kevin experienced) setting and userfriendlyness is about all that is evaluated.

Kevin on the chart was there any indication of the bottom type?

GFC said:

Kevin, I wasn't familiar at all with that anchor so I looked at their site. Nice looking anchor.

Just curious, what made you pick that one, and since their site shows no US dealers, where did you buy it?

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I learned about it here.

I bought it because the owner of the company, Rex feels so strongly about his product that he has a simple warranty.

Use the anchor for a season. If you don't like it cut off a foot of the shank and send that back for a full refund.

FlyWright said:

Can you refresh our memories with a picture of said anchor and windlass?

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Good morning Al. Yes, photos when I bring it up.

It's at the bottom right now.

ksanders said:

Ok, the anchor is 80 lbs.

I did not get a chance to set it. The wind was blowing hard enough it set itself, but I did get a chance to set it today at Another anchorage and it set very smartly.

I agree 3:1 is short, problem is deep anchorage makes for a very large swing circle, too large for the size of the anchorage.

I love the all chain rode and new windlass. What a hassle free experience.

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Yes, not many anchorages that allow for 700' + 50' boat so total swing of between 1300 and 1400'. On the few times we anchored in Alaska we found 3:1 and 4:1 were about as far as we could go and in those depths with all chain and heavy anchor, it wasn't an issue.

Here's a photo of the windlass.

The anchor is still submerged.

Here's a photo of where we are right now.

Jackpot Bay, Alaska. It's a chilly misty morning.

We are a long ways from anywhere. Internet and phone via Satellite only.

Looks a little like Monckton Inlet in BC near the so end of Pitt Is.

Over a days run to any town. Shearwater is probably the closest.

This is how the Sarca Excel sits in the anchor pulpit. A perfect fit.

Windlass and anchor look great, Kevin! Does the anchor self deploy off that roller with the angled shank? I had to add a hinged, self-deploy anchor roller when I redesigned my ground tackle to get my Lewmar Claw to self-deploy.

FlyWright said:

Windlass and anchor look great, Kevin! Does the anchor self deploy off that roller with the angled shank? I had to add a hinged, self-deploy anchor roller when I redesigned my ground tackle to get my Lewmar Claw to self-deploy.

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Yep, it self deploys wonderfully.

The only challenge I have isn't related to the anchor, its related to my boat.

My anchor locker is really good sized, oversized even. its also pretty deep. The problem is that chain or line rode tends to form a pyramid, requiring knocking it over every hundred of feet or so during retrieval. That's not a problem really, just something I have to keep aware of.

Do you have a combo rode? I have the same results but find the 8 ply Brait lies much flatter in the locker.

But all in all, that's a pretty minor issue for the crew. Gives them something to do while you're doing all the other work!! ;-)

I sometimes find a moderate pile of chain on the deck under the windlass that did not go down the hawse because of that pyramid effect. I can't see that it has happened from the helm, so I just leave it there until the end of the cruise, then if it does not correct that situation, which it often does with more uppings and downings, I just wash it with fresh water back at the berth and then stuff it all down.

ksanders said:

Here's a photo of the windlass.

The anchor is still submerged.

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Windlass is a Lofrans Tigres made in Italy.

FlyWright said:

Do you have a combo rode? I have the same results but find the 8 ply Brait lies much flatter in the locker.

But all in all, that's a pretty minor issue for the crew. Gives them something to do while you're doing all the other work!! ;-)

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All chain, 550'. That was the driver to getting the new windlass, going to an all chain rode. Pulling a few hundred feet of line rode was getting hard on these old shoulders. This boat actually rides better with the weight in the bow. When running at a fast cruise it takes much less trim tab to get the bow down.

Peter B said:

I sometimes find a moderate pile of chain on the deck under the windlass that did not go down the hawse because of that pyramid effect. I can't see that it has happened from the helm, so I just leave it there until the end of the cruise, then if it does not correct that situation, which it often does with more uppings and downings, I just wash it with fresh water back at the berth and then stuff it all down.

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On my boat if the pile gets too high the windlass jams up. Its really not too big a problem though. All you have to do is knock over the pile every hundred feet or so.

ksanders said:

All chain, 550'.

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Most I've ever personally seen is 500', but in your area I definitely see reason for even more. 300' and 400' sound like a huge amount but with the depths you encounter, they could definitely be limiting.

I've never tried this and I don't know anyone who has personally but it might be worth a try. I've heard that putting a road pylon like those orange cones you see at construction sites in your chain locker (pointed up of course) will prevent the chain from forming a pyramid.

Howard

hmason said:

I've never tried this and I don't know anyone who has personally but it might be worth a try. I've heard that putting a road pylon like those orange cones you see at construction sites in your chain locker (pointed up of course) will prevent the chain from forming a pyramid.

Howard

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We have a couple of threads here somewhere that members did exactly that with great results.