Rocna Anchor

Hey folks,
*** So Marin. How do you like your Rocna anchor? Im thinking hard about adding one as they seem like a great anchor..pricy too! I figure if its good enough for the Dashews, its good enough fer me. I have a Bruce and a CQR. I use the Bruce 99.9% of the time and it has never failed meyet. The CQR for whatever reason will not set, or at least I cant ever get it to set. Is there a trick to setting a CQR? My crusing area has been the Gulf of Mexico and east coast. Sand and mud. Headed for the Bahamas so.more sand.
Thanks!
Ken

On the PMM site there are a couple of discussions about anchors, bow ornaments.* So due a key word search.

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The Rocna anchor is made in New Zealand, I believe, and is a plough type that has a round bar on it to helprool over and *set quicker. *I have not actually see one on a boat, *The Bruce plough anchor is the most popular and proven plough anchor in the PNW, followed by the old standby*CQR. So if anybody actually has one or has seen one your comments would be welcome.* **

*

The Bruce anchor is not a plow anchor, it's a claw anchor. The Rocna is not a plow anchor,*either,*it's a spade anchor.* Think about it for a moment--- a plow shape is designed to dig into the dirt, but also move forward through the dirt*as you pull on it.* A spade shape is designed to dig into the dirt but then resist forward movement.

We had some unsettling dragging experiences with our Bruce, which we bought originally because of its repuation for fast setting. We knew at the time the Bruce was rated one of the lowest in terms of holding power but we didn't think that would be an issue in our relatively protected waters.

Anyway, after our not-so-great experience with the Bruce I started looking around to see what alternatives might be better. A comment on the Grand Banks owners forum led me to research the Rocna, and after viewing the video on their website (which illustrates some rather disturbing traits of "old generation" anchors like CQR, Bruce, Danforth, etc.) and reading all the tests and testimonials I could find, we ordered one. Fortunately, those of us in the PNW don't have to pay shipping from New Zealand--- Rocnas are made under license by Suncoast Marine in Vancouver, BC. So we simply drove up one Saturday and picked it up.

We have not had a lot of experience with this anchor yet as we haven't had it all that long. So I can't attest to its performance in strong winds/strong waves--- you'll have to let the testimonials on the website do that.

But I can attest to the speed and power of its setting. Every time we've use it, it sets so fast and hard it actually yaws the boat around when the all-chain rode tightens up.

So it sets faster than the Bruce (and apparently most other anchor types as well), and in tests it's holding power is at or near the top of the list, as opposed to the Bruce which is always at or near the bottom of the list. The purpose of the roll bar on the Roca is to ensure that no matter how it lands on the bottom it will always roll over onto its side which is the optimum position for digging in and setting.

The Rocna is one of the so-called "new generation" anchors, but it does not incorporate brand new features so much as it combines features--- like the roll bar and the sharp, concave spade shape--- that have proven successful on other types of anchors. I believe one of the Rocna-unique features is the so-called "skid plate" between each end of the roll bar and the sides of the spade that help the anchor pivot down and dig into the surface.

So far, based on our limited experience and everything I have read from people who have them, the only downside to the Rocna is it's price---- they are not inexpensive, even if you don't have to pay shipping.

Some boats with what I call "Bayliner pulpits"--- pulpits that extend forward of the anchor's postion and that have a slot for the anchor shank to come up through--- may have trouble mounting a Rocna because of the rollbar. But as you can see, the Rocna fits fine on the more traditional-style pulpit like the one we have on our older Grand Banks.

But I would strongly advise anyone interested in a new-generation anchor like the Rocna to watch the video on the Rocna website http://www.rocna.com* Even if you aren't interested in a Rocna per se, the shots of how more traditional anchors can perform (or not perform in this case) is pretty educational.

-- Edited by Marin at 11:53, 2007-10-29

-- Edited by Marin at 11:58, 2007-10-29

-- Edited by Marin at 11:59, 2007-10-29

-- Edited by Marin at 12:01, 2007-10-29

-- Edited by Marin at 12:04, 2007-10-29

I should add that we have since made a change to the setup in the photo above. After reading the operator's instructions that came with our Rocna (read the instructions only as a last resort, I say), we have since eliminated the second (galvanized) shackle in the photo. Instead, we did what Rocna suggests and turned the stainless shackle around so the loop of the shackle is in the slot and the bolt is through the first link of the chain. This allows the chain to pull at any angle to the shank without the need of a second shackle.

We used to use a swivel with our Bruce anchor, but we eliminated that after reading too many experiences from people who had a swivel break under load and losing the anchor (and more importantly, becoming unattached to the anchor). The people I've talked to who do a lot of anchoring with all-chain rode have all said they haven't found a swivel to be any sort of advantage but it is a weak point so they don't bother with them.

A good sized "H" series Danforth will work in bottoms the Bruce or or S.L. CQR wont.

The Ronca works similar to the Bruce or CQR , so the different style might help in a variety of situations.

FF

Danforths are probably one of the least useful anchors in this area due to our wide variety of bottoms. Danforth's hold better than just about anything in sand or mud, but we have a lot of rocky or gravel or shell bottoms, grassy bottoms, ooze botoms, etc. Also a lot of foul bottoms in bays that used to have canneries, logging operations, etc. As Phil said, the two most popular (in terms of numbers) anchors up here are the Bruce and the CQR. You see a few Danforths but not that many.

The Rocna actually works a little differently than the claw (Bruce) or plow (CQR) because it's a very sharp-bladed, concave spade. So the way it digs into a bottom and the way it behaves when more pressure is put on it is somewhat different than the other two.

In addition to the Rocna, we carry a Fortress on the swim step. We use it as a stern anchor because its light weight makes it easy to deploy, but we sized it and its rode to be the main anchor and rode for our boat should we find we need a Danforth-type anchor in a particular situation.