Nomad Willy
Guru
It should observed that the Rocna was designed to be the highest holding power anchor and it has come close. But most anchor tests say it comes up short at short scope. Regular boaters wouldn't notice that in the benign conditions that 99% of boaters anchor in. But the extreme forces that comprehensive anchor tests employ usually separate the really desirable anchors from the wannabees.
Re the Vulcan it's obvious it was designed to pick up the huge market that Rocna's "optimum" or "ideal" anchor wouldn't serve as the product (a roll bar anchor) wouldn't fit on the bows of a high percentage of existing boats. So the Vulcan emerged and unless Rocna discovered a miracle that made the Vulcan as good or better (unlikely) then the Vulcan would seem to lack the performance of the Rocna.
Also the Vulcan is almost a duplicate of one of the best anchors in the world (Spade) so the Vulcan move by Rocna could be considered an admission that Spade got it right in the first place.
But one can't ignore the fact that Rocna could have built the Vulcan in the first place instead of the standard Rocna anchor. They thought the Rocna was best so I don't think anybody would be bark'in up the wrong tree if they came to the conclusion that the Vulcan is .... something less.
But it could be better if one is of the same opinion as I am regarding what makes the best anchor. Frequently any product that excels above most of the rest or all of them in one way is probably inferior in most other ways. The Rocna appears to be one of those products. It has the highest holding power of any anchor that will function quite well under most circumstances. And the most important variable in anchoring is the bottom as in sea floor. There's 27 different kinds of snow according to eskimos and there's probably 27 different kinds of mud found on the sea floor. The Rocna made a shockingly poor showing on/in at least one of those kinds of mud. And mud is by far the most common bottom the world over.
So there's two things the Rocna did that was somewhere in the order of a failing performance. Either crowded anchorages or small anchorages will bring about the need for good performance in either very slimy and loose mud or short scope holding power in a small anchorage should the wind come along.
Many anchors can't match the Rocna's high holding power at long scope but most other good choices (anchors) will hold a boat well in anything but a screaming wind in Patagonia. So why all the interest in all out holding power. Kinda like buying a 150mph car to go to your bank at 5:15 Friday evening. Just don't need it .. excluding WifyB.
Once a boater realizes he dosn't need extreme performance in any other way but possibly one (setting dependability) there are lots of really good anchors. Most scoop anchors including Spade and probably Supermax but not many tests have shown us it's capabilities. Also the Manson Supreme and Boss along w Mantus and Anchor Right Australia's new plow the Excel. But my favorite (not really a plow or a scoop) is the ARA Supersarca. And I may have missed some.
But Rocna could have very well fixed the bow pulpit problem and also the short scope problem w not much loss in holding power. That would make the Vulcan very desirable if it did all other things very well.
So there's lots of choices and anyone saying one is best is almost no doubt just hype. But if there really is a best anchor it will be IMO an anchor that does all things better than most of the rest. Start w setting ability.
Re the Vulcan it's obvious it was designed to pick up the huge market that Rocna's "optimum" or "ideal" anchor wouldn't serve as the product (a roll bar anchor) wouldn't fit on the bows of a high percentage of existing boats. So the Vulcan emerged and unless Rocna discovered a miracle that made the Vulcan as good or better (unlikely) then the Vulcan would seem to lack the performance of the Rocna.
Also the Vulcan is almost a duplicate of one of the best anchors in the world (Spade) so the Vulcan move by Rocna could be considered an admission that Spade got it right in the first place.
But one can't ignore the fact that Rocna could have built the Vulcan in the first place instead of the standard Rocna anchor. They thought the Rocna was best so I don't think anybody would be bark'in up the wrong tree if they came to the conclusion that the Vulcan is .... something less.
But it could be better if one is of the same opinion as I am regarding what makes the best anchor. Frequently any product that excels above most of the rest or all of them in one way is probably inferior in most other ways. The Rocna appears to be one of those products. It has the highest holding power of any anchor that will function quite well under most circumstances. And the most important variable in anchoring is the bottom as in sea floor. There's 27 different kinds of snow according to eskimos and there's probably 27 different kinds of mud found on the sea floor. The Rocna made a shockingly poor showing on/in at least one of those kinds of mud. And mud is by far the most common bottom the world over.
So there's two things the Rocna did that was somewhere in the order of a failing performance. Either crowded anchorages or small anchorages will bring about the need for good performance in either very slimy and loose mud or short scope holding power in a small anchorage should the wind come along.
Many anchors can't match the Rocna's high holding power at long scope but most other good choices (anchors) will hold a boat well in anything but a screaming wind in Patagonia. So why all the interest in all out holding power. Kinda like buying a 150mph car to go to your bank at 5:15 Friday evening. Just don't need it .. excluding WifyB.
Once a boater realizes he dosn't need extreme performance in any other way but possibly one (setting dependability) there are lots of really good anchors. Most scoop anchors including Spade and probably Supermax but not many tests have shown us it's capabilities. Also the Manson Supreme and Boss along w Mantus and Anchor Right Australia's new plow the Excel. But my favorite (not really a plow or a scoop) is the ARA Supersarca. And I may have missed some.
But Rocna could have very well fixed the bow pulpit problem and also the short scope problem w not much loss in holding power. That would make the Vulcan very desirable if it did all other things very well.
So there's lots of choices and anyone saying one is best is almost no doubt just hype. But if there really is a best anchor it will be IMO an anchor that does all things better than most of the rest. Start w setting ability.
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