I Will Pay The $$. Which Anchor Is Best?

[Nomad Willy]

Ex Sailor wrote; "Tried them all"
So what's your take on the Davis, Bulwagga, XYZ, Hydro-Dyne, Kobra, Bugel?
Actually the Davis and Kobra are very excellent anchors but not widely available in the US. And when serious wind is forecast I get out my XYZ. No other.
And speaking of Spade I was at Fisheries Supply yesterday and was looking at a small Spade (probably 15lbs). The shank was a plate steel cutout ... not the hollow built up fabrication I'm used to seeing. It looked rather cheap. And I'm a fan of Spade anchors. Especially after seeing Steve (Panope) vids.

 

[eyschulman]

To the primary poster: You have walked into a minefield.Perhaps you should just go from dock to dock. Otherwise read the anchor tests preformed by the Practical Sailor non advertising consumer type magazine and pick one of their better performers for the bottom type you intend to anchor in. Good Luck.

 

[Brooksie]

My sons took their sailboat from Cape Cod, MA to Trinadad and back over a period of 3 years in every type bottom. They always anchored out except in Havana.
Slightly oversized Danforth HiTinsil Accept no substitutes.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Brooksie I love it.
Standing up for the dark horse. Dans have been holding boats well since 1938. When you say "HiTinsil" you mean the Dan w the forged flukes and shank? ... just forged shank and sheet metal flukes or the top end Dan from West Marine? Or something else?

 

[eyschulman]

I have the room to carry six or more anchors and can afford them but for the PNW I carry three and that is probably one too many. Primary on the bow a big SS Ultra it looks good and works well and relatively easy to clean mud off. This is attached to 160 foot of moderate sized chain and 250+ foot of good braided nylon. In 5 years of use I never needed another anchor for holing purposes. In the bilge I carry a fair sized(original type ) aluminum spade and a FX 37 fortress for special and back up use. I would like a Bulwaga but they are ugly and not so easy to store. Having boated over 40 years on the East coast I believe the same combination with much less chain would work well.

 

[eyschulman]

Brooksie I love it.
Standing up for the dark horse. Dans have been holding boats well since 1938. When you say "HiTinsil" you mean the Dan w the forged flukes and shank? ... just forged shank and sheet metal flukes or the top end Dan from West Marine? Or something else?

NM I believe the HT Dan was made of better metal and they used thinner shank and thin sharp flukes net result stronger slghtly lighter easier and deeper penetration into sand and mud.

 

[Nomad Willy]

eyeshulman,
Yes
But most well used Danforth anchors are bent.

 

[BruceK]

eyeshulman,
Yes
But most well used Danforth anchors are bent.

But surely once bent the metal becomes plastic, ie.more easily bent.
Just ask Bjent Axel, the famous Swedish rally driver.

 

[eyschulman]

eyeshulman,
Yes
But most well used Danforth anchors are bent.

Probably bent because once well set they resist turning and resetting what I see as a major fault of the DF type of anchor. If set well they can have tremendous holing power in a straight on pull as demonstrated by the Fortress sponsored tests. Three DF set at 60 degrees and tied to a single line make a great mooring or storm anchor set up and I have used this system satisfactorily in the past. A single DF type on a turning or potentially turning boat not good in my opinion and it maters not how good the DF will hold on a strait pull in that situation. Great for pulling a grounded boat free or in multi anchor situations otherwise I keep my fortress in the bilge and that would be my advise to others.

 

[HopCar]

The high tensile Danforth have forged shanks and the standard have shanks cut from plate.
The flukes of the high tensile have flukes with a T cross section and the standard have flukes with an L cross section.

Danforth also made an anchor called a Deep Set that was pretty amazing. It was made from some high tech steel alloys and was very thin. The shank was in fact spring steel and could bend quite a bit and spring back. They had a problem manufacturing the shanks for the larger size. Most of them were curved. The smaller ones were fine and I still have one.

 

[Roger Long]

For the record I have a Delta on my boat.
I think the Delta is still a good value.

I had a Delta on my 32 foot sailboat for my first trip down the ICW and back so got to anchor in every bottom between Halifax, NS and Coco, FL.

I then replaced it with a Mantus for the next two ICW cruises.

Night and day. I used to stand up on the bow pulling and jerking the rode to get the Delta to set. I set a second anchor (Fortress) nearly every night after waking up in the middle of the night a few hundred yards from where I set.

With the Mantus, I learned to be sure my fingers were clear of everything when it touched bottom because it would set before I expected it to. I never had to do anything encourage it to bite. The Fortress only came off the bow once or twice after I had a little experience with the Mantus.

My only complaint about the Mantus is that it can be very hard to break out. I usually had to use power on the sailboat. If you are going to have one problem with an anchor, that would be the one to have.

Two subsequent trawlers and ICW round trips have confirmed my faith in the Mantus.

 

[jleonard]

I have been using Danforths for 25 plus years and never had one bend.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Rodger,
I have quite a number of anchors and have never had any significant problems retrieving anchors. I'd consider the dificulty breaking out as an issue and choose another anchor. Danforths can be a little difficult but all my other anchors come right up. Even the Manson Supreme. The MS having such astonishing holding power at very short scope would be a prime candidate for breakout problems .. one would think. But having mentioned the MS bringing up lots of mud very often is propably a bigger broblem than dificulty breaking out. Hmmm

Problems like this frequently are related to bottom types. Florida sand and PNW mud are quite different. I really don't have a problem w my MS re bringing up mud but lately my MS dosn't have a roll bar.

Jay,
I haven't had a Dan bend either. And my favorite back up anchor is a 13lb Dan w forged shank. Never a problem. It came w the boat when new I'm sure as too many Willard 30' boats have one on deck and I'm sure many others are belowdecks .. like mine. I won't part w it. This one has sheetmetal flukes. I have a 22lb Dan w the forged double flanged flukes and a forged shank w a big fat hinge eye at the stock. I think it's as good as Dans get but I haven't used it .. not had it long.

 

[foggysail]

Probably bent because once well set they resist turning and resetting what I see as a major fault of the DF type of anchor. If set well they can have tremendous holing power in a straight on pull as demonstrated by the Fortress sponsored tests. .

Not many years ago West Marine recalled all Rocna anchors it sold because "once well set" their shanks often bent upon retrieval.

 

[eyschulman]

The high tensile Danforth have forged shanks and the standard have shanks cut from plate.
The flukes of the high tensile have flukes with a T cross section and the standard have flukes with an L cross section.

Danforth also made an anchor called a Deep Set that was pretty amazing. It was made from some high tech steel alloys and was very thin. The shank was in fact spring steel and could bend quite a bit and spring back. They had a problem manufacturing the shanks for the larger size. Most of them were curved. The smaller ones were fine and I still have one.

that is it the deep set is what I had and was thinking of not the HT.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Not many years ago West Marine recalled all Rocna anchors it sold because "once well set" their shanks often bent upon retrieval.

That of course was in the days Rocna made their anchor shanks w mild steel. Most all cheap Danforths probably are too judging from all of the bent shanks I see re the type. But now (as then) Rocna was quite popular. They are still as people don't hold others accountable. Remember the Exon-Mobile oil spill in Prince William Sound? The cry of the land was to boycott Exon-Mobile. But like Rocna their products seem to be as available as ever.

But this is a reminder to me not to deploy a Dan when I think or know a wind reversal may happen. Of course most all the time it would take a big wind to bend perhaps even the cheap Dans. Depends on the bottom too.

 

[Roger Long]

I'd consider the dificulty breaking out as an issue and choose another anchor.

Perhaps I'm over stating. I've only had significant difficulty breaking out a Mantus once, in a place I know to have unusually good holding after a big blow.

It was more of an issue on the sailboat when I wanted to sail off the anchor but I didn't do that often.

Now, I feel good every time I pull up to 1:1 scope, stopper off the chain, and put the engines in gear until I see the bow dip down and bob up.

Having an anchor break out prematurely with lots of rode still out in a crowded anchorage with wind and current can be overly exciting. That hasn't ever happened to me with the Mantus. Nice to almost never have to bring in more than the water depth of chain after the anchor lets go.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Rodger,
Yes it's hard to express degrees on emphasis. I have several favorite words and sort-of pull them out of the had so to speak.

No doubt the Mantus is one of the best anchors ... certianly not to be disposed of (ha already I'm looking for the right word) without due consideration.

 

[eyschulman]

Re breaking out. My favorite method is to shorten scope in water depth increments every ten minuets prior to leaving. The reason it allows chain and rode to self clean. When I get to the point the chain is straight down with some tension on it I allow it to stay that way for several minuets checking to see if anchor has come out if not I take up any slack and retention. This method usually allows for better cleaning of chain and a slower none traumatic break out. If the Anchor resists this method I will give the boat a sl bump in reverse and do small increment back and forth power. It takes planning and time but reduces the stress on anchor rode and windless.

 

[sunchaser]

Re breaking out. My favorite method is to shorten scope in water depth increments every ten minuets prior to leaving. The reason it allows chain and rode to self clean. .

That is a great trick Ed. We'll for sure do it in Ganges where the mud on the bottom is about 2 feet of saturated logging oil and debris from the old days.

 

[ranger58sb]

Re breaking out. My favorite method is to shorten scope in water depth increments every ten minuets prior to leaving. The reason it allows chain and rode to self clean.

Ah! Thanks! Sounds like a very useful idea for our situation around here!

We use a mixed rode, specifically to reduce the time it takes to clean the mud off the chain. I could move the boat right up to the 25' length of leader chain for a while, see if that whole self-cleaning idea could work for me...

-Chris

 

[foggysail]

That of course was in the days Rocna made their anchor shanks w mild steel.

Yes and their fouled reputation resulted in Manson capturing a significant segment of the anchor market that is forever lost to Rocna.