Best anchor for New England waters?

I'd appreciate hearing anyone's thoughts or experiences on anchors for New England waters.

Any preferences? Any to avoid?

Thank you!

We have used a Rocna 73lb on our 39' boat for seven years all along the Maine coast, with zero issues. We typically anchor about 100 days per year.

Camden Jack said:

We have used a Rocna 73lb on our 39' boat for seven years all along the Maine coast, with zero issues. We typically anchor about 100 days per year.

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We are happy with the same anchor on our NP 45.

Rob

We have a plow anchor w 30’ of chain and 200’ line. Bottom is mostly mud and there are not significant depths. Many anchorages in the bay are pretty shallow. We have anchored in some pretty stiff winds and never dragged.

Should have included that we have 200' of 3/4 G4 chain.

Rob

Any of the well reviewed new gen anchors in a generously large size will cover the vast majority of anchoring scenarios. Take a look at the Viking, Mantus (both designs), Rocna Vulcan, Spade, and Excel. Between those I'd pick mostly based on what will fit on the bow in a size 1 or 2 larger than recommended.

Didn’t this forum already decide that the best anchor ever made is the Bruce??

Thought that was figured out 3975 posts ago

Toadhall said:

Didn’t this forum already decide that the best anchor ever made is the Bruce??

Thought that was figured out 3975 posts ago

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I figured it out in 1986.

Perhaps, but by sheer numbers the greatest anchor ever is the good ole Danforth

Jeff F said:

I figured it out in 1986.

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Been some advances in anchor design in the last 37 years .

Another vote for Rocna, but ours is a Vulcan 73 lb. We anchor often between Bar Harbor and Narragansett Bay and are extremely pleased with it. We have 200 feet of 5/16" G4 chain and 300 feet of 5/8" 8 plait rope in our rode.



Our boat came with a 60 lb CQR and the difference between setting the two anchors is dramatic. The CQR always set gently, the Vulcan sets almost violently; I have to be careful not to back down too fast when setting it. That said, we never had any issues once the CQR was set, it just never inspired confidence.

BruceK said:

Been some advances in anchor design in the last 37 years .

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Oh yeah. I've got a Rocna now. Zero complaints or concerns.

I never dragged using a Danforth,

Rocna, I don't think you can do better. Rocna will hold even is the wind shifts 180deg.

My 2nd choice would be a Fortress. I had one on my last boat and it held with a 60mph storm in Boston Harbor. Other boats passed us. But if the wind does a 180 it will pull out and then reset. But how many feet will the boat move before it resets?

Iggy said:

My 2nd choice would be a Fortress.

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I used to carry a Fortress as a spare anchor. Excellent anchor, and easy to handle. But not a great primary anchor IMO.

jleonard said:

I never dragged using a Danforth,

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I think when it comes to the old fashioned anchors like Danforths and fishermen, you need to exceed a certain weight, and then they perform quite well. I don't mean this in the obvious sense.

Figure you're in some hard pan or weedy substrate. It is going to require a certain amount of weight and a sharpened point just to break through so the anchor can begin digging in.

You might try to relate that to psi, but let's just say that a 20lb Danforth probably isn't going to do it. It will just skip along. However, once you hit 40lbs or 50lbs (for example) then the point breaks through the pan or weeds. Now you have a well-performing anchor.

I installed on my 50+ ton boat a 60lb Danforth. It worked fantastic in Southern California (on all chain rode). I even bought a 110lb as a storm anchor.

This is one way that a steel Danforth excels over an aluminum Fortress. Weight. Sometimes you just can't beat the laws of physics.

I would think a fisherman would work along the same lines.

None of this has anything to do with the newer, high performance modern anchors, but just a reflection.

Mako, I think you are onto something.

If you go through the Panope testing videos, the ranking of "best" differs a bit on size being tested.

Another vote for Rocna. However found you need to NOT back down on it in the loose mud of the Chesapeake. Just wait 10 to 15 minutes and then back down gently. In very loose mud a fortress maybe necessary. But that’s very rare.
However in places where you go 180 from tides you need to have room for it to reset. So far have found my current Vulcan does just as well as my prior Rocna overall and has no troubles at all with a 180 shift. From experience it may take some space for the Rocna to do it. Plows of any form perform poorly unless you pay more attention to deployment than I’m willing to do at the end of a day. Rocna or Vulcan drop it and you’re done.
Think any of the nexgen anchors are head and shoulders above the performance of prior anchor models. You can feel secure with even 3:1 if necessary. But think the Vulcan is the best of the lot for NE. We have a Vulcan one size up and a fortress two sizes up. So far so good.

Danforths reported (and in my experience using quite a few commercially and recreationally) are great holders, not so great setters.

I agree that after a certain size where they tend to be affected by light weeds, shells, small rocks, etc.....their setting record seems to improve dramatically.

The Danforth original High Tensile was my favorite and was included in my "sharpening" of the fluke tips for better weed penetration...they also speared more larger shells but if one fluke caught, the pressure seemed to break the shells apart and catch.... I could tell by how many were cracked and fell off retrieving.

I like the Danforths and Fortresses for storm anchors where you have time to properly set and test their holding.

On the bow for day to day use I just don't trust them as a modern anchor for quick set and hold in emergencies.....cruicial for single engine trawlers like I had.

I've been happy with the Vulcan on my boat (33kg / 73lb Vulcan on a 38' / 27k lb boat). It tests near the top of the pack as well. I picked it before some of the more thorough testing had been done, as in my case, the shape of it allowed me to fit a larger anchor than some of the other modern designs without hitting the hull.


Anchors of pretty much any design work significantly better at larger sizes. They're heavier to push through weed and such effectively, and they're less susceptible to fouling with small sticks, shells, etc. The anchors get bigger, but the debris doesn't, so it becomes less significant.

As far as the Fortress and Danforth anchors, they're special purpose. For straight line holding in any bottom soft enough for it to set, especially soft mud, they're unbeatable (pound for pound). But they don't always handle reversals gracefully, and they're often not great in weeds, shells, sticky mud, etc. as the hinge can get jammed up and prevent the flukes from getting in a good position to set (especially an issue for a re-set after a direction change).

@psneeld, agree with your statements. In the Persian Gulf my 22lb Danforth-copy had a hard time setting in the hard pan until I sharpened the points. That helped a lot. Had to keep repainting it to keep from rusting, but it was worth it.

Rocna (classic), Rocna Vulcan, Manson Supreme. We've used them all and had good luck with all of them. Most of southern NE from The Cape and Islands to Block Island, and the southern shores of RI and CT will be sand and shells.

Agree shrew but in Maine you get that weird situation of substrate for a foot or so than rock ledge. You think on initial set you’re good but once it starts to blow you drag. Also occasionally you’re anchoring with a lot of chain out. Unlike the tropics the water is too cold to dive and the visibility is very poor so you rarely if ever see the anchor. . Have found Maine a place you need to pay attention. It’s here I like the Vulcan/Rocna. Back down. Wait awhile. Do it again. And a third time. Back down strong.

Mako said:

@psneeld, agree with your statements. In the Persian Gulf my 22lb Danforth-copy had a hard time setting in the hard pan until I sharpened the points. That helped a lot. Had to keep repainting it to keep from rusting, but it was worth it.

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Better a little rust than being almost useless.....

Hippocampus said:

Agree shrew but in Maine you get that weird situation of substrate for a foot or so than rock ledge. You think on initial set you’re good but once it starts to blow you drag. Also occasionally you’re anchoring with a lot of chain out. Unlike the tropics the water is too cold to dive and the visibility is very poor so you rarely if ever see the anchor. . Have found Maine a place you need to pay attention. It’s here I like the Vulcan/Rocna. Back down. Wait awhile. Do it again. And a third time. Back down strong.

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That's why I qualified with 'Southern NE', where the OP is planning to keep their boat. I'm from NH. I'm well aware that NH and particularly Maine has a rocky shoreline. It's also deep with a very large tide change.

By the way and to merge this a bit with another thread, West Marine has a current sale of 20% off Rocna brand anchors. Hoop style as well as the Vulcan. Defender is 15% off, and Fisheries Supply no sales at the moment.

FWIW, seven years ago we bought a 25kg Rocna to replace the original plough anchor. The only short comings we noticed was it was not very secure on short scope(3.5:1) and 90 degree wind shifts. The boat dragged twice, once dragging quite fast and showing no inclination to re set. We never had a problem when the rode was 5:1 though.

We sometimes are in deep water where it is difficult to achieve a 5:1 setting. We eventually sold the Rocna roll bar unit and bought a Sarca Excel.

This anchor dives very deep in sand/clay bottoms. Quite often I have to drive the boat over the anchor to break it free as our new Lofrans Tigres winch(1500Watts) is not up to it. It also holds very well in wind shifts.

The Excel also holds well in sandy sea grass bottoms, I have no idea how it would hold in hard rocky sea beds.

mako said:

perhaps, but by sheer numbers the greatest anchor ever is the good ole danforth

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Bingo!!

rslifkin said:

Any of the well reviewed new gen anchors in a generously large size will cover the vast majority of anchoring scenarios. Take a look at the Viking, Mantus (both designs), Rocna Vulcan, Spade, and Excel. Between those I'd pick mostly based on what will fit on the bow in a size 1 or 2 larger than recommended.

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Yes. Yes, Yes!! "... in a size 1 or 2 larger than recommended."

I remember Nomad Willy used to post a photo of a "normal sized" PNW fishing boat with a monster 500lb anchor on its nose. More of a portable mooring actually.

Bigger is better!