Interesting Anchors

A new thread to rival "Interesting Boats". And especially for Eric:
The Flook Flying Anchor: https://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/marine-items/flook-flying-anchors/216432
Hours of fun for all the family! At a bargain price too.

OK I'll bite,
Here's one that's self explanitory in every way.
A mod but not mine.

The anchor is a Forfjord .. a favorite among fishermen in Alaska. I think they are think'in w their other end when favoring this anchor. I'm not impressed but the fishermen are. I was too (at first) and bought a 25lb fjord assuming they were right. Couldn't get it to set. Not at all. Put out my 13lb Danforth S and hooked right up. I had told a guy in Thorne Bay about getting one and he was elated to buy mine for $25. Buck a pound. Can't remember what I paid for it.
In Steve G's Anchor Setting Vids the fjord worked a little better. Not good though. IMO a Navy or Dreadnought anchor is much better.

Despite the affection from fishermen they have a rep for dragging and some skippers weld ears on the fluke sides as shown in my pic taken in Craig Ak. They call them mud ___. I think they only help in the softest mud. And on harder bottoms they probably are not a plus at all.

To balance my sour opinion perhaps some user could offer a higher opinion of this anchor.

Eric, that Forfjord just looks like a typical low performance stockless. Perhaps if you sharpened the flukes then it might actually dig in.

You might want to experiment with a welded up Northill. Not the folding seaplane versions.

In SE Asia I saw basically all the fishing fleet and river barges equipped with them. Usually welded up from channel and I-beam sections and plate. Heavy with sharpened flukes - they seem to work great. With a short leader of very heavy chain attached then I doubt the rode would get wrapped around the protruding stock. When I get my next boat I will definitely experiment with one.

Mako,
You say welded heavy Northil anchors work better than sheetmetal sea plane Northils?

Hard to imagine an anchor that is heaver not working better. But then it’s heavier and must be judged and compared w all the anchors of that weight. No? That would mean the Fortress would have almost no holding power. We classify anchors by weight. Would it be better to maximize fluke area? Some very knowledgeable people including at least one manufacturer say holding power is basically directly proportional to holding power. Sounds smart but there is more to it. But when they conceived the sea plane anchor low weight or high holding power per pound was obviously the design goal. The stocks fold so it can be stored on deck of hung on a bulkhead. I’m in the camp that says if it sets it wins the ballgame. But weight has a lot to to w dependable setting. Most ships have stockless or/and Navy anchors.

Mako You want home made and big .....

A lot (probably most) of these "home made" anchors in BC and SE Alaska are probably made in a town weld/fab shop. Lot's of fishermen could/would say "oh that's Art Johnson's anchor from over in Wrangell". I've never seen one differ much from the original Northill. Things like fluke angle are probably measured .. not guessed. So I would say they are just trying to get something that works w/o spending bucks. But some may be welded up from high carbon steel ??? Had some lay'in around sort of thing. Fishermen fairly often paint their boats w house paint and I've never seen a Rocna on a fish boat.

Oh don'cha like the way he avoided the extra overhang moorage?

Nomad Willy said:

To balance my sour opinion perhaps some user could offer a higher opinion of this anchor.

Click to expand...

Hey Eric- As mentioned in the thread from long long ago, I've had good luck with the forfjord over the past 3 years with our boat which was recently weighed at 96,000 lbs.

Caveats....1) It's a #12 so it's approx 150 lbs and I have 400 ft of chain so... relatively heavy ground tackle which always helps and 2) we anchor mostly in good holding mud and have been in up to about 30 kt of wind. Our roller is built through the bow and I wouldn't want to reconfigure the bow so replacement with a modern design would need to be a specific anchor type I fear (suggestions welcome)

-tozz

Nomad Willy said:

Oh don'cha like the way he avoided the extra overhang moorage?

Click to expand...

hah...we have someone in our marina that was so intent on not paying for extra he cut and hinged his bow pulpit so he can toss the anchor on the foredeck and fold the pulpit up when docked. On a Meridian 411.

-tozz

BruceK said:

A new thread to rival "Interesting Boats". And especially for Eric:
The Flook Flying Anchor: https://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/marine-items/flook-flying-anchors/216432
Hours of fun for all the family! At a bargain price too.

Click to expand...

I expect it could be handy for a kedging anchor.

tozz said:

hah...we have someone in our marina that was so intent on not paying for extra he cut and hinged his bow pulpit so he can toss the anchor on the foredeck and fold the pulpit up when docked. On a Meridian 411.

-tozz

Click to expand...

He's not the only one.

Interesting comments all.

tozz I had a friend in Craig Ak that had the same basic setup you’ve got on his Willard 30. His shank laid on the foredeck. Slick settup. His anchor was higher than yours. When you burry your bow do the flukes slam up on the hull? But you prolly do get the self launching feature that w a 150lb anchor is no doubt welcome.
Looks tidy, ship shape and .. well .. Salty good.

C lectric,
Indeed I’ve seen quite a few .. but not lots. Most folks don’t go boldly forth cutting on their boats ..... or anchors. But some get off on it.

Nomad Willy said:

Mako,

You say welded heavy Northil anchors work better than sheetmetal sea plane Northils?



Hard to imagine an anchor that is heaver not working better.

Click to expand...

Hey that’s some pretty good sarcasm there. Okay so yeah perhaps my statement sounded dumb but I didn’t mean it that way. [emoji3]

Well I didn’t intend it to be sarcastic but perhaps I was. I suppose I was thinking in terms of humor but now that you say that I’ll label it slightly snarky humor.

Anyway a lighter anchor may indeed hold better if an anchor is more slender as in not fat like the Lewmar in the pic below. See my ground off Lewmar flukes in the pic. Penetration can be golden. And weight can help penetration given the right geometry. So it’s more or less a balance .. or imbalance of forces. The Fortress and Danforth types penetrate seafloors quite well with very little weight driving them. The S Danforth w long slender forged flukes and long tapered shank has excellent penetration.

Nomad Willy said:

When you burry your bow do the flukes slam up on the hull? But you prolly do get the self launching feature that w a 150lb anchor is no doubt welcome.

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The flukes do not hit the hull in rough seas. There is enough room there for them to move about freely without damage. Sorry the picture isn’t the best angle.

tozz said:

Hey Eric- As mentioned in the thread from long long ago..

-tozz

Click to expand...

I only started this one yesterday. But yes, one anchor thread is much like another.

BruceK said:

I only started this one yesterday. But yes, one anchor thread is much like another.

Click to expand...

Yep. There was a thread a couple of years ago where we went back and forth a bit about the forfjord. I appreciated the other views and experiences folks had with it.

The fjord seems to need to be used by a big heavy boat.
Steve G and I both have only about 40hp. Perhaps if we could pull harder they would work better. But the’ve got to work at least as well as a Claw. The fishermen use big anchors w very heavy rodes and they hardly use any other anchor. Granted some kinds of fishing dosn’t require regular anchoring but trollers do and many others do while traveling and they all do that.
And perhaps I was a bit annoyed w my fjord and I’m coming off a bit negative because of it. Sorry if I did that and I think I did.

As a side note I tried to find a picture (that I know I’ve got) of a SS Northill I saw in BC. Perhaps it will turn up. That could be the least expensive SS anchor out there.

Somewhere in the family archives I'll have to see if we still have the picture of the old fashioned anvils my uncle found somewhere (for free) and welded an eye to. Being in my early teens, you-know-who got to be the human windlass. And manila rope for rode no less. We once sunk the anchor so deep in the Delta mud near Sherman Island four of us couldn't get it unstuck. So Uncle John got out his knife and said "screw it, I got four more back home".

I can think of one situation where the Flook Flying Anchor would have come in pretty handy.

We were stern tied and the wind picked up on the beam. I grabbed our spare anchor & rode, tossed it in the dinghy, headed upwind, and dropped the anchor so it would hold our boat in line with the tree we were tied to and the main anchor.

It would have been way less hassle to chuck the Flook Flying anchor off the side and let it fly/glide into position on the upwind side.

OK Murray you’ve won the prize.
I’ve never seen such a thing.
Can’t top that one but who knows what will turn up.
That’s just amazing. How long has this Flook been in existence?

CQR Anchors

I was trying to search how old the CQR design is, with not a lot of success, though this article/review I think suggests 1933. It was the standard for many, still is for some, though I think it`s fact that anchor design has moved on, is better, and it`s a good idea to move with it.

https://www.offshoreblue.com/safety/anchor-plow.php

Nomad Willy said:

OK Murray you’ve won the prize.
I’ve never seen such a thing.
Can’t top that one but who knows what will turn up.
That’s just amazing. How long has this Flook been in existence?

Click to expand...

BruceK referenced it in the first post.

tozz said:

hah...we have someone in our marina that was so intent on not paying for extra he cut and hinged his bow pulpit so he can toss the anchor on the foredeck and fold the pulpit up when docked. On a Meridian 411.

-tozz

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You know, it has always struck me as ridiculous charging marina berthage on the length of the vessel, including the sticky-out bits, when surely what matters is the size of the berth that vessel takes up. Charging for the berth length, which is usually measured in metres, or in the US, feet or yards - I suspect feet - would surely be fairer, more logical, and obviate the need for the sort of measures mentioned above.

Ah Pete, but that's the point! The things that stick out the ends are taking up berth space, or overhanging walkways or fairways and creating a hazard to others.

I might spend money to sort out the pulpit aspect if it stopped me from being forced into a longer berth that is not only more expensive but has a lot less available in marina's that I visit.

My boat came with a David Seahook 100. Basically a 100# Forfjord lookalike. It was fine in sand, and rock and I did not have any issues with it while I was in the PNW and BC.

But back home, in a bottom of mud/seagrass I could not get it to set. I initially replaced it with a Sarca #8 made of aluminium alloy. It sets immediately in everywhere that I've been.

The Davis sat very nicely on my bow. Very little protrusion beyond the bow roller and tucked in tight, and it did not move at all. But its now a garden ornament.

I now use a #8 galvanised Sarca, and keep the two-piece alloy Sarca as a spare. But AnchorRight advise there is no significant difference in performance between the 2 types, despite the weight difference. Both have fairly sharp weighted tips. I think thats the key, and the blunt & light tips are the achilles heel of the forfjord style.

Peter B said:

You know, it has always struck me as ridiculous charging marina berthage on the length of the vessel, including the sticky-out bits, when surely what matters is the size of the berth that vessel takes up. Charging for the berth length, which is usually measured in metres, or in the US, feet or yards - I suspect feet - would surely be fairer, more logical, and obviate the need for the sort of measures mentioned above.

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Some marinas do charge that way. And some charge by square footage of boat, as a wide beam limits what can fit next to them, so the wide beam pays more.

It is my understanding that the SS Northill aircraft anchors are non magnetic so where ever they are stowed it will not effect compass or auto pilot readings.


They are great anchors but should be used with a trip line to be sure to get it back.


The CQR may be an old design but genuine CQR are forged not welded sheet metal .

FF,
Are you say’in my anchor in the top pic in post #4 is bronze? I’ll check w a magnet next time I’m at the boat.
Our power was out for two days so we turned on the Wabasto and stayed on the boat.
The anchor is on the boat. If it was bronze I wouldn’t think it would be strong enough to use. Did they make anchors like this that wern’t for military flying boats? One would think they would be steel.
In the early 60’s I was in the Navy and as an electronic tech spent much time on P5 Martin flying boats and don’t recall seeing the anchors. My anchor would not be big enough to hold a P5m.

There are bronze alloys that are just as hard and tough, or nearly so, as most steels.
The bronze units would actually, volume for volume, be heavier than a steel anchor.

THe trouble is cost. Bronze of any type is several times the cost of steel.

With the vogue of "shiny is better" SS has displaced many bronze items. Even chrome plating eventually wears off showing the green verdegris from the underlying metal that many people don't like or mistakenly think make it a cheap or inferior item..

Even bronze pipe fittings are becoming hard to locate – COST and opinion..

I'm not talking about any form of brass that is mislabeled as bronze but actual marine bronzes.

makobuilders said:

Eric, that Forfjord just looks like a typical low performance stockless. Perhaps if you sharpened the flukes then it might actually dig in.

You might want to experiment with a welded up Northill. Not the folding seaplane versions.

In SE Asia I saw basically all the fishing fleet and river barges equipped with them. Usually welded up from channel and I-beam sections and plate. Heavy with sharpened flukes - they seem to work great. With a short leader of very heavy chain attached then I doubt the rode would get wrapped around the protruding stock. When I get my next boat I will definitely experiment with one.

Click to expand...

Mako,
Here's the home made SS Northill. Saw it in Shawl Bay in the upper Broughton Is. He was a clever fellow as evidnced by his boat details.

Bruce made in Belgium on Ebbtide. Worked every time.