anchor choice for mid-Chesapeake?

[richk]

We live near Annapolis and are looking for a new anchor which will work for us. The boat is a 37 footer displacing 19000 lbs. We stay on the hook for two or three nights at any one spot so stability is important.
Ideas????

Rich

 

[Stu Jackson]

This should save a lot of retyping: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f118/anchor-for-chesapeake-121702.html

 

[Kings Gambit]

A 45-lb stainless steel CQR/Plow with 100 ft of 5/16 SS chain and you're good. I saw one on ebay just today.

You have to always ask the question: "What do I want to be riding on when the T-storm, or line squall, hits at midnight with 40-kt blasts of usually cold wind."

 

[Stu Jackson]

A 45-lb stainless steel CQR/Plow with 100 ft of 5/16 SS chain and you're good. I saw one on ebay just today.

You have to always ask the question: "What do I want to be riding on when the T-storm, or line squall, hits at midnight with 40-kt blasts of usually cold wind."

Certainly not a CQR!

Mebbe that's the reason it's for sale...

 

[Kings Gambit]

Actually, I carry options; Bruce, CQR Plow (Bower), and Fortress. I was also thinking of getting an over-sized Fortress since one can fold it for stowing. BTW, the guy probably sold his boat to a newbie and stuck a cheap Danforth on it; taking the CQR off to sell separately ($$). Not b/c it did not work.

 

[py26129]

Despite the bad press the CQRs get, we cruised with one for 12 years as out main anchor and hand no issues. Set it carefully and it woudl stay put.

Having said that, I would suggest you talk to some fo the other cruisers at your marina and see what works for them. If I were to boy a new anchor today, I woudl probably go for a Rocna or Mantus.

Cheers

Matt

 

[4arch]

The boat we recently bought has a galvanized CQR and its tarnished reputation has made me reluctant to even give it a try after having successfully used a Spade on the old boat. I figured I’d be better off taking the CQR to a metal scrapper than attempting to sell it as a functional anchor. There are always a lot of CQRs lying around when I go to marine secondhand stores.

I plan on replacing it with a Rocna or Mantus with the only thing I’m still debating at this point being weight. My boat is also 19k lbs. A 45 lb. anchor is adequate by the manufacturers’ sizing guides but there are compelling reasons to go a size bigger as a safety factor. For the Mantus, a size bigger is 65 lbs(!) so that may rule it out both in terms of physical size and weight while the Rocna offers a 55 lb. that might be a good middle ground.

 

[Bill1565]

The boat we recently bought has a galvanized CQR and its tarnished reputation has made me reluctant to even give it a try after having successfully used a Spade on the old boat. I figured I’d be better off taking the CQR to a metal scrapper than attempting to sell it as a functional anchor. There are always a lot of CQRs lying around when I go to marine secondhand stores. I plan on replacing it with a Rocna or Mantus with the only thing I’m still debating at this point being weight. My boat is also 19k lbs. A 45 lb. anchor is adequate by the manufacturers’ sizing guides but there are compelling reasons to go a size bigger as a safety factor. For the Mantus, a size bigger is 65 lbs(!) so that may rule it out both in terms of physical size and weight while the Rocna offers a 55 lb. that might be a good middle ground.

We moved from a 45# CQR to a 55# (25 kg) Rocna . I am very pleased. Rocna sets immediately, has not moved with 180 degree swings. Not yet tested in 60 it storms, but I am confident it will hold. CQR was fine if bottom was firm enuff, but it did plow in soft mud. Rocna does not. Couldn't sell CQR to any boater, there is a glut of them as people move to newer, better anchors. Finally unloaded it to a landscaper for use in a garden.

 

[Kings Gambit]

The SS 45# CQRs on Ebay are brand new, evidently. List at $499 plus shipping. About the same as a new 55# Rocna at Defender Marine except that Rocna is galvanized steel rather than stainless steel. If performance is comparable between the two (and I'm not saying that it is), SS has greater life span if underwater much of the time; the CQR is prettier on the bow and is more easily stowed b/c of its swivel neck if you have to switch, not to mention 10# lighter if you have to lug it somewhere else on the boat, or out in a dinghy for whatever reason that might present itself!

 

[Scott B]

You have to always ask the question: "What do I want to be riding on when the T-storm, or line squall, hits at midnight with 40-kt blasts of usually cold wind."

Rocna, more than once seen t-storms over 36 knots and a squall that was 52 knots and didn't budge ..... don't care how pretty SS looks on the bow.

 

[Dave Groshong]

Mantus!

http://shop.sailboatowners.com/cu/detail-mantus.php

 

[thinwater]

35# Mantus or Rocna.

I've used the others, and these are better for the area.

I have a 34' cat with similar windage.

 

[Sailgunner]

Just put a Rocna 25 on my boat, highly recommend it. Sets first time and sets well.

 

[Jim Seamans]

vote for Manson Supreme #35. Have a H356, survived Hurricane Sandy on the hook for 4 days. Secondary anchor is a Fortress

 

[Bill Roosa]

used a 35 lb CQR for years and never had any problems other than the mud does seem to stick to it pretty well.
Now use a delta and that also seems to work well.
You are looking for a mud anchor in most cases for the Bay. There is Rock and Stony creek which have issues but the bay is mostly mud bottom and an occasional sand spit

 

[thinwater]

used a 35 lb CQR for years and never had any problems other than the mud does seem to stick to it pretty well.
Now use a delta and that also seems to work well.
You are looking for a mud anchor in most cases for the Bay. There is Rock and Stony creek which have issues but the bay is mostly mud bottom and an occasional sand spit

I had a 25# Delta, which I liked. Now I have a 35# Manson Supreme:

• The Delta sits better on the rollers.
• The Manson is noticeably better in thin silt bottoms where the Delta would slowly plow. Some of that is weight, but not all of it.
• The Delta comes up clean, the Manson requires scraping every time.
• The Delta rotates into alinement on the rollers better.
• The Manson is better at penetrating hard bottoms. Some of that is weight, but not all of it.

I could be happy with a 35# Delta, but my current choice would be a 35# Rocna, based on price changes and fit on the rollers (Manson shouldn't have changed the shank design, they should have blatantly copied Delta, as Rocna did, since Delta got it right). Fortress secondary.

 

[Dan Johnson]

RichK...

Late to the party, but, I carry a plow type anchor on a bow roller on my H34 (about 14K weight loaded). It has served me and the past two owners very well for anchoring in the Bay. With ten feet of chain and 200 feet of rhode, it sets quickly and holds well using at least 5:1 scope.

As a back-up I carry a large Danforth, but have acquired a large Delta Fast-Set as an alternative.

 

[Joe Mullee]

Rich,

Like Dan I have a 14,000# (loaded) Hunter 34 and sail out of the West River. When I bought her in 2001 she had a 22# Bruce which served her very well. I purchased a 25# Manson Supreme before the 2012 season and have been pleased with that anchor as well. You obviously would need to adjust your anchor based on yor boat. I have anchored out 25-30 nights per year in some pretty snotty winds from Solomons to Cape May and never had a problem in the Chesapeake mud.

Joe Mullee

 

[Maine Sail]

The SS 45# CQRs on Ebay are brand new, evidently. List at $499 plus shipping. About the same as a new 55# Rocna at Defender Marine except that Rocna is galvanized steel rather than stainless steel. If performance is comparable between the two (and I'm not saying that it is), SS has greater life span if underwater much of the time; the CQR is prettier on the bow and is more easily stowed b/c of its swivel neck if you have to switch, not to mention 10# lighter if you have to lug it somewhere else on the boat, or out in a dinghy for whatever reason that might present itself!

There is no such thing as a stainless 45 pound CQR..

Be very sure it is a genuine CQR. Lots of cheap Chinese poor quality imitations out there with geometry hardly passable for the real McCoy...

A genuine SS CQR is a custom order anchor and a 60 pounder, the smallest size they will even make in SS, will set you back a mere $3350.00......