So, lets talk anchors
- Thread starter dscribner
- Start date
This was written some time ago, but provides photos, too:
Why NEW GEN Anchors are Better:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.msg19651.html#msg19651
We have a Rocna.
Why NEW GEN Anchors are Better:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.msg19651.html#msg19651
We have a Rocna.
Before purchasing an anchor; give yourself a treat and check out Mantus Anchors. http://www.mantusanchors.com/
I own 4 including a 55#, 45#, 35# and a dinghy anchor. You'll be glad you did. They also have other really good stuff including the strongest swivel on the market.
Good comparison videos etc.
Located right there in kemah, TX.
I own 4 including a 55#, 45#, 35# and a dinghy anchor. You'll be glad you did. They also have other really good stuff including the strongest swivel on the market.
Good comparison videos etc.
Located right there in kemah, TX.
Mainsail,
the only place I.ve dragged, are you sitting, Cocktail Cove! Tucked in for the night with 300 of my closest friends and ended up 25 feet from shore, come 4 a.m. the wind had shifted from our normal southerlies to screaming in from the N-NE. I woke because the breaking waves on the beach seemed to close. I was right.
the only place I.ve dragged, are you sitting, Cocktail Cove! Tucked in for the night with 300 of my closest friends and ended up 25 feet from shore, come 4 a.m. the wind had shifted from our normal southerlies to screaming in from the N-NE. I woke because the breaking waves on the beach seemed to close. I was right.
I'm not sure what"studies" you are talking about, but unless you anchor EXCLUSIVELY in sand or mud, most probably you will one day lose either your anchor or worst case scenario, your boat, if you anchor with a line/chain rode on rocky, coral, or foul bottoms. All it would take is one tide change or wind shift to have the line wrap around a rock or other sharp object and well, I'm sure you get the point. If you're a lucky guy, you'll be aboard and awake when it happens.
Walking through Spice Island Boat Yard, I had to take a pic of THIS Mantus. It seemed to be on an appropriately sized vessel (cat) with a bridle rigged.
Draw your own conclusions as to whether you want a Mantus or not after seeing this
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There's no anchor I know of that is imune to bending or even breaking. The good news is if the owner of that Mantus were to pick the the phone, he'd quickly discover that Mantus stands behind its product with one of the best warranties in the business...
What really matters is how the company supports the anchor and stands behind it. Fortress & Mantus have two of the best warranties in the business and both stand behind the product extremely well, perhaps these two are the best in the industry.
I actually love the one sentence Mantus warranty:
"OUR WARRANTY
Mantus anchors provides a lifetime warranty on its products and parts against damage or manufacturing defects."
That's it no small print.....
Compare that to other manufacturers who's warranties are non-existent for bending or "damage" or those withmultiple paragraphs of "small print":...
What really matters is how the company supports the anchor and stands behind it. Fortress & Mantus have two of the best warranties in the business and both stand behind the product extremely well, perhaps these two are the best in the industry.
I actually love the one sentence Mantus warranty:
"OUR WARRANTY
Mantus anchors provides a lifetime warranty on its products and parts against damage or manufacturing defects."
That's it no small print.....
Compare that to other manufacturers who's warranties are non-existent for bending or "damage" or those withmultiple paragraphs of "small print":...
25 lb Mantus on our Seaward 25. It's been a great anchor for us. Always sets quickly and holds in wind changes, even in weeds. Fortress FX11 is our backup. It held great, as well, except in weeds and wind changes...the reason for the Mantus.
To those who spend time in rocky Maine... We plan to do a trip up to Penobscot bay this season. Do I need to plan a trip line / float of some sort (something I've never worried about in our usual cruising grounds).
To those who spend time in rocky Maine... We plan to do a trip up to Penobscot bay this season. Do I need to plan a trip line / float of some sort (something I've never worried about in our usual cruising grounds).
QUOTE: Walking through Spice Island Boat Yard, I had to take a pic of THIS Mantus. It seemed to be on an appropriately sized vessel (cat) with a bridle rigged.
Draw your own conclusions as to whether you want a Mantus or not after seeing this End Quote.
A: The owner may actually have a very high opinion of that anchor. We don't know because a photo doesn't tell the whole story.
B: I don't see a failure of the anchor from this photo but thank goodness they had it.
I took a couple picks of my 55# to show the construction of the tip.
Draw your own conclusions as to whether you want a Mantus or not after seeing this End Quote.
A: The owner may actually have a very high opinion of that anchor. We don't know because a photo doesn't tell the whole story.
B: I don't see a failure of the anchor from this photo but thank goodness they had it.
I took a couple picks of my 55# to show the construction of the tip.
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I hope that that customer with the bent tip contacts us!! We do have a Lifetime Warranty! And we do want to know how this happened and find out when it was purchased! So we can take steps to improve our products!
Hello Mark.
If the bolts have been installed as instructed in the instructions with the grease that is in the box. There will be no problems at the joint. But as the anchor is used the galvanizing will be worn off and you may want to change out the bolts in 3 to 5 years if they show signs of rust.
So you are saying you would continue to use this anchor even with the bend? I find it hard to believe with that much bend it would function as well as the designed point. Kinda like driving 90 mph on bald tires, IMO.
I guess my question more specifically, would the bolts/nuts loosen with useage? Necessitating a "torque check" at any time?Tnx
I've been looking into anchors for the past week so... I'm an expert!!! Ha! One fairly long and egaging rticle went on about anchor size, large boat, small boat, stuff like that. I'll see if I can dig it out and link it. Among other things, it went thru the physics of anchoring, calculating catenary arc, force on the anchor, rodes bar tight. What it comes down to is chain is required the first (place favorite length here) feet. This protects the rope rode from wear on the bottom. Beyond that there is no calculatable benefit, other than not dancing so much at anchor. By the numbers, an all chain rode has more perceived benefit that actual benefit. This guy also said that choosing a smaller, stronger chain than BBB shows great benefits. Again, I'll see if I can dig it out.capta said:
Hi Mark,
With the split lock style of lock washers we have not had any bolts coming loose over time with use. I know that some of our customers have checked them and not found them loose after 2 to 3 years of heavy use.
I hope this answers your question Mark.
Thank you, Dean
With the split lock style of lock washers we have not had any bolts coming loose over time with use. I know that some of our customers have checked them and not found them loose after 2 to 3 years of heavy use.
I hope this answers your question Mark.
Thank you, Dean
dscribner,
There are in my opinion more advantages than disadvantages to all chain (or nearly so) rode over all nylon (excepting the leader chain portion, of course), at least for a large (> 36 ft) coastal cruising yacht. 1) One can anchor safely on much shorter scope. Due to less chain rode veered out, and the fact that its weight tends to bring the boat up in light airs, chain reduces the swinging radius around the boat which facilitates use in "crowded anchorages." 2) Generally, chain is more durable, especially SS chain, and does not chafe or melt (at the chocks) as nylon can. (Although one must occasionally "freshen the nip" of the nylon snubber.) 3) (one you did not mention) Due to all its weight it can be effectively deployed very fast by "gravity drop" even while the boat is making serious leeway in a fresh or strong breeze, and still set quickly by getting a lot of weight down quickly.
True, it's heavy; but on a big boat that's not a problem. If the windlass fails, you might have trouble recovering. Mine has, and I've recovered manually, and it is a lot of trouble. So, maintain the windlass so it does not fail short of a total electrical failure.
As to strength, nylon can be stronger than chain, as we know, as rated to a given sized boat. I suppose one might carry larger chain to compensate. However, the failures at anchor that most of us will ever experience is when an anchor drags or pulls out; not a parting of the chain or nylon rode.
There are in my opinion more advantages than disadvantages to all chain (or nearly so) rode over all nylon (excepting the leader chain portion, of course), at least for a large (> 36 ft) coastal cruising yacht. 1) One can anchor safely on much shorter scope. Due to less chain rode veered out, and the fact that its weight tends to bring the boat up in light airs, chain reduces the swinging radius around the boat which facilitates use in "crowded anchorages." 2) Generally, chain is more durable, especially SS chain, and does not chafe or melt (at the chocks) as nylon can. (Although one must occasionally "freshen the nip" of the nylon snubber.) 3) (one you did not mention) Due to all its weight it can be effectively deployed very fast by "gravity drop" even while the boat is making serious leeway in a fresh or strong breeze, and still set quickly by getting a lot of weight down quickly.
True, it's heavy; but on a big boat that's not a problem. If the windlass fails, you might have trouble recovering. Mine has, and I've recovered manually, and it is a lot of trouble. So, maintain the windlass so it does not fail short of a total electrical failure.
As to strength, nylon can be stronger than chain, as we know, as rated to a given sized boat. I suppose one might carry larger chain to compensate. However, the failures at anchor that most of us will ever experience is when an anchor drags or pulls out; not a parting of the chain or nylon rode.
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Happy with a Rocna. The Mantus bolts have little value in my mind and they probably would hold onto mud when you bring the anchor back aboard. I was rundown once by a huge trawler that also dragged in cocktail cove with short scope and a large CQR. New style scoop anchors seem to work great.
I really do not pay any attention at all to "theoretical" anchoring information. I've been anchoring vessels of all sorts since the early 60's, both with all chain and some with chain/rope. I never anchor under "controlled conditions". We've somewhere around 1400 straight nights at anchor in various places around the WI, excepting a 5 day haulout a few months back. Nothing "theoretical" about it. There is absolutely NOTHING perceived in an all chain rode with a snub line. There is absolutely no possibility that something underwater will chafe through all chain (see pic; this "something underwater" was tangled
in the middle of the anchor chain) or the chain to line splice will wear through. We don't anchor for the best conditions we expect, but the worst.
With a chain/line rode, anchoring in the SoPac and Oz, I carried a goodly number of fishing floats to "float" the line from the chain to the boat so it wouldn't wrap on coral heads or get cut on rocks. That takes about a hour to set up and half that to undo each time I anchored. Without the buoys, I couldn't sleep very well.
As for anchors, after over 50 years as a professional mariner, I completely blew off the idea of "next gen" anchors. My genuine CQR was just fine as were genuine Danforths (in their place), but there were places like the chutes in Admiralty Bay where it wasn't. Occasionally I'd see a boat stick in these chutes and other hard to hold areas. I'd go over and ask what anchor they were using. Rocna was the reply, each and every time. Not long after this, good fortune smiled on us as we were able to pick up an 88#er for a quarter of it's retail price. Hey, a cheap experiment even if it didn't work, right?
Well, for the next year we dove on that anchor almost every time we anchored and found the it rarely took more than it's own length to set! And I NEVER back down to set my anchor (unless Med mooring). In several decent (60+kn) middle of the night blows it held perfectly. Same with tidal situations; reset in it's own length.
So, the old salt had to admit that there was something to the "new gen" anchor hype, at least for my purposes down here. In another area, such as the Canadian Maritimes, where I'm guessing the anchoring is mostly on rocky bottoms, I'd go with another anchor I'm sure.
I don't mean to sound "preachy", only to pass on real world experience to balance the "theoretical" anchoring information available to you on the web. In the end, all chain is basically no safer than chain/line if you don't have a proper snub line system. None of us can carry chain strong enough that if the chain is straight from the anchor to the boat and the seas are up. In effect your chain/line system is a chain/snub system, only the bit of the snub in the water is rather perishable.