Anchors

[Phasma2128]

Ahhhh the big debate.....

Struggling trying to decide which anchor to buy. My Hatt has a Danforth onboard. I was also "given" a Delta anchor. I've had a couple of bad experiences with the Delta. It generally holds well but has cut loose twice on me and dragged. I'm not sure twice is enough to justify a change but...... the Admiral has decided she doesn't want to anchor out until I come up with a more reliable anchor. I realize the bottom substrate dictates the type of anchor used. Most of the bottom substrate on Lake Michigan is either sand or mud.

Everything I am reading is saying that the Rocna anchor is the cat's azz. Looking at the design I really see very little difference between the Rocna and the Delta anchors. I'm not convinced a change makes sense. Am I wrong?

Can one of you more seasoned fellas "weigh" in on this? (pun intended)

 

[Freestyle]

Go as heavy as your windlass can handle.

Rocna and Magna paper cutout templates for anchors of different sizes. Use these to determine which will fit without modifying your pulpit. In my case the Rocna fit without modifications.

Peace of mind with a 115 pound Rocna changes how you cruise.

Bruce

Freestyle
1985 61 CPMY (54MY with ext)
Tampa

 

[Pascal]

Deltas don’t hold well in soft mud.

I m a big fan of Bruce aka Claw anchors. I ve used them for over 15 years on boats I ve run from Nantucket to the Exumas anchoring over 100 nights a year and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times they failed to set on the first try. They ve held us in some nasty blows too.

That said, most of the time anchoring failures are cause by operator error usually not enough scope

Whatever you choose, go at least one size above whatever is recommended

 

[Phasma2128]

I’m still not convinced that the difference between Rocna and Delta justifies the change. Is there that much of an improvement with a Rocna?

I thought the claw anchor was really designed for mud. It sounds like it holds well in sand as well? What size claw are you using?

 

[Sadey]

We replaced our danforth for a Rocna Vulcan 55 which is 121lbs. We used the Danforth that came with the boat from Stuart Florida all the way up the river system to Wisconsin. It worked most of the time. However I do believe it was undersized for our boat. It seemed to take more than one try to set that anchor most of the time. Since we’ve switched to the Rocna we haven’t had any issues. Holds on the first try and we’ve had a couple of times where the winds have done a 180 and we were still in the same area. Never tripped the anchor alarm. We use all chain and I sleep like a baby now. Last year one of our boat neighbors was considering putting one on his Offshore 55. We took our anchor off to test fit on his pulpit. Fit perfectly and they went from Sturgeon Bay down to Longboat key without a single issue and was thoroughly satisfied. If you find yourself on our side of Lake Michigan and you haven’t bought the anchor yet you’re welcome to test fit as well.

 

[CGHOST4]

I use a 125# Mantus Anchor with 200' of 3/8" chain. We have cruised Lake Michigan, Florida, and the Bahamas. I sleep well at anchor.
https://www.mantusmarine.com/mantus-anchors/
Check out their videos for yourself.

Caesars Ghost
1980 58 YF #472

 

[madhatter1]

Deltas don’t hold well in soft mud.

I m a big fan of Bruce aka Claw anchors. I ve used them for over 15 years on boats I ve run from Nantucket to the Exumas anchoring over 100 nights a year and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times they failed to set on the first try. They ve held us in some nasty blows too.

That said, most of the time anchoring failures are cause by operator error usually not enough scope

Whatever you choose, go at least one size above whatever is recommended

I was thinking of changing from Danforth to a Bruce for Bahamas. Is 44 lb enough for a 46? Also is there a particular brand to go with? I see many "Bruce type" for sale. Asking because only a true Danforth or Danforth design will dig in and hook well. The big heavy "Danforth type" sold at west marine just drags through the sand without digging in.

 

[Pascal]

For a 46, I’d get the 66 pounder. Lewmar makes them and they re pretty good.

I still have Davis on my 53, given for free, it’s close to a delta. It s ok but we don’t cruise far from home yet. When we do, I ll upgrade to a 110 Bruce

I ve used a 110 on a 70’ skylounge and a 176 on an 84 skylounge, on all types of bottoms. Including New England, the Chesie, Georgia and Carolinas mud, Bahamas sand etc. The only conditions it’s not ideal is a rocky bottom where a delta will be able to hook up with its sharp tip

Whenever they set, I could feel the bow snap into the wind then when time comes to leave, it felt like you re pulling a teeth… often have to pause with ride vertical and let it come out slowly.

I wish I could use one of the 116 I run these days. It has 200lbs Poole anchors when I got in board and after the first trip to the Exumas, I got a 400 pounder from Sam’s, it was left over from Hatteras when they build a few 100+ boats. It s ok but still doesn’t have to holding of the Bruce.

 

[motoryacht lover]

I have a 110lb Bruce on my 54 MY. I had a fortress on there originally that broke free in a bad storm. That was many years ago and so far so good with the Bruce. I don’t anchor out a lot but hopefully that will change. I tend to be one of those that thinks if a little is good more is better but at a glance I don’t think 44lbs is enough for your 46. But my boat is 75000 lbs and a MY with more sail area. I have heard that the real Bruces are superior to the Bruce imitations but I don’t know why or even if that is the case.

 

[Scarlett]

The Lewmar Claw, which is a copy of the Bruce is about half the price of a true Bruce and works just as good. The reason it is cheaper is that the Bruce patent ran out which allowed others to copy it. We had a 66 lb. Bruce on our 18,000 lb. Sailboat that only drug once in 12 years of cruising halfway around the world. It drug when we set it in a bunch of wire weed in Mexico, not the anchors fault. Have the Lewmar copy on the Hatt and it has worked just fine in mud and sand.

 

[Phasma2128]

Great info! It sounds like I should look into the Bruce. The Rocna is pricey. I’m not afraid to spend the cash on a reliable anchor. I just want to make sure it’s dependable. I also want the Admiral to lighten up on anchoring out. Thanks fellas for the input

 

[CGHOST4]

One word on the Bruce, I had one, and it is a Great Sand and Mud anchor. My experience with it was that it was not a great grass or hard bottom anchor. My advice, there is one thing not to save money on, and it is your ground tackle.

Caesars Ghost
1980 58YF #472

 

[firbanks]

+1 Mantus M2. Put it on (already had 300’ of chain) and sleep much better at night. Boat had a fortress anchor and slipped a couple times on hard pack. Mantus had a plastic template at the boat show that they let me bring back to the boat to check fit that helped convince me!

 

[warrenw]

I anchor out every weekend in mostly mud bottoms, often with weeds. A couple of times a year we anchor in pure sand bottoms. Last year I put a Rocna Vulcan 33kg (72.6lb) anchor on the bow pulpit of my Chris-Craft 47 Commander, with all 3/8"HT chain and a Mantus S2 swivel. It fits the Hatteras style bow pulpit very well. This setup seems to work really well, I'm happy with the Vulcan, it seems to set quickly every time. On my last boat I had a genuine Bruce and I found it to work well in most conditions. Only a sticky clay bottom fouled the flukes of the Bruce and caused it to drag once.

I always carry a genuine Danforth as a stern anchor. In my opinion, in a clean sand bottom, nothing beats a genuine Danforth set with adequate scope.

View attachment 72648

 

[Eddieclemons]

40/88lb Rocna Vulcan has been great for us after replacing small CQR. Install required modifications. Only used in mud.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I've anchored for over 40 years in the Great Lakes with a Danforth. Never had an issue, ever. Not even in 60kt thunderstorms in the middle of the night. And we anchor out often. The key is all chain and over-size on the anchor. Its mostly sand bottoms in the lakes. Some mud and some weeds.

I bought Sadey's old Danforth style stainless anchor and had issues with it. I modified it so the angles and edges matched a true Danforth and it's great now. The Chinese knockoffs have the wrong shank to fluke angle.

 

[Briankinley2004]

I was thinking of changing from Danforth to a Bruce for Bahamas. Is 44 lb enough for a 46? Also is there a particular brand to go with? I see many "Bruce type" for sale. Asking because only a true Danforth or Danforth design will dig in and hook well. The big heavy "Danforth type" sold at west marine just drags through the sand without digging in.

I have a 60# plow anchor on my 46. It holds well. I think having a boat's length of chain is as important as the type of anchor.

 

[JD5652]

55 kg Rocna Vulcan with 600 feet of 3/8" chain on my 58LRC. One of the first upgrades I did on the boat.

She's batting a 1000 so far with anchoring mostly in Connecticut and New England waters for three seasons. Soon to be tested in Florida waters this season.