Delta/Plow Anchor Reviews

[86Hat41]

Anyone have any real world experience with a Delta style anchor/ Plow. I’m tired of bending the flukes on my Danforth on retrieval. I anchor on very rocky reefs and retrieval is often an issue. Just looking for a few opinions before I plunk down $300 on one.

 

[osprey]

Hi, I have three anchors for my 46C, I find my 44lb Delta works great in soft ground and mud but will not set into hard sand / clay. My 35lb Danforth works great in hard sand, mud and weeds, but does not have the weight and holding strength in soft mud and as you say can be a b#$ch when in large rocks. My Third anchor is a 45lb Manson Supreme, I find it to be great (Best) in almost every situation but may slip in light sand. In Heavy rocky area I use a trip line to help release it. I generally use the Danforth because it is lighter and easier to handle, I also use a light trip line with a float on the Danfoth to help in retrieval when it gets wedged in. The Manson is great but I always worry about loosing it or having it stole because of it's high cost so tend only to use it if I know I will be on anchor for a extended period with risk of bad weather. one thing to note is that after market or copy anchors do not work as well as Brand name ones. If I only anchored in heavy rock I would use a manson with a trip line. Good luck, there is no perfect anchor..

Pete

 

[dsharp]

I loved my plow anchor but that was sand and mud/clay. I'd get one with the eye cast over the flukes so you don't lose it in the rocks.

 

[brian4190]

i love my delta, it is my primary anchor. however if you get it stuck in the rocks you will most likely loose it as it wont bend like your danforth.If you are anchoring to fish you should be useing a gralping type anchor that is made for anchoring in the rocks that has two rings one at the bottom to attatch the line to and zip tie the line at the top. if you need a more secure anchoring then the other ideas are good.

 

[magnawake]

Key word here is "rocks". Nothing works good in rocks. At least getting it back. My plow Delta 55 has never let us down and we anchor out all the time. I wouldnt anhcor in rocks though. My friend uses a graplin (spelling) anchor for reefs. He made his own with Re-bar bending the 5 bars to the desired hook width, then welding them together. He uses it when fishing over reefs. When pulling it up it will bend the re-bar but he has a small pipe to bend them back. You wont loose it and it always has held us.

 

[MikeP]

I would ask around among the other local boat owners that operate in the same area re their anchor choice.

 

[GJH]

We've spent hundreds of nights at anchor using a Delta, both on the Hatt (88#) and a couple of trawler style boats we chartered. We anchored the Hatt all up and down the east coast and adjacent islands.

That said, based on the use described regardless of anchor (and in my opinion a Danforth style is pretty ideal for that) , I would use a trip line attached to the crown of the anchor in conjunction with the regular rode. I had a couple made out of poly line of different lengths, with buoy attached to one end. This is invaluable when the flukes are stuck under rocks and ledges. You slack the main rode a little, pick up the trip line buoy and cleat it off, drive the boat forward of the anchor just a little and it pulls the anchor out from under the ledge.

Another trick you will see guys use for day fishing is to attach the main rode to the crown of the anchor and use lightweight zip ties to hold the rode to the shank. When the anchor gets stuck, the ties give way and the rode lifts the anchor up by the crown.

 

[86Hat41]

Thank you for the replies guys. Unfortunately the whole trip line thing will not work. I am often anchoring 4 times or so within only a few hour period, It would be just too time consuming, and often in rough sea conditions. Has anyone had trouble with a Delta holding in the rocks? or a delta being easier/harder to pull out of the rocks compared to a danforth?

 

[GJH]

It depends on what you mean by "rocks". We have anchored in "rocky" bottoms just fine, but certainly not in all types of rocky bottoms, so I have no idea if it would work fo you or not. If it gets stuck under a ledge or between big boulders, it too, or any anchor for that matter will be difficult to break out without a trip line. After all it wouldn't hold you well in the first place if it didn't set. Once you get practiced with it, a trip line is not that much more work.

Another technique, usually used on smaller boats without a windlass, is the "anchor ball" or anchor buoy. There are some Youtubes on this. A guy I used to fish with out west was a big adherent to this technique, where he had to put out a whole bunch of rode due to depths and needed to pick it up fast. Pretty slick. Just do a web search on "Anchor Ball" or anchor buoy etc and you'll see links to the videos and rigs for sale.

Here's one of the vids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwiNDQW_r08

 

[Regal2800]

I know you are asking about delta/plow, but i would buy a rocna. i have owned both delta and plows and my rocna has surpassed both. only problem with the rocna is the price.

 

[GJH]

Rocna doesn't solve his problem. Might make it worse, actually, easier to embed in a crevice.

 

[86Hat41]

Ended up buying a Munson Supreme. Same basic design as a Rocna but with a "retrieval slot". In theory it should be perfect. .....we will see.