Another Anchor Question

[T210DRVR]

I have a 42’ GB that is presently equipped with a CQR anchor of approximately 50#. From earlier threads a gather that the CQR is not a highly favored anchor. I’ve priced the Rocna anchor and it appears to be amongst the most expensive anchors available. On a best value basis which of the other plow style anchors would you recommend? A Mantus, Delta, or some other brand?

My expected anchoring profile will be Pacific Coastal, anchoring in sand and or rocks with anchor depth up to 50’ I presently have 150’ of 3/8” chain rode with another 150’ of Nylon rode.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Jim,
You say "sand and rocks". Did you know there's an anchor called the "Sand and Rock" anchor called the SARCA. Made in Australia and available through Ground Tackle Marine.
sales@groundtackle.com ... Victoria BC Canada. Cris at 250 516 7888.

I once bought a Claw thinking it would be good in Alaska re rock bottoms. We went to Juneau and back to Wa. and found most all anchorages were mud and some sand. Mostly mud though.

I've seen CQR's hold well in high winds but they are notorious for being hard to set.

 

[Aquabelle]

Another vote for a SARCA....I have a #8 on my 57', 66,000lb Ocean Alexander and it's never failed to set or re-set quickly. You don't want an old-fashioned 'plough' style....they do just as the name suggests and pull a furrow across the seabed in a really hard blow rather than digging in and taking a set.

OK, now sit back while everyone else advocates for their anchor du jour !

 

[caltexflanc]

Go cruising for awhile and see how the CQR does for you. A lot of the boats we chartered, including a couple of Grand Banks 49's, had CQRs and they did well. one up in the San Juans and another in SW Florida, including one heck of a squall. A few months ago, we helped some friends bring a Gulfstar 44MY down from the Chesapeake to Morehead City and the CQR performed just fine then too. I didn't find them all that difficult to set. Anchoring is about 80% or so technique and 20% ground tackle, IMO.

 

[rsn48]

The general recommendation is: go with a modern anchor. CQR isn't one of them, Delta is kind of in between. My boat has 150 chain and 220 line and I am thinking in the next year or so of adding more line.

 

[HopCar]

As I recall the anchor comes up through the pulpit on a GB42. If I’m correct you don’t want a roll bar anchor like the Rocna. The roll bar will prevent it from seating correctly in the pulpit.

 

[BruceK]

As I recall the anchor comes up through the pulpit on a GB42. If I’m correct you don’t want a roll bar anchor like the Rocna. The roll bar will prevent it from seating correctly in the pulpit.

Sarca Excel doesn`t have a roll bar.

 

[Simi 60]

Manson supreme.
Has held us in 80+ knots and deformed the 13mm chain doing it.

Me, I would modify the boat to suit an anchor that works.
As a full time on the hook cruiser , security at anchor is everything.
Sleeps like the dead every night.

 

[Xlantic]

My previous boat was a 1979 GB42. It had a CQR when I bought it but I hated that anchor. It was hard to set and inspired no confidence that it would re-set in a wind change in the middle of the night.

I changed it for a Delta which performed very well.

As you can see in the photographs the pulpit would accommodate a roll-bar anchor.

When bought my current boat, a 1973 GB50, it had a Hall, an old fashioned stockless anchor which was very heavy and did not set well either. I replaced that with a Rocna which has performed very well.

Even though the Rocna has performed well, based on what I have read, I wish I had bought a Spade.

 

[psneeld]

The old adage is "your anchor hasn't drug.....till it does".

Buying a Nexgen anchor was the first thing I did before serious cruising.

While you can anchor forever with almost anything, if you pick the right spot at the right time, its the one time you or a forecaster guesses wrong that you will wish for an anchor with a better rep.

 

[FF]

"From earlier threads a gather that the CQR is not a highly favored anchor."


The old standbys the Danforth and CQR are not favored by folks SELLING anchors but seem to have worked just fine for 75 or so years.


Each does better in certain bottoms , although in bowling ball sized rocks the old heavy yachtsman hook style is required.



The Danforth does fine in ooze and sand where the large surface area is a help, the CQR is better in hard pack where its slightly smaller surface area is offset by its digging ability.


The huge markup makes advertising more affordable and the ability to repeat "anchor tests" till something nice looking is filmed helps the sellers.


BY all means purchase what is vogue , but as if you do serious cruising , hang on to your proven gear as loosing an anchor or two does happen.

 

[T210DRVR]

"From earlier threads a gather that the CQR is not a highly favored anchor."


The old standbys the Danforth and CQR are not favored by folks SELLING anchors but seem to have worked just fine for 75 or so years.


Each does better in certain bottoms , although in bowling ball sized rocks the old heavy yachtsman hook style is required.



The Danforth does fine in ooze and sand where the large surface area is a help, the CQR is better in hard pack where its slightly smaller surface area is offset by its digging ability.


The huge markup makes advertising more affordable and the ability to repeat "anchor tests" till something nice looking is filmed helps the sellers.


BY all means purchase what is vogue , but as if you do serious cruising , hang on to your proven gear as loosing an anchor or two does happen.

Great input by everyone. Thank you. My only experience dragging was back in my sailing days. I anchored at nearby Catalina Island one evening. I thought she was set and went to bed. I awoke the next morning and things looked...different. Apparently, I had drifted two coves down during the night. Somehow, I managed to miss the two reefs between. I hope to avoid a similar experience in the future. I know that my ground tackle is vitally important to a good nights sleep and the health of my boat.

Back in the day I used to recover lost anchors. On one particularly memorable dive I went down to recover one for another boater and found two more in the process!

 

[Nomad Willy]

Xlantic wrote;
“Even though the Rocna has performed well, based on what I have read, I wish I had bought a Spade.”

The Spade is a class A anchor even now but when it was introduced it was different than all others (rare in anchoring) and had features like a hollow shank. I judge most all new anchors by the Spade.
However the Spade uses ballast and I still wonder about the advantages of ballast. I have my favorite anchors and on all of them I wish I had the knowledge to say whether the ballast on anchors is needed to make that specific design “behave”. Or perhaps it’s just to make them set better. But there are anchors that set as close to always as could ever be expected .. w/o any ballast. And why should they sacrifice fluke area for ballast that adds nothing. Most likely though they put ballast in to help keep an anchor set.

 

[Shrew]

On a best value basis which of the other plow style anchors would you recommend?

These should not be the variables that you factor for things like anchors, parachutes, or life rafts.

Nobody whose boat is sitting on the beach, ever says say "Well, at least I saved $200".

 

[rgano]

As I recall the anchor comes up through the pulpit on a GB42. If I’m correct you don’t want a roll bar anchor like the Rocna. The roll bar will prevent it from seating correctly in the pulpit.

72-pound Rocna sat just fine in my GB 42 pulpit. CQR would never STAY set with me, so I trashed it. Rocna? WHOLE 'nother story, and a good one.

 

[syjos]

The worst, cheapest anchor set properly with lots of scope will usually hold better than the best anchor not set properly on less than ideal scope.

An oversized worst, cheap anchor will usually hold better than an undersized best anchor. A big enough rock used for an anchor will probably hold too.

There is too much emphasis on having the "best anchor" that will magically keep you in place irregardless of skill or technique.

Many boaters consider and purchase anchors for the "bling" factor.

Anchor selection should be based on the type of bottom that you may encounter, whether anchoring in tidal conditions where the boat does an 180 every 6 hours, the strongest wind that may be encountered and other factors.

I see every conceivable anchor being deployed by other boats while we are anchored. Some that I would never choose. We don't see that many boats dragging when the wind picks up.

Most dragging we see are right after anchoring. The result of inadequate scope and/or poor setting or no setting at all.

Seasoned boaters have their favorite anchor and simply upsize as they move up in boat size. If you have the same brand anchor for a long time, you will become accustomed to it's setting, handling and ideocycracies.

There are a lot of boaters, mostly sailboaters, that use CQR's without issues. I'd try out your CQR before replacing it. Anchor somewhere, preferably with wind, earlier in the day and sit through 2 tide changes and see how the anchor behaves.

Instead of buying a new anchor, I'd go to all chain instead of the chain/rope rode that you have.

 

[Spinner]

Love my Spade anchor! Sets fast, doesn’t drag. My second primary anchor is an Al alloy Sarca Excel. Also a mighty fine anchor, and light enough to carry up to the bow when needed.

 

[grsanchez]

The worst, cheapest anchor set properly with lots of scope will usually hold better than the best anchor not set properly on less than ideal scope.

An oversized worst, cheap anchor will usually hold better than an undersized best anchor. A big enough rock used for an anchor will probably hold too.

There is too much emphasis on having the "best anchor" that will magically keep you in place irregardless of skill or technique.

Many boaters consider and purchase anchors for the "bling" factor.

Anchor selection should be based on the type of bottom that you may encounter, whether anchoring in tidal conditions where the boat does an 180 every 6 hours, the strongest wind that may be encountered and other factors.

I see every conceivable anchor being deployed by other boats while we are anchored. Some that I would never choose. We don't see that many boats dragging when the wind picks up.

Most dragging we see are right after anchoring. The result of inadequate scope and/or poor setting or no setting at all.

Seasoned boaters have their favorite anchor and simply upsize as they move up in boat size. If you have the same brand anchor for a long time, you will become accustomed to it's setting, handling and ideocycracies.

There are a lot of boaters, mostly sailboaters, that use CQR's without issues. I'd try out your CQR before replacing it. Anchor somewhere, preferably with wind, earlier in the day and sit through 2 tide changes and see how the anchor behaves.

Instead of buying a new anchor, I'd go to all chain instead of the chain/rope rode that you have.

My anchoring fear is not that the anchor has not set . It is easy enough to check this by backing down under sufficient power.

What I fear is a 180 degree wind or tide shift in the middle of the night. When that happens it is up to the anchor to fend for itself as I am asleep and my anchoring skill (or lack of) will not matter.

 

[LaBomba]

I am as cheap as they come but when it came time recently to upgrade my anchor because the one it came with was to small I chose the Rocna Vulcan 20kg, the Vulcan more since the roll bar would not work on my pulpit. I chose to pay a bit more for the peace of mind. The other on the short list was the Manson Boss but again it would not fit the pulpit as well as the Vulcan. I did have a Delta on my last boat and can't say I was disappointed in it. It never let me down. Anchors are not something you should have to change up on a regular basis so choose wisely and Good luck.

 

[syjos]

My anchoring fear is not that the anchor has not set . It is easy enough to check this by backing down under sufficient power.

What I fear is a 180 degree wind or tide shift in the middle of the night. When that happens it is up to the anchor to fend for itself as I am asleep and my anchoring skill (or lack of) will not matter.

That's why you should arrive at you anchorage earlier then later so that you can sit through two tide changes while still daylight and see what happens during the 180's. The anchor will have additional time to "snuggle in".

Also depends on the anchor. My Genuine Bruce 66 will corkscrew into the bottom with each 180. After anchoring for several days, the Bruce will be dug down to the point that only a portion of the shank will be above the bottom. Other similar anchors should do the same.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Love my Spade anchor! Sets fast, doesn’t drag. My second primary anchor is an Al alloy Sarca Excel. Also a mighty fine anchor, and light enough to carry up to the bow when needed.

Spinner,
I should know but I don't ... Does the aluminum Excel have the same ballast as the steel Excel?

 

[psneeld]

Yeah great if you have that kind of luxury.


There are times that it just isn't either possible or convenient.


Or a single that lost power in a bad tidal current area and the tow is scheduled to arrive well after a tide shift.


Anchoring overnight can be done by anyone with any capabilities in many cases....but I want an anchor that saves my bacon in emergencies as well....THAT alone made me go with the anchor with the best reputation over the biggest swath of performance needs.

 

[Pieyed47]

One of the best anchors you can have is called a Plan B. If plan A goes out the window, then you can fall back on Plan B. If you come into an Anchorage and the lee shore has a lot of Driftwood on it, you might think about how it got there. Depending on the weather, you might want to move on to plan B. Do you get my drift?

 

[Nomad Willy]

Pieed47,
That's why I have 400' of anchor line.
To stay off the beach .. wood, rocks or whatever.

 

[Pieyed47]

Pieed47,
That's why I have 400' of anchor line.
To stay off the beach .. wood, rocks or whatever.

Sounds like a plan to me. What if it doesn't work?

 

[Nomad Willy]

Pieed47,
It’s what I’ve got. And there are many places in the PNW where the seafloor is too deep to allow my 400’ rode to keep us safe. But in most places it should work well enough.
Just my opinion though.

 

[Flatswing]

Just a word of caution. If your GB has a FRP bow pulpit with a “through the pulpit” anchor roller configuration rather than a roller at the most forward part, you may find a conflict with the toolbar on Rocha or similar style anchors. Vulcan style anchors usually work better for those configurations. Whatever you decide on, be sure to download the shank profile & make a cardboard or plywood mock up before purchasing.

 

[Wayfarer]

Sylphide came with a CQR, but despite never having used one, I was prejudiced against it. I replaced it before I ever used it.

I watched all of SV Panope's anchor videos on the YouTubes, and came away liking the Spade and the Mantus types. Based largely on the significant price difference between the two, I went with a 65 pound Mantus.

I couldn't be happier with it. It's set on the first try every single time now. It's held through wind and current shifts in the night, and has kept me safe through several gales.

 

[T210DRVR]

Yeah great if you have that kind of luxury.


There are times that it just isn't either possible or convenient.


Or a single that lost power in a bad tidal current area and the tow is scheduled to arrive well after a tide shift.


Anchoring overnight can be done by anyone with any capabilities in many cases....but I want an anchor that saves my bacon in emergencies as well....THAT alone made me go with the anchor with the best reputation over the biggest swath of performance needs.

Great argument for a twin versus single engine. Now, that’s another prime topic.

 

[Peter B]

Spinner,
I should know but I don't ... Does the aluminum Excel have the same ballast as the steel Excel?

Eric, I don't think either uses ballast.