Sail Magazine anchor test results are in...

[SurryMark]

Hullo Maine Sail,

I enjoyed your passionate discussion on anchors, and wonder if you still feel the same about the Manson Supreme?

I'm considering if for a Cape Dory 27, which will sail mostly over Maine's miserable seaweedy rocky muddy hard soft lee shore infested bottoms.

And do you think the Manson size recommendations are perfectly sufficient, or whether bigger is better makes a lot of sense here?

Thanks very much,
Mark Baldwin
Surry

[Maine Sail]

Yes I do still feel the same it is an amazing anchor with high holding power for it's physical weight. I currently use a Rocna 33 but my buddy Tim has been using my Manson Supreme 25 on an Ericson 35-3 with zero issues. It holds his 35 footer and I do find their ratings to be more accurate than those of other anchors such as the Claw/Bruce where you do need to up-size to get enough holding power.

The Manson Supreme is a tremendous anchor and in over 100 anchorings with it she never once failed to set on the first try, never dragged and never failed to re-set on a wind tide shift..

The Rocna and the Manson have performed identically for me, both at 100%, so I can't honestly say one out performs the other here in Maine & the Maritimes.

P.S. We spent seven days on the hook in Contention Cove in Surry. We were fairly exposed to Blue Hill Bay but had no problems what so ever even with two days of straight 25+. I trusted my Manson more than my buddies mooring in front of his house...

[Amgine]

I have to admit I've been amused by this thread.

I anchor off the coast of BC, andadmit I've had my share of anchoring issues. I've dragged twice, and I've had trouble getting a bite in certain locations. The fact these glacier-scoured inlets and channels vary from bare rock to soft mud was a big concern when I sailed my 25D around Vancouver Island, as was the heavy lumbering this coast has seen leaving many better anchorages with bottoms foul with logs, slash, and rusting cables.

My anchors are 2 25# CQR and a smallish Bruce, two on 200'+ rodes (70' and 30' of chain) and one on 150' of all nylon.

I haven't tried any of the so-called 'new generation' anchors. For me, the Bruce is still a 'new generation' anchor, and I'm beginning to accept that it works reasonably well. I certainly would not have purchased it; it came with the boat. I expect all the 'new generation' anchors will generally work very well, but I think they need another 20-50 years of data. (I'd never purchase a Rocna anyway, due to the completely inappropriate online behaviour of the sales/marketing staff of that company.)

Being a conservative anchorer means, yes, if all the claims of new designs are accurate, I'll be missing out on the higher holding factors per pound. I just don't understand how that's something to get particularly passionate about. It's not as though they're as light as a Danforth.

[winthrop fisher]

this subject has come up many times through the the years.....

i all was have three anchors on board and one for the dingy....

winthrop

[sgbernd]

I have had my share of anchor "issues" over the years and have found it very valuable to dive the anchor if at all possible. This is particularly true if you intend to leave the boat unattended and go ashore. If the water is shallow enough, you may use the dingy and a dive mask rather than swimming. I am sometimes surprised by what I find, thinking I have a good set and finding otherwise upon inspection. An example is hooking a large boulder that may slip off if the load is slackened and shifted. It felt like a good set but was just waiting to let go at the first wind shift.

This is especially important for those of us who rely on 2 anchors, fore and aft. Typically, the primary anchor is fine, proper scope, good bottom, full power set, etc., the secondary is often compromised because there isn't room for proper scope, bottom weed, etc. I've yet to have trouble with an anchor set following visual inspection and that trouble I've had is when I didn't.

[SurryMark]

I have had my share of anchor "issues" over the years and have found it very valuable to dive the anchor if at all possible. ... I've yet to have trouble with an anchor set following visual inspection and that trouble I've had is when I didn't.

This is the kind of advice designed to drive some of us crazy - in August, much less December! I'll bet you're floating around right now, aren't you? I'll bet you find plenty of crystal clear anchorages with ten feet of water that won't go away in six hours. Doesn't this board have any standards of decency? Isn't there some sort of S(outhern) chip out there?

[jerryaxler]

My thoughts are the same as Surrymarks. I also would like to know how he would dive on the anchor in Roques Harbor in July. My body can't take that kind of punishment.

[Amgine]

Not to mention here in the PNW where the North Pacific/Alaska Current is making landfall and sailing a mile or two offshore in the summer means switching to winter sailing gear.

But it's meant in good faith; if it were an option I'd certainly want to do it! I think we should all consider this an invitation to join sgbernd on his boat for New Year's Eve, to show no hard feelings meant... ::evil grin::

[ckreitlein]

On 19 December 2008, on a nice day, I sat at anchor (a Bruce) in Spanish Point Bay (off Pensacola Bay). A 40' sailboat sailed into the bay. They dropped their anchor, a CQR, four times, sat for a while, then pulled it up and moved forward. Each time they pulled it up, they moved a bit closer to me as I watched through my Binocs. I never saw them back down once while dropping the anchor - rather, they had forward headway on each time. I could see the anchor chain trailing under their bow. I admit I was mystified. There were four men on board. One unlucky fellow on bow was huffing and puffing, pulling up the CQR four different times. I started to yell over that they should (1) come to a full stop into the wind, then (2) backdown while dropping the anchor and paying out chain. However, I did not want to be presumptuous. Perhaps they were testing "holding power". Finally, the poor fellow on the bow, hauled the CQR aft and came forward with a Fortress that he dropped off the bow. With that they appeared satisfied... but I was not. There were now up wind and too close to me. I got up four times that night to make sure they were not dragging into me. Their Fortress seemed to be doing the job. Does that mean a Fortress is better than a CQR?
Or does it mean that the science of anchor design has reached its pinnacle and now it is a matter of bottom composition and anchoring technique more than anchor design? Or were they testing holding power? I really don't know.

[The Patriot]

My thoughts are the same as Surrymarks. I also would like to know how he would dive on the anchor in Roques Harbor in July. My body can't take that kind of punishment.

Quite a while ago I acquired a wooden glass-bottom bucket in the Bahama Islands. It's probably made from oak and is indeed quite fancy and takes up a bit of room, but the idea is simple enough and a replica can be made from a cheap rubber or plastic bucket. The point is that little or no swimming is required. This is not meant to suggest that you will easily see lobster on the bottom in 20 feet in Roque Island.

[Maine Sail]

The last time I dove East of Schoodic I could barely see my hand in front of my face. Maine can be awfully silty. Mud Hole and Roque are generally not precluded from silt... There are very few places, Monhegan and Matinicus are a couple, in Maine where one can see the bottom in more than about 8-10 feet....

As for diving you wear a wet suit! If you sail in Maine without one it's just being irresponsible... Eventually you WILL need to dive and it's not a matter of if but when..

I dove on an elderly couples CD off of Brimstone Island and they were dead in the water. It took me 45 minutes to free their prop of line. They had no wet suit on board..... If you sail in Maine carry a wet suit, mask and sharp knives!

[The Patriot]

The Sail Magazine anchor test results are published ...

I get the impression that reports like this are annual events for many publications, scheduled well in advance, heavily advertised, and usually quickly forgotten by the intended audience. If you detect an aroma of cynicism in my comments, you are of course on target, but what can one expect? Other specialty magazines with annual themes will have the "annual lens issue," the "annual ski bindings issue," etc. Such is publishing life. In pursuit of advertising dollars, only rarely do the editors define a target audience and application, or indicate "standard conditions." There are a few standard texts that still have some utility, but once read and digested they will rarely be carried on board.

So, some rambling thoughts. First, what is the "anchoring frequency " on the vast majority of small coastal cruising boats? Of course it depends, but for example in the case of summer cruising along the Maine coast, a majority of visitors will choose to pick up a mooring, pay the fee, and be a good neighbor. You will have already noticed that the folks who live where you are visiting have taken the time over many tide cycles to determine where the "good spots" are. That's why the harbor master (who also lives right nearby) or the mooring field lease holder have put the moorings where you found them. Also if you believe that "cheaping out" and anchoring among the moorings and blocking morning lobster boat traffic is going to endear you to the poplulace, think again. You will get the reception you well deserve. As for local boats, they are already on a mooring, their anchors have no mud on the flukes, and the question never arises. You will never recover the expense, effort, and use to even approach the requisite effort involved in changing your existing mooring system.

Having a variety of anchors available (and remembering that means rodes, chains, shackles, rollers, wash-down gear, time, an understanding of plane geometry, etc.) is not often a burning concern or even a practical consideration.

Second, how many of us are going to replace existing gear on the basis of editorial comment in a commercial publication similar to Sail Magazine? I don't remember having this discussion often with other sailing people, let along asking what became of the old gear and how much of its value was recovered during the exchange. If you consider what a typical complement of mooring gear for a medium-sized cruising boat is going to cost, I don't think you will be carting your "discards" over to the local Goodwill anytime soon. On the other hand, just try to locate used gear in your own area (remember, this stuff is heavy and doesn't go air mail). You will quickly discover that the pickings are quite slim.

If you are starting from scratch with a new boat (a rarity), you will probably find someone has already made the relevant choices for you (e.g., roller versus anchor locker, and hence anchor type), one or more anchors ready for deployment (and hence any related windlass considerations), etc. If like most real world folks you are just being prudent and making choices for next spring, you will perhaps be best served by becoming more familiar with, and in fact practicing with, your current gear. This is not time poorly spent.

[Amgine]

I wrote a long diatribe in response to Kerrydeare, but I realized it was pompous and pedantic. So I'll just do the very short version.

Yep, in my area (the west coast of Canada) boaters are pretty likely to be anchoring out most nights not at home: there either aren't any marinas or moorings where you're headed, or they're full. It's not "cheaping out" to anchor; I'm surprised only the rich are allowed to sail in your region. I usually manage at least 20 nights on the hook each year; some years more, but I'm generally a weekend sailor.

There are plenty of used gear shops, and there's always classifieds. Here there is a very healthy boating industry, and there's always a stream of used gear as well as swap meets and so on. I've put together several different rigs over the years, primarily from used gear, and sold off equipment I didn't like or had problems with.

[Maine Sail]

I live in Maine and still manage to anchor about 80-100 times per season. Not all of these are over night obviously but we often stop for a hike, lunch or to explore. I don't trust other peoples moorings and will only pay where there is no room to anchor. I trust my ground tackle more than a strangers mooring..

We often drop the hook thee+ times per day when out cruising the coast as the humans and dogs like to stretch the legs, poke around and take photos.... Oh and I drop set and retrieve all by myself so my guests can relax and I don't use a windlass though I do have one..