In this video, 15 anchors (45 pound range) are examined as they are launched, retrieved, and stowed on a bow roller. CQR, Excel, Delta, Bruce, Rocna, SARCA, Knox, Vulcan, Mantus, Epsilon, Viking, Spade, Ultra
Your exhaustive research on anchors is an extremely valuable resource for those who have not had a lot of experience anchoring. I have 50 years of sea going experience in small craft and have lived at anchor literally for years at a time including two voyages to French Polynesia and back and traveling for 3 years down the west coast of Central America as far as Ecuador. What I have learned is that proper scope, 7:1 or. more will make up somewhat for a mediocre anchor in “most” bottoms and a heavier anchor will hold longer than a light anchor when the wind gets up over 25 knots. But every boat has it’s own personality and so does every anchor. It’s kind of like marriage. Good anchoring technique takes time and care. If you think of it as life protection for you and your boat, you have the right idea. 300 feet of ⅜ BBB chain with a 45# CQR held my 25 ton ketch in 73 knots of wind for 5-½ hours inside the reef in Tahiti with a 40 foot catamaran who dragged from shallow water, attached to my chain by his Delta anchor with 60 feet of 5/16 chain. His Delta rode up my chain until it caught under my boats bow sprit. My CQR was set in Coral sand 60 feet down. It had a couple of weeks time to bury and was set carefully to begin with. My current 30 foot trawler has a Mantus which sets very quickly as you have noted. ‘Saving” money on scrimping on anchor gear is a recipe for disaster to visit you sometime in your future. All chain rhode and an anchor that fits your boat’s handling gear and the area you boat in is a good rule of thumb . The “perfect” anchor is a reinforced concrete mushroom anchor that weighs twice your boats weight that has had a couple of years to settle into the bottom attached to the largest chain that will not pull your boats bow down when deployed. Everything less is just a compromise, so do your homework. Your greatest danger when anchoring is other boats who are manned by people who do not pay attention; and they show up everywhere. Happy boating!
One observation. As the inverted anchors flip over, some of them swing wildly towards what would be the bow of the boat. It would be good to document which ones do this as I wouldn’t want the anchor that gouges the hull. Also, some of the anchors you state as secure would be bouncing around on a yacht hard on the wind in a seaway. If my anchor did this I would want to secure it better with lashings or a ratchet strap. Like the videos. Great information
I'm really glad I found this content. I am shopping for a new anchor for my Beneteau 40.7 and I have clearance concerns. This video took out all the guess work. Thanks so much!
A relatively easy change that would alter a lot of your numbers is to change to 2 rollers mounted in line in a bracket using the original roller axle for the pivot point. Not possible on all boats but where possible it’s a game changer. Thanks for another fascinating video.
Aye Steve, you are indeed incredible! What a solid test to ad the results to the overview chart! Just imagen, if someone some years ago would have told me I was to spend ½ an hour watching a guy winching a bunch of anchors, and be sitting totally locked on target…
Interesting, but lots of flaws in what is supposed to be a controlled experiment. The Ultra using a swivel says it all. Violent shank flip overs can damage hardware. Mantus also makes a great swivel. Agree with other commenters that shank flipping can damage hulls and hardware.
As others here have mentioned, why not use a hinged anchor roller with two rollers? It's a game changer on the forces required to get the shank up and over into the trough. I can't even find a video on RU-vid about hinged anchor rollers and that's a mystery to me. There are a couple of them here on my dock and the owners swear by them and wonder, like me, why haven't they become the standard? Thanks for the great work you do!!
The amount of work and dedication you put into these videos is amazing. So glad you are using safety factors. I might have gone higher on the line. 5x to 10x safety factors are common in engineering circles, depending on the application. I have seen limbs removed by snap back, second hand thankfully. Carry on and stay safe.
Thanks Steve for a very timely and useful demonstration. I have just purchased the same Rocna you used in your demonstration. I already had doubts my current bow roller and furler location would be suitable. Based on your highly detailed and structured video I might be able to modify my set up. Otherwise I will likely need to get a new bow roller. At least with the knowledge gained I have a fighting chance. Cheers Kevin
Thanks for this info. From the results of your testing, now a good while age, I bought a Spade anchor. Very satisfied!! Also it fits the bow of my Tartan 37 perfectly and launches up and down with zero issues. I had to walk forward and lift the CQR into the water. And getting it up on board was a terrible fight. And it would never self reverse to come on board. To say that I don’t like CQRs is an understatement. Before all these new anchors came out I had very good luck with an oversized Delta. With the Spade I did not go oversized and it holds MUCH better than the oversized Delta. Again, thanks!
Dang! you do the best anchor reviews. The anchor manufacturers should be paying you as an independent anchor tester. I really have a hard time finding any flaws with the Ultra anchor based on your reviews, and their swivel design is about the only one that I would trust. It does its job well in this test.
Thanks, Tall. I reckon some manufacturers would be more than willing to pay me, but that would destroy any credibility that I may have. No one wants a product reviewer that gets paid by selling the products! Best I can hope for is continued donations from viewers or possibly a grant from some sort of maritime organization that has absolutely no connection to any anchor manufacturer. The Ultra is most certainly a very fine anchor.
@@flygoodwin Yes, I understand your concern. I was thinking of something along the lines of a UL rating, or independent test lab. Companies would pay a flat fee to have their products independently tested without bias. Of course based on some of the poor performance of a couple of anchors, some might opt out of such a program. 😜
@@tallbikercat well we would definitely opt in! :) But yes, we very much appreciate SV Panope doing such an amazing job. We are aware of the fact that it is hard to find good review anchor videos online.
It's very interesting. Thank you very much for all this great work. I am worried when I see the turnarounds. I suppose that under the effect going and coming, the tip will hit the bow in many cases. I am considering keeping my original 35 LBS CQR for my Alberg 30. Your tests confirm the quality of this anchor. Once again, thanks a lot! Cheer from Quebec Canda.
Awesome vieo, You're a genius! I wonder how such a wonderful research has just received until today 304 thumbs up after 11449 views. Guy, you deserve much more! All my congratulations!
Outstanding video. Very objective testing. Would love to see these on a pass through anchor platform like my Hans Christian. but I was able to see the arc that each takes as it comes up, and gives me an idea of which would not work on mine due to the limitied size slot that they come up throught. Thanks, and great work!!
I didn't see the self-launch for the Mantus M2. Although it looks like it would self launch well. The Lewmar Epsilon is so beautiful. Can't imagine using it as an anchor. Maybe a museum.
Thank you for your work on this. Some things that pop into mind right off: I would not want to leave 300 pounds force against my deck and anchor hardware as a normal state. I would prefer to have some other anchor securing method. Also, using the winch as the anchor securing system means that the winch cannot be serviced without adding some other locking device in any case. Considering the cost of an anchor, I think it might be well worth while setting up a bow rollering system that fits the anchor, rather than a simple roller. Of course one would want to make sure it still at least works with any backup anchor as well.
This was just exactly what I was looking for! :D RU-vid (and you of course!) is unbelievable! Just thinking of could I "cover" the top of the anchor roller. Seems to need quite a bit of room to allow the anchor leg to be able to pass through. Thanks again!
Another great test, maybe you could show us if/how much swivels helps the other anchors to self wright? Your poor drill press the whole test I was cringing especially with the larger anchors....the that ruddy great viking gave it the slightest touch. Keep up the great work, looking forward to seeing the new boat.
Impressive analysis and great observations. For all those anchors that could hop the roller in seas, likely all need a bail over the roller. I noticed that you used a swivel with the Ultra when doing the reverse raise, yet in your anchor testing of the Ultra you didn't. In that video you mentioned that you prefered to not use swivels. I'm curious on your thinking. We have a 25kg (55lb) Rocna and our dock neighbour is big on recommending swivels, but I'm somewhat concerned about an additional failure point.
Good work. This information helped me pick the style I need for my bow setup. To me the most helpful length would have been to the eye slot of the shank. Everyone has different length shackles swivels, and combinations of those elements attaching their rode to the anchor. My personal set up is very short and I would’ve been maybe yes maybe no with a couple of those anchors.
It seems to be that the long length of chain assists in the rollover ability whereas most boats have very short amount of chain to assist in turning the anchor over (fewer links to take the 180 degrees of twist needed to roll the anchor over). Our anchor setup is like most…less distance from windlass to roller.
I think there's one very important variable missing and it is how close the anchor balances to the bow when retrieving or when flipping it's position upon retrieval, that's a very dangerous and important thing. However, with your great markings we can see which anchors are the most violent.
Interesting test and even though I didn’t take any numbers down it seems like the non-roll bar anchors require less retrieval force than the roll bar ones, likely as the roll bar may be providing a counter force to the pull.
I’m very interested in the upcoming test for the new Lewmar Epsilon. I’m thinking that may be a good replacement for my aging 44lb Spade. I’ve yet to find a galvanized version for sale here in the PNW.
Thanks for putting this content out. Very useful. I have a question regarding Mantus M1 vs M2. I had a good experience with an M1 on my smaller boat so bought another one when I moved up to a larger boat. With the M1 65 it’s a struggle to launch and retrieve because my headsail furler is quite low to the deck which interferes with the shank. In your opinion, would the M2 be a choice for my situation? I’ve also considered trying to add some form of articulating at the roller. Do have any videos covering this option? Thanks!
Hi Steve, amazing video and very important information. I have a question about the viking, what is the notch closest to the fluke designed for? Is it possible to pull the anchor to that notch ? If so how would it change the results? Thanks for all your hard work. Cheers Robin
Robin, the notch closest to the fluke is designed to aid retrieving if the anchor is caught under an immobile object on the seafloor. The idea is to lower a loop or ring down (the rode) and have it hook into that "tripping" notch, thus giving an optimum pulling point for withdrawing the anchor backwards. The tripping notch could be used for stowing the anchor, however, the anchor would have to be lifted manually as rode tension alone will not lift the anchor to that point.
You might want to reinforce the transom and carefully place the eye bolts as if you put 5000lb on the transom of most boats you'll rip the stern off them :-D Is the new test boat steel perhaps? :-D
I believe that the Ultra people designed their swivel specifically for use on their anchor. That said, it might work on other anchors. For a product that will help ANY anchor rotate into the correct position during retrieval, check out the Anchor Right "Flip Link". A very simple device - it is nothing more than a steel plate cut into a sort of "boomerang" shape that is shackled inline with the chain/anchor.
Hello, just came across your comment and would like to say that yes, our Ultra Flip Swivel actually is designed for ALL anchors. If you wish to speak to our expert about more details, what set up you have on your boat and which Ultra Flip Swivel would therefore be best for it, do not hesitate to contact us. We have real people/experts behind the chat on our website :) Always happy to help. Link here: www.ultramarine-anchors.com Karolina from Ultra Marine Europe
@@flygoodwin It of course is best to combine the ULTRA Flip Swivel with our ULTRA Anchor, amazing set up, right?! But the ULTRA Flip Swivel also works with ANY anchor! :) No need to worry then.
A 15 kilo test may be useful, but I do not have anchors in that size. I think most 10 kilo anchors are used on small boats without windlasses and are easily handled by hand. Also, the results should scale linearly by weight - should be easy for folks to get an Idea for any size. For precise fitment info, it is probably best to download templates that manufactures often provide so that people can make cardboard mock-ups.
Aldo, I generally prefer large diameter rollers (less friction) without a "groove" (chain is free to rotate). Roller width must be sufficient to allow the anchor to "spin" upright in the event the anchor comes up backwards. Stay away from softer "rubber" rollers. Use hard plastic or aluminum. Hope that helps.
another test with measuring how much room you need over the roller :-) still watching but some of the none self launching, are they higher tip weight ones? (i know some of it is also in the shank design for being self launching)
@@flygoodwin center of gravity/balance....... With tip weight holding the shank down "better" or worse depending on how you look at it LOL. Don't get me wrong though, i rather see more tip weight for better penetration, and just have to kick it over board each time, and even then depending on the boats motion it may self launch at times. And even then on some of them you could probably spring load the shank upwards, and when you pull the rode tight, it pulls the shank flatter, but it's one more thing to mount/maintain/rust though, or just do one of those double roller pivoting bow roller possibly
