Anchor Testing Summary. Anchor Video # 100 

CORRECTION: I forgot to mention the Tip/Total Weight of the 47lb. Excel. It received a rating of "2". However, this parameter WAS included in the final tally. Final tallies, scores, and rankings are accurate. Sorry for omission.

The biggest complement I can give you is, I sleep well at night. Based on your best of series 3 years ago, I bought a number 6 Sarka Excel and from mud to hard sand and coral rubble, in crazy conditions and places like Indonesia it has held fast, even at short scope. 18 months living on anchor and no problems, Thank you

This is nothing short of AWESOME!! I am a scientist and really, really appreciate your methodology and lack of bias.

We sat through Cyclone Gabrielle on tandem anchors. We were in Kiwiriki Bay off Fitzroy Harbour on Great Barrier Island NW of Auckland NZ. Nearby wind recordings were 82, 83, and 84 knots (100 mph) and the eye passed close to the E of us. Our yacht is a relatively light Pogo1250, maybe 7T with cruising gear. Our primary anchor was an S80 Spade (16Kg) with 30m of 8mm chain and 60m of 14mm warp. Our second anchor was a 16Kg Lewmar Delta with 15m of 8mm chain and 50m of 14mm warp. The second anchor and chain etc was run down the warp of the primary anchor on a gaff span shackle. The shank of the Delta was shackled to the gaff span shackle at the same hole as the chain was fixed. ie the Delta hung down below the warp in the correct orientation to grab the bottom. The Delta ran down the primary warp and would have stopped at the warp to chain splice. At worst it would act as a kellet. Optimally it would hold the primary chain horizontally along the bottom. Critically both anchors operate in line in tandem. I have used this system successfully over many years in winds of around 60 kts. I tend to set up the second anchor when the wind gets above 40-45 kts. I can set the second anchor well to windward without needing to launch a RIB. I appreciate the wind load on the boat doubles between 60 mph and 100 mph. During Cyclone Gabrielle we dragged twice. I could see from my plotter that we had dragged around 20m initially and then a further 10m on a second drag. I cannot be sure which anchor stopped either drag. We had high land around us and the squalls were horrendous. We were being slewed sideways at around 1.7 kts. Motoring to windward proved impractical due to the slewing. We have now sold the Lewmar Delta and retired the Spade to second anchor status. I purchased a Sarca Excel, largely as a result of your comparative anchor testing, as our primary anchor. We have been impressed with the Excel though have yet to use it in extreme conditions.

Great work. I’ve been watching for about two years now. Picked up my 6kg Vulcan today! I love the shank. The welds are humungous. It’ll be far more than I ever need for a 20’ cuddy but I’ll never worry about the anchor working. Thank you very much.

Outstanding work, sir. My sailboat boat came with a Delta. I was considering "upgrading" to a Rocna. My Delta has never dragged (all chain rode). After watching this video, I've decided to stick with my Delta. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for these videos. You’re the only person I’ve found who has been unbiased and scientific as possible doing this. Bravo sir, truly impressive and much appreciated. Just what I was looking for yet much much more than I expected.

Most excellent, thank you. To be honest, you are one of my favorite youtube channels and the information you provide will prove invaluable in the future. Please never sell out.

Hi Steve Thanks for all of your testing. I have watched most of your videos. I am 68 and planning to circumnavigate. To me the anchor is the final line of defence on a lee shore. I have settled on a Sarca Excell 36kg. My yacht is a Swanson 42 and has circumnavigated 1.5 times. I want to do another lap. As I am going solo, defence is important. The original anchor was 40lb CQR. I feel confident the 36kg will give me all the holding power with 80 metres of 50mm x 10mm chain. The cool thing for me is Sarca are made near my home in Victoria, Australia. Great channel, thanks. I’ll try to support you for your effort. Kind regards, Ian Williams “Resolution”

Perfect timing! I'm just in the process of either building my own anchor or buying a new modern anchor, and I've enjoyed many of your older past videos! Looking forward to going through this :-) Thank you for your great work!

What a huge and fantastic effort! Thanks so much for sharing your results with the rest of us.

Wow! This is fantastic! I'm just sorting out what to get. Going to do a deep dive through your channel to see what else I can learn. Your methodology and lack of bias are extremely helpful! Thank you!

Nice one Steve! I think I have watched all 100 videos on the day they came out, so I am giving myself a 5 for holding power!

Outstanding. Thank you. I have a Mantus. So I agree with your fondness. Mantus is a great design. Highly recommended!!!

Thankyou so much for doing all of this invaluable work. This is an epic, unbiased set of reviews based on real world conditions - the stuff that we all need when our lives are ultimately relying on making the right choices. There is nothing fun about dragging anchor in the middle of the night when a front rolls through!!!!!

The amount of work summarized in this video is astounding.

Thank God for your obsession! I boat camp on a 20 ft pontoon boat Hudson Florida Gulf Coast and there are tons of seagrass areas. Needless to say I never sleep I'm always worried I'll wake up in the middle of the golf. I pull into the mangroves to sleep for the night where the waves and the tides won't rip me off but I still worry like crazy because there is nothing but seagrass . When the tide goes down I like to sit on the ground that's when I sleep like a rock . now with your dedication and research I will select the correct anchor for me and I should get better sleep because that's kind of driving me nuts to the point where I don't even want to go out sometimes I mean I'm out there to enjoy myself not cause myself more stress. Thanks fellow admiral of the sea!

Happy 100th! I really get a lot of good data from your work. Many thanks.

Big thank you for all your efforts.

Amazing test and methodology. I'd recommend leaving 'price' out of the KPIs, though, as it's the only aspect here that's entirely "subjective" in its ranking while the other KPIs are intrinsically objective to the anchor's performance. Meaning, if I'm looking to get the best performing anchor I can possibly get and "money isn't an issue" then including the 'price' KPIs needlessly warps the scores.

Your work and videos are impressive! Thank you so much 😊

You are the best!! The dedication to the truth is evident! I look forward to having this amazing source for unbiased anchoring insight. Thank you! PS I got a 45 pound mantus m1 for now

Fantastic job! Would like to see tests of Fortress and Poisedin lines. Personally feel overnight anchoring of our cruiser is much more critical dropping a hook to fish from the runabout so most interested in larger anchor testing. Thank you for including soft mud tests as that is what we find over the northern Cheasapeake.

This is just an awesome video. Everyone who owns a boat should watch this.

Congratulations Steve, another excellent video! (& idle thought while watching you deliver so much concise information and data in free speech: how the "performance" of our politicians we see every day on TV compares unfavourably, what with them reading blabla BS from paper...)

Looking forward to see the performance of the mantus m2 Great videos

As always, excellent review. Thank you for your hard work, and these are the most thorough and unbiased reviews I have seen anywhere. Happy 100th, and keep up the good work.

Giving the Ultra a low rating because of its price is silly. You can't put a price on safety and security. Unless you don't care about your boat. Every Ultra Anchor owner knows these are the best anchors on the market.

Steve, Very, very useful summary, thanks. Robert

Thank you for your great testing and honest appraisal.

Great info! Would love to see some tests of savwinch anchors, particularly the slider series. Basically no independent testing out there for them

I have no doubt your testing was fair between anchors, and I don't doubt your results. However 3 years ago I changed from a Bruce to a Rocna 20kg on my 16,000 lb., 36 foot sailboat. The difference in performance was night and day. The Rocna has never failed to set, or reset, and has never dragged. It has never failed to hold against full throttle, although my engine is only 25 hp. The highest wind I've experienced was 42 kts in Turtle Bay, Baja. I sailed from San Francisco to Mexico in 2018 and anchored in mud, sand, and seagrass. I've anchored all over the Sea of Cortez as well as Mazatlan, La Cruz, Puerto Vallarta, etc. Mexico has been mostly sand. In La Paz I've had the wind change 180 degrees many times as it is typical for the wind to change direction at night. So for me at least, in my experience the Rocna has been great. With that said, based on your testing, if I ever buy another anchor it will probably be a Vulcan. Thank you for all your invaluable work.

Living at anchor for 25 years when I set a tiny Danforth I have no fear as long as I set 2 that face each other so I never go back over either and risk unsetting that mother. My Northerly Danforth a mere 15lbs handles blustery sunny skies and never moves around. My Southerly Danforth 40 handles winter's rage up to 72 knots and my 15 ton 40ft'er doesn't drag. I also run a tiny Tandem; a 2nd Danforth in series facing south into the storms so I can sleep when I'm weary. Then I throw another small one 20-30 degrees from #1, all rode for shock loads I torque it tight for fun. I leave my heavy main connected to my chain loose and limp so Tiny takes all the strain. When that nylon rode stretches perhaps 5 out of 100 feet then the chain gets slowly tight and both anchors dig real deep. I've pulled them all up with a foot or 2 of mud and even tiny Danforths have never been duds. When I tested CQRs and plows I'd always drag and took those off my bow. When I only want 1 chain or rode what I call a "Lunch Hook" or I need to stop NOW and guarantee set in any rubble I have 2 Bruce claws on my bow to keep me out of trouble. But again I'll often use a tiny Danforth Tandem Depth plus 10 feet of chain shackled around the Bruce vertical shin so the Danforth sets first then the Bruce digs in. The Bruce absorbs the shocks since it drags if jerked hard with a thud while the tiny Danforth tandem never budges but just digs deeper in the mud. I DO NOT recommend 1 Bruce with 1 tiny Danforth for very long for if your Bruce drags back into the Danforth you'll be singing a Texas Tandem Tangled sad sad song. Whenever using Danforths I very highly suggest setting opposing anchors so you can get some rest. Your heavy towards the storms. Your light thrown to fair weather cuz I'm an old guy and like anchors light as feathers. I had a Danforth 180lb it never budged or dragged around but took 4 hours to get off the ground and always torqued my back. So I tested every thing I could on chain and line just like you should and once held in 8 foot standing waves blowing 60 knots on a tiny Danforth springy line giving it everything she's got. The trick with getting good tests in such heavy blows is leave the big chain anchor loose let your nylon take the initial loads. Then as the nylon stretches watch your chain get slowly tight and that catenary weight reduces shocks and will help you sleep at night. The only time SHTF was when I snapped an all chain ride. When shocks are banging hard on your bow you'll be absolutely terrified. 5 to 10 scope to be safe. Some hose at shackles for chafe. I use butterflies and anchor bowlines and inspect spring lines after a big rage. I know a lot of people will spend a fortune on fancy anchors and know the Danforth's defect if you flip it like a pancake. But once it digs in mud one on chain and one on line, let nature howl and drown your bow you should be fine. The key's the opposing tiny Danforth about 100 feet North which also means you'll never swing much like 200 feet back and forth. Triangulate. It does work great. I know multi-anchors are a pain. But using tiny Danforths right will keep you off the rocks in howling winds and horizontal rain.

I love the videos, thanks! I wish you tested the mantus M2

Thanks Steve! That table at the end, can you please copy and paste those cells into a google sheet and share it here? I could go through the video and enter all the data myself but it'd be WAY easier for you to do it and share it. The reason I want that is to separate all of your performance tests from the other three factors: strength/engineering, longevity, and cost. I want to know which is the best design for bottom holding and particularly which one can perform at the shortest scope in the 2:1 to 3:1 range as where I venture there's often not room to do more than that. From looking at the design details of the top few, I will fabricate my own, and soon. I'm motivated by a certain close-quarters anchoring requirement that the loose/worn/rusted lead-tipped plow/CQR clone simply cannot work sufficiently reliably in and I don't have much time to achieve that. For now I'll likely do a low-tech version of the Mantus or STORM or Manork or rocna or sarca or manson or similar, but I'm keen to do a more serious anchor in future for longer term use either from fancier materials or with galvanising (I don't have time/money for that right now).

I’m a year late for the fun discussion, but anyway …. I spent the Covid years of 2020 and 2021 entirely liveaboard and entirely ‘on the pick’ (minus only a total of three weeks in two years in marinas) on a 10-ton steel yacht around coastal Tasmania and in Australia’s infamous Bass Strait. My anchor was (is) a 40kg Rocna backed with 100 metres of 10mm chain. My only issue ever with my Rocna (or, for that matter, a previous lighter Rocna on a slightly lighter yacht) was with thick seaweed and kelp. Otherwise, in my personal experience, they drop, set, and stay. I never-ever-anchor with less than 5-to-1 ratio chain paid out, and always take great care when setting the anchor. Maybe I’m just lucky … or the gods like old dudes!

Outstanding work, sir! Much appreciated.

As always perfect work. You’re really trying to be as neutral as you can be. Therefore the results are quite correct to me. I would love to see you at other locations in the world doing your tests on different grounds. Maybe you get a sponsorship by an aviation company to fly you around with your equipment. :-) If you are thinking about a testing platform. Have considered using a pontoon? If you increase the surface of your floating device, it may be more stable and secure.

Congrats on 100 vids!

hi Steve, well done!!! Super summary of a lot of excellent work, chapeau!

i bought a sarca excel #5 and a fortress fx35 due yo your research.

Hi Steve, Really great work! My smallish bow roller will only allow me a55lb anchor if I get the Mantus 2. My 20000lb 36’ sailboat would be okay with a 44lb, but I live aboard and anchor every night. I’m concerned about your veering test and I hope the 55lb will perform better as I do anchor in changing currents and sometimes muddy rivers of the Chesapeake. Any thoughts? I have 150’ of all chain.

You make sailing life safer!!!

Brilliant work! Thank you!

When I need an anchor, I won't go to Rocna for advice, I'll go to Steve Goodwin.

Kind of curious how this ranking changes if you remove price from the equation. Do you have your numbers posted somewhere to look at directly?

Thank you!

@SV Panope I am always surprised by your hits on the Mantus for the "size" of the shank. As a registered Structural Engineer, I know that steel is not just steel. The strength can vary by 8-10 fold depending on the alloy. I can be bendy like a noodle or made into a spring that will always return to its original shape. From their web site, the Mantus shank uses a 690Mpa or 100-psi steel. For reference, I have never used more than 50-psi steel for beams, columns and girders in the buildings I design. I would like to see a test of the shank using the setup that you built to try to straighten the Rocna to see how strong it is.

Excellent as always ( even if my bower is a Rochna) but when it’s blowing 40 on a lee shore nobody cares how their galvanizing is holding up nor what they paid for it so I would suggest that each anchor should have 2 scores, the total score which you have just done and a performance score. I suppose we could work it out for ourselves with your formation but......Another thing might be to do a linear test to see how the performance changes within and across brands based solely on weight. The Bruce for example was designed to be extremely heavy, not a small boat anchor, so perhaps it would perform better at higher ranges ( I have a 110 lb Bruce as a back up based on that logic). Finally is it possible the Rochna was the first of the “new generation” anchors and that others built on or stole the new thinking? When I bought my Rochna it was revolutionary, now not so much so.

I m planning on buying a cruising 45' cat. I was set on the Ultra and now I am looking at the excel. I wander if the largest aluminum one, if I could fit it on the boat, will do well as the galvanized one.

Great summary and effort thank you for sharing. One question regarding the Rocna Vulcan. The average of your on screen scores was a 4.1 (displayed as 4.0) and in the final ranking listed at 3.9

The Spade anchor now comes with the lead encapsulated in epoxy so premature galvanising failure should be a thing of the past since there is not a problem with different metals

Nice work. I would get better holding power specific numbers to get a little more scientific

Mine came with the epoxy added. I also hope its a permanent feature

Have you assessed the pool anchor yet? It comes standard on Greenline boats (I am going to begin cruising with one in January). I am worried about it’s holding power as we will be anchoring a lot.

Experienced sailors know anchoring is about the size of the anchor and the scope. His experiments use too short a scope for high pull situations. No one uses 5 to 1 scope in 30 to 40 knots of wind. His experiments show his mistake. In the anchoring with two anchors in series the Bruse gets a massive increase in holding power when the first anchor breaks free and acts like a kelet. Which brings the angle of pull lower to the seafloor. Also... The vid were he uses chain to a tree and measures upward angle at different loads shows a short scope in medium load situations pulls the anchor up at an 11 degree angle and out of the ocean bottom. An anchor needs to be pulled parallel to the ground. So it can dig in. His experiments are not representative of real world anchor holding abilities.

Have you ever tried to split the tip of a plow type anchor and bend the tips out to the side a bit so when the anchor is on its side it would be more likely to dig in early?

Is in it, that you should not throw anchor into water, bu rather lower it?

Does underwriters laboratories test anchors? That would save you the cost of testing to destruction. Thank You for your videos. I like watching them.

Hi, thank you sooo much for all this time and work testing all of these anchors! It was truly helpful to me! But since a few years we have a new anchor here in europe which is said to always hold at the first try and has a great holding power but unfortunately i guess the word has not spread to other continents which is probably why you haven't testet it yet. It is a Jambo anchor which has been developed by an austrian engineer. If you google it you will find it for sure. Have you heard of it yet? I would love to see you test it as i am thinking of getting one for my Nauticat38. I am not affiliated with them in any kind but simply curious about this one. Thank you. Kind regards, Max.

Hi Steve, again, I forgot to say it’s the Mantus 8lb, SS quick connect!

I wish I'd found your site a year ago, I successfully used a 25kg delta in Caribbean due I've found out to be the constant one directional pull from the wind and mostly sand sea bed. Sive returned to mediterranean now and bought a stainless steel 36kg delta which has proved useless. I've noticed your top excel anchor isn't too dissimilar excepting the edging skirt and dipped point. I'm considering getting a fabricator to mimic the differences with a sharpened edge to a 5mm plate puddle welded to underside and normal to face edge. Have you any thoughts?

Coming up, the anchor disaster channel!

You should get several million views on this episode alone. Maybe add in a pair of bikinis or something.

Hi Steve, Great job! I have a 25kg Delta Brake, whats your opinion with that? Thanks.

Amazing stuff! Curious why the fisherman anchor wasn't included in the final data?

G'day, thanks so much for your videos. Could I please ask, would it be possible to report your results without reference to cost? That "category" skews the results and has nothing to do with performance. Ok to mention cost of course but no point having a high scoring not so good anchor that got there because it was cheap. thanks heaps.

I’m curious if you ever sell your tested anchors? Or do you just accumulate a larger hoard? ;)

I live in Arizona and boat in southern California. Where can I buy a 47lb Sarca Excel?

Hello I was thinking of buying the Manson supreme for the built in trip slot , does it work ? Would u recommend? Thanks 🙏

Any chance you are going to test a Mantus M2 anchor?

So when were you planning on telling us about the aircraft

Surprised the tip to toe ratio was only a 3 for Vulcan as it was 38% in your test, I would’ve thought a score of 4. No score was given in your video for the excel tip to toe ratio....

I was to buy a new anchor. I have a CQR 35 LBS for an Alberg 30 (9000 lbs). We often hear about the Rocna. I must say that according to your tests, I am not very impressed. I believe this is a fad and not real performance. I think I'll keep my good old CQR with 150 feet of chain. Thank you! Btw, I'm the 100th comment, do I win anything? : D

Super

Hi Steve, great 100th video summary. Do you think the sarca excel galvanized anchors are different metals ? According to their charts I should get a 26lb, but have seen some videos where the smaller than the 45lb anchor gets damaged .

No Bulwagga?????

Well fuck. Should have watched this before I bought my Rocna 20 44lb for a Pearson 36.

You are wonderful for doing this and sharing with everyone.

This is amazing, priceless not to mention thorough, professional and very scientific. Great work, please keep it up.

Where's the Kelp Forest test. Try anchoring outside Catalina Island.

You need to take price out of the equation. Just think about it for a minute. You get what you pay for. Otherwise great work.

Steve I should mention that my last anchor was a 88lb Delta , on a 53 ft heavy displacement sailboat . Your findings on the Delta a absolutely right , most of the time it performed perfectly, but on occasion in the wrong bottom it found it hard to set . Silty soft mud , kelp and weed . I do not like the bolted together anchors , bad engineering in the marine environment. Crevice corrosion on the bolts , loads in shear , and a recipe for disaster. The same goes for Swivels , do not use on a boat period . I have seen too many fail . We lived full time for 13 years on our big boat , all on the hook . And had some close encounters.

CQR anchor has another problem at the hinge. Mine broke in the coral S-Sea at the hinge have photos age 15 years steel galv. Good honest job Steve

I have an original bruce that has some white scaling? will it damage this anchor if I use a wire brush on it? will it damage the finish?

Thank you Steve for your great work , it as helped me in choosing my next anchor . I think the Rochna Vulcan will work best . All welded construction, very similar in design to the Spade . The Standard Rocna , I feel has the tip chamfer going the wrong way . It should be ground down, as it is the tip is like a boat hull and will lift rather than help to penetrate down .

Thanks Steve, great work. Shame you don’t have a Manson Ray anchor, we used one coming down the Queensland Coast and it surprised me with its holding, mostly in sand and often on exposed roadside beaches. I guess it’s pretty similar to the Vulcan, but it has a surprisingly large blade for its weight. Anyone want to buy a slightly used Rocna 44lb anchor?

Nice, well done, very interesting. But I would have preferred a test where you compare a) how well the anchors hold on different grounds, resets etc. b) how well they are made, galvanizing, how long they will hold c) the price. Just forgetting for a moment the other parameters: the worst (1) but cheapest (5) anchor gets the same amount of points than than the best (5) and most expensive (1). For me as buyer 1+5 is certainly something very different than 5+1. But who can assess the "value", "worth" of an anchor holding well ? You wanted to give an answer considering "all". That´s just impossible, this is always biased by your preferences, tastes. Good luck, Re.

Fortress? Didn't see. Sorry, I did see a little. Used my Fortress as kedge anchor in the med. Lost it three times, let line go with a fender, as I couldn't get it out. Had to get a diver😂 but good anchor. Difficult to store so I stand it upright against the guardrail. Works best!!

You are definately the Roger Federer of Anc testing. Maybe you could test optimum and necessary scope. EG. 10.:1 doesn't appear better than 5:1. It appears to annoy neighbours and increase the rest frequency as my boat canbe doing 2knot at end

Noobie question... you were simulating how much the wind speed was moving the boat, or were you simulating the wind speed itself? If I were to use an anchor that's heavier than recommended an a longer Rode... would that overcome any short comings?

I just do not understand the problems you may found on the Rocna. There are so many people out there which are totally happy with there Rocna. There are people which bought another Rocna after boat change... Are you sure to have a original Rocna anchor tested?

Steve, What do you mean by a genuine original copy?

i guess on the hollow roll bar anchors, when its brand new. Maybe roll it over and fill the tube with epoxy?

Steve great job always look forward to your videos. Your only Off by one on the volcan

This would benefit GREATLY from a spreadsheet.

Love my Sarca. Would never consider changing.

Okay, my back hurts in the first 30 seconds!

Love the video! Very helpful and informative, thank you very much. Please help me with something as I was looking particularly at getting the Rocna Vulcan. It was the second one in your video, you ranked it a 4.0 earlier in the video but when put up on the list at the end, it tied for second at 3.9? Was this just an error? Also, when I add them all up I get 37 and divide by 9 which gives me 4.1? Am I doing the math wrong? Would you go Mantis M2 or Rocna Vulcan for a Valiant 40? 14 tons and 40 ft LOA? 55 lb or 73 lb? I am in Sea of Cortez, Baja Mexico, with mostly sandy bottoms. Thanks for any advice, I know there are no wrong or right answers ;)

Thanks again for your great work !!!!! Uli from Germany