I’m on a sailboat and I have to wonder how much wind/current it would take to generate 1000 pounds of thrust? Really all you did for me to point out just how important it is to have enough chain on your anchor… I personally know several people who, IMHO, don’t even come close to having enough chain and complain constantly about their anchors dragging, the brand variety is incredible… I actually wondered how there could be so many bad anchors, but now I’m thoroughly convinced that if they just had more chain, these anchors would perform 100% better. I do like the performance of the MKII over the MKI, but I’m rethinking the amount of chain I had planned on using above anything.
Tell the truth... Rocna fixed their original anchor BECAUSE you showed them what they screwed up in their design. Great job, and appreciate your humble efforts toward supporting the seabed holding community! The best anchor is 1 to 2 sizes larger than what any vendor table recommends! Rely less on techno-design, chain, scope, etc.. and GET A BIGGER F'N ANCHOR! Love your videos! You're the only RU-vidr I've ever sent $, and well earned!
Hi Steve, thanks as always for all your efforts and comparisons. I have a question about anchor chain. Can you safely reduce the chain size and still be secure? I.e. reducing from 10mm to 8mm. Is the Catenary affect important? Or is it the weight and design of a good anchor that is most important. Thanks in advance
The answer to each of these questions is: It depends. For example, if the seafloor is somehow known to be free of sharp objects, and scope is long, then it can be perfectly safe and secure to anchor with all rope and zero chain. In another situation where the depth is very deep, and swinging room only allows very short scope (< 3 to 1), catenary is absolutely vital.
For what's it worth, here's some REAL world data input: I am a full time sailor/cruiser currently in Hawaii. I have a 58' ketch, cruising weight of around 55k. I have a Rocna 88lb. MK l as my primary, with 300' of 1/2" chain. I spent 3 years anchored off Mala, Lahaina, and leeward Maui, playing chess with some of the most diabolical marine weather anywhere. In those 3 years, I saw 80-100mph+ winds 3 times. 60-80 winds around 8 times. and 30-60 100 times easy. Perhaps more, as Hawaii is the gustiest/windiest place I have ever been. For those who think Hawaii is paradise: It is the undisputed wind/kite surf capital of the world. At times the Big Wave capital of the world. And the channels are world infamous, part of sailing lore; as the most treacherous in the world. I never dragged on my Rocna, not once. Even when anchored on "dust over crust" in Mala. A very thin layer of coral sand over lava bed. I carry a 130lb. Mantus as a storm anchor, but I have never used it.
You’re anchor tests are such a valuable resource to the boating community. Thank you. Additional thought is that the low holding numbers of some of the lower surface area design anchors might not be a factor in the real world with a 77lb spade for example. As you always say. People need to look at the data and come to their own conclusions on the best anchor. In my opinion it’s an anchor like the spade with no 1s or 2s. Or 2s in an area like low holding in soft mud that could be attributed to a low surface area 20lb anchor, which may not be an issue with a 77lb anchor. I think at $3,000 a 77lb 316SS Spade that’s gonna last forever might just be the way to go in my opinion. They sell this stainless version in a welded one piece version with the ends capped and fully enclosed lead ballast. No rust / corrosion issues.
Hi Steve! Thank you for the big effort you are making in creation of this comparative anchor tests. We really appreciate it and found many interesting facts - and sometimes surprising conclusions - by carefully watching them. Looking forward to see the bigger sister of that Rocna MKII, for sailboats over 45 ft. - a 20kg or a 25kg anchor. Thanks again!
I’m in Florida and had ok luck with the Rocna, but occasionally had trouble with setting. We switched to the Mantus with the roll bar and in sand it has been flawless. Amazing holding.
The MKII appears to my eye to be a Vulcan with a roll bar. So I am confused about the significant differences in performance grades in some tests between the Vulcan and MKII. Any insights?
We currently do have the Rocna MkI anchor and are looking for a second anchor. The Spade or Vulcan was my original thought. I may need to rethink that. I'm mildly interested in where the Ultra anchor would fit into this list?
hi, can you include an approx 20lb stainless steel mushroom anchor in your test? I have a 33-foot boat and use such an anchor on soft mud. I have to use the boat's engine to loosen it again. hope you make it. big fan of your anchor videos! ⚓️
I have a Mochi Dolphin 44. I wanna change the anchor. I use the boat in the Mediterranean Sea, so mostly sand and grass. Which anchor do you suggest me? Now I have a Bruce, but not very happy about it. I’m oriented to the Mantus.
Thanks for the in depth review, “no pun intended”. The angled airfoil on the roll bar of the M2 is designed that way so the angle drives the anchor deeper into the sea bed. Agree, very expensive. Thank you for the review.
Thanks for some great work. At a $700 price point it's tough for the 20lb Rocna Mk2 to compete with others on the market; especially the Viking. I can see it making sense for a full-time cruiser where the higher quality might pay in the long run. For weekend warriors and short term cruisers it's not worth 2x the price of similarly size (and performance) Vikings, M2s, or Excels.
Thanks for all the effort put into these tests, you’re amazing, literally a full blown research institute. Have you considered testing the Bulwagga? It seems like the perfect candidate for your lineup. Designed by Peter Mele, New York, it received really good reviews and test results but seems to have been discontinued after some years. A European manufacturer has started producing it again, allegedly on popular demand. Alain Poiraud (Spade anchors) wrote favorably about the Bulwagga in his Complete Anchoring Handbook.
Hey Steve have you updated the 45-50lb graph or is the Sarca excel still #1? I have heard some people complaining of back flips and difficult resets on the Sarca Excel. Not many but a few complaints
Interesting. In comparison to the Mk I, the Mk II veers and resets better (which makes me more willing to trust an anchor set), holds a bit better in “clean” bottoms (sand and/or cobbles), holds a bit worse in muds, and holds the same in sandy mud. That paints a pretty clear picture for me that a Mk II that is one size bigger than a Mk I should retain about the same mud holding power while being somewhat to significantly better in all other conditions. I’d be happy with a “one size bigger” Mk II as an all-bottoms anchor if the additional cost and weight could be tolerated. I think I’d still want to have at least one “big blow” anchor onboard, though, since the Mk II’s holding power looks to be adequate-to-good, but not exceptional. Anyway, thanks again for all of your effort, Steve, especially the November trip.
I would think that rollbar angle is actually to get it to push out of the bottom when inverted so that it can jump out and reset and not end up in a stable inverted drag. 14:23 you can see it jump way out. Maybe due to short scope but I think that is the main reason after all the roll bar exists specifically to help roll the anchor back over to the tip. So the angle is doing the same thing making it create lift to push out when upside down in the bottom.
The number one issue with the original Rocna and why I sold my 40kg version is that it could fill the bar with weed and mud or debris and mud much like this one did. Then as the boat pulls onto or over harder ground or harder sand the anchor failed to right itself and would drag on it's side. I watched my friends Leopard 45 drag 400 meters because of this, fortunately down the coast. The anchor alarm failed. Clog that anchor then move it clogged to harder normal ground and see if it will set or just drags on its side. This is a common scenario in the med for example and their primary previous failure point. There are even video of it happening on RU-vid.
Hi Steve. Great work and effort! We are in the market for a 35kg anchor. We had a smaller excel that worked great but wondering what you’d recommend in the 35kg range. Best. Holm
Thanks Steve, i have been hanging out for this one. Thorough and fair review, thanks for testing the mk2. Seems to me to have very consistent holding and resetting across all the substrates as you stated. Just need to size size appropriately for ultimate holding power. Inportantly it build tough for cruising. Maybe sacrificing some surface area for the same weight hence overall holding vs weight.
Another great video, thanks. Would love to see tests of the lone star mmx and the sav winch slider. Both Australian made with little to no test info out there. The lone star in particular is very affordable
In the 40-50 lbs test. Rocna mk1 44 lbs gest just 2.8 score while Viking 51 lbs gets 4.9. The Rocna being a bit lighter. In my real life situation my boat came with a Rocna mk1 40 (88 lbs) and I bourght the biggest produced Viking 25 (66 lbs). So the Viking is considerably lighter. The fluke area of the two are close to identical. I am going to try to use the Viking as main anchor, but not sure what to expect. I did experience draging the Rocna in “sandy mud” contitions in a river with shifting tides. Boat is a 20 ton 51 foot trimaran.
This is really interesting to me. @svpanope does a phenomenal job of comparing these anchors, the Viking is outperforming everything in the same wright range. However I am interested in how the recommended anchors compete. In this example like you Rocna are recommending me a 40Kg whereas Viking are recommending 20Kg (Endurance 50, monohull 23,000Kg)
Great job👍 i take my conclusions, for what i see on your Rocnas tests and for my real world full time live a board experiênce, i have my opinion, Spade anchor for ever,♠️💪much more efective than those rollbar Marketing anchors...
I purchased a westsail 32 in Anacortes Wa. I haven’t ever Anchored out .. these videos are informative. Alas also makes me question my ability to anchor out.. # first time sailboat owner..#sailing for dummies .. Purchasing a mark 2 or viking anchor in the near future! thanks Steve!
I did test a 45 pound Ultra that was sent to me by the US distributor (Ultra Marine West). I would welcome the opportunity to test an 18 pound version as this size range has become a focus of mine. Unfortunately, the $1,000 cost puts it out of reach for me.
Compared to modern anchors, traditional fisherman anchors are: Very difficult to handle (won't work with a bow roller. Very low holding power. The "Lazy" fluke can easily foul the rode during wind or current reversals. Many people repeat the age-old belief that a fisherman is the gold standard for heavy weed/kelp. However, I do not believe this has been verified by controlled testing. As much as I love the traditional aesthetic of a fisherman anchor, I feel that it's time has passed.
@@flygoodwin Thank you for the detailed assessment, I needen that detail. I live in the philippines and we have mostly sandy shallow anchoring, the boats here ( local fishing boats) use the old fishermans style and i bought that style for my small hand built 19 foot trimaran. From the info you gave me i should go shopping for a modern style anchor. It is hard to find moderen things here, they cling to the past very tightly, Thanks again 😁
Well, I beg to differ, I built a HD version, 1 1/2” shank with fair sized flukes to have good holding resistance in soft sand,,mud. Also holds real nice in hard rocky ground, Myles the bar that keeps it upright will cause problems with bow rollers, I keep it dismantled, stored and ready for “ the big Blow”. And when I want to set the second anchor.
I know nothing about the availability of Viking anchors. Note that both the company headquarters country (Israel) and the manufacturing country (Ukraine) are at war.
@@flygoodwin Right ... when, in the past, I need something (I order a 15 model), Izi kalvo send me very quickly the anchor and the "boomerang". Now ... I think they have some problem but ... send him an email ... if he can ... he usually reply
And yet the reset numbers that Steve gathered (the 180s and the straight line at Sucia) are excellent - only the Viking has better reset numbers, and even that is just barely. It doesn’t look to me that your speculation is supported by the data.
@@pierremitham2964 And that it’s only a factor at very short scope and isn’t important given reasonable scope and chain weight. Again, the test data indicate exceptional resetting ability, not a design deficiency.
Hey Steve, I really appreciate all the hard work you put in to gather and share this information with all of us - truly helpful and valuable information! Glad you were rewarded with a beautiful run to the Sucia Islands and glad you included some of it in the Rocna MK II video. I'm going to be buying a new anchor in the next few months and was settled on a Viking but understand they are coming out with a new anchor, the "Odin" and would really love to see you put it through the paces. Is it out yet? Will they send you one for evaluation? If not, have you considered setting something up for us to fund the purchase of one as you did for the Rocna MK II? Kurt
Well Odin won’t have a roll bar so it’s performance might not be best in category in the soft mud seabed.. I personally don’t like roll bars and to am really excited about Steve doing the future test 🤪
Thanks much for all this testing and data. Well done. Looks like a good one but I think that I’ll stick with my Spade that you originally turned me on to. Love ti. And don’t like roll Bars. Now I have to say that although not perfect, I anchored for years and hundreds of anchoring, my Fortress 55# workd well. Only time I dragged was in Admiraly bay Bequa in a tropical system. Everyone was dragging. I think that the reason that I did well was that it was oversized. Helped a lot with this anchor. I have consistently done poorly with CQR’s.
Hello Steve, thank you for your excellent work testing all the anchors. For my perspective it’s the most valuable channel in this area. I’m quite sure the manufacturers are watching as well and hopefully they improve their products with your results. Go on testing.
Hi Steve. Iv’e been curious about this since I first saw this anchor at METS a year ago. As you, I thought they were on to something, which we now see was correct. Really nice with another great anchor on the market. However, I still have a resistance to roll bars. As you point out, they bring vulnerabilities, as in catching debris and they increase resistance in the substrate, which prevents them from gliding deeper in. In my mind, the extra holding power of that resistance isn’t really relevant. I’m a firm believer in picking a properly oversized anchor and rather save the weight by using a high strength thinner chain. That way, the extra resistance from the roll bar isn’t needed. It gets power from its size, not from “parasitic” drag. I think your recommendations near the end of the video are spot on. We should pick an anchor that performs reasonably well in all conditions, not influenced by max performance in some conditions. - Reliability comes from the anchor TYPE. - Holding power comes from the anchor SIZE.
I think you are right. I bought a Rocna Vulcan because at this time it seemed to be a really good reliable non rollbar anchor. I chose the 44lb oversized version for my 31ft Sailboat. Like you write, the type and the oversizing let me feel super safe on my circumnavigation since 1,5 years.
