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Date:Wed, 20 Dec 2023 03:57:00 GMT
Anchors Anchors Anchors
Ford vs Chevy
Ok tonight our anchor dragged. After running 360 degrees at 205 foot
diameter in 20-45 knot winds and then pulling it in to 75 feet and another
180 degrees we finally started dragging a little bit (40 feet over all over
the course of an entire day) in 25g30. So I'm sure everyone is going to say
well you should have a Mantis that would never happen. Why? Because that is
the latest fad. You know what the latest fad used to be? A Bruce was the
previous king. Then it was the Fortress. What_Ever...
The bottom in this case is a grey sandy clay with lots of pieces of shell
and it's very very sticky. Which anchor is best? Here are your choices:
Mantis, Fortress, Bruce, Fisherman, CQR, Plow, Grapel, Mushroom.
My answer a CQR or Plow.
Everything is the right tool for the job. Except for the grapel or the
Mushroom all anchors attempt to bury them selves. And all anchors need to
be able to reset. Each has a reset method, but try this. Take a hoe and
slam it in the ground... then take the handle and walk around in a circle.
What will that do? It will dig a circular hole in the ground.
Try that with a shovel and you'll get a circular hole in the ground.
Put in a tent stake and spin it around and it will cut a hole in the ground.
It doesn't matter what you put in the ground if you spin it, it will cut a hole.
So now let's talk about different bottoms: If you are in soft mud the
hole will refill. If you are in sand the hole will refill. If you are in
small to medium rocks it will refill. If you are in grass it will cut a
divot and not refil. If you are in clay it will not refill but a ball will
form up on your anchor and then when it comes out of the hole it will roll
across the ground and not cut back in again. If you are in large rocks
you'll pop out and have to find a new crevas to hook on. Ultimately the
only thing that will "shed" the clay ball or grass ball and re-dig is the
plow. But because the plow will self clean/clear it does not grab as well
as a claw type anchor or a danforth type anchor. An old Fisherman's anchor
is also good in clay and grass and rock but not so good in soft mud or sand
which is where a mantis or bruce shine.
On Grace we have 1 of each. We have a bruce, a fortress, a CQR, and a
fisherman's. They are each best in class for their family. I do not have a
Mantis because I personally prefer the Bruce's claw's on the edges. It digs
from the side better. If a Mantis is on it's side it sometimes will not dig
in. Once it does it holds better than a fortress but I don't have room for
one.
Cruising sail boats have anchor rollers on the bow that are designed for
anchors of a more modern design so it can be difficult to get a fisherman's
anchor up and on the deck. But honestly I keep coming back to that design as
being better all around than the more modern fad designs. It's bigger,
heavier, more unweildy, less convenient but holds better in most situations.
When it digs in it can be very difficult to get up without a line on the
bottom to lift it up.
Now I'm sure that my friends will say, you should have had a mantis
and it wouldn't have dragged tonight. But I think that put in the same 360
degree situation in the same sticky mud bottom it would have gotten a ball
on it just like the claw. And once up then how long to dig in again? Who
knows. But neither anchor was going to dig in again while that ball of clay
was jamming it up.
Anyway so We started the engine did several loops around the anchorage
in 20g25 out of the north east at 10pm and finally dropped the anchor less
than 20 feet from it's original position and it dug in like a champ. But it
was not fun trying to find our place at night in a tight anchorage and bad
winds. But it does point out that it's important to always be ready to go.
So you know what? the anchor was ready, the switches were easy to get, The
motor started easily, the deck was clear and though there were hitches and
we had to try twice it went pretty smoothly all considered. The brake on
the windless got off track, the chain hung on the roller because we were
sidewise of the chain a little bit. The wind and motor made it difficult to
hear so Hannah was relaying commands to Sam. But we each knew our job and
we got it done.