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Seachoice anchors

3K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  tschmidty 
#1 ·
#4 ·
Never heard of them, and I fancy myself quite the anchor geek. BTW, the weld in the picture doesn't look very good.

Anchors are a very poor place to try and save money, considering how long they last, what they do, and what happens if they don't work.

MedSailor
 
#14 ·
Never heard of them, and I fancy myself quite the anchor geek. BTW, the weld in the picture doesn't look very good.

MedSailor
Totally agree - if a weld looks that poor in that small a picture, I'd keep looking.
 
#5 ·
Seachoice came up quite a bit as a manufacturer when I was searching Amazon for whistles, visual safety signals, dock lines, etc. I don't know much yet, but I haven't seen their name ANYPLACE else, i.e., at the defender, westmarine, or here on the sailnet store sites. That, in and of itself, was enough to warn me off. Best guess... SeaChoice is probably NOT a viable sea choice. Just guessing.

Barry
 
#12 ·
Jamestown Distributors sells a large number of products in the Seachoice line; they are hardly a crap vendor. (OTOH they no longer appear to sell these particular anchors, so that might be worth considering.)

We bought the 22# Seachoice Delta/plow from them; ours was roughly made but also has lots of metal in it; decent welds; and an almost absurd amount of zinc. We're okay with it on our 1400# boat.

Bottom of the anchor is awfully flat, and the plow point could be sharper. It takes a bit of jukeing to get its nose in when the bottom is gravel. Once it dives, tho, that sucker is set.:) Like any plow, it is at its best in hard to soft sand; it will drag thru pure muck.

You'll have to decide the dollars/peace-of-mind calculus for yourself. We're comfortable with the Seachoice on our little boat. We'll buy Manson for the big boat. For those who think perfectly smooth welds, shiny metal, large price tag, or a brand name confers greater quality or security, might I remind you of Rocna's little metallurgy problem? Lots of Rocna owners thought they were smarter than Seachoice owners, too. Never heard of a Seachoice shaft snapping ... have you?;)

I'll post a couple photos of our anchor this afternoon, if time permits.
 
#7 ·
That is indeed one ugly weld. I agree with the others--anchors aren't a good place to go with a no-name. A soap dish? Sure. But not an anchor. Metallurgy would be an unknown with that one.
 
#8 ·
You will find a lot of different products sold under the Seachoice name. They are mostly made in China and sold to marine dealers by Land N Sea Distributers. It is their house brand. It is made to be sold at a low price point.

I see you're in Orlando. If you're on good terms with your local marine dealer, ask him to order one from Land N Sea for you to look at. If you don't like it he should be able to return it with no problem.

I don't think you'll like it. When you ask your dealer to return it, tell him you'll buy a real Delta from him.
 
#10 ·
Search at Amazon shows that Seachoice makes knockoff Danforths/Bruces/Plows. Numerous complaints about them being undersized and substandard galvanizing including one that was delivered already rusted.

Last anchor I bought was a Mantus. Extremely happy with it.
 
#11 ·
Used NAME BRAND anchors can be had off craigslist regularly. Several of my anchors were used name brand ones. Get yourself a nice used delta and odds are the galvanizing will still last longer than a brand new cheapie.

Agreed with fryewe though, the mantus is AWESOME. More expensive than a used delta though.

MedSailor
 
#13 ·
Okay, couple pics of the Seachoice, or at least what was selling as a Seachoice five years ago:

anchor2

anchor3

I wish the bottom plate were dead flush with or even slightly inset relative to the sides, so the point and edges would present better. But otherwise, it is a pretty decent anchor & totally worth the $75 delivered cost.

Many sources advise 1# per foot for your primary; that's maybe a bit cautious but allows the anchor to serve as a light 'sheet' anchor or part of a tandem storm array. You planning to put any chain on this?
 
#15 ·
I have a 13 lb as a primary on my 22 right now and it is undersized I think but I have had great luck with it grabbing solidly in decent anchoring conditions. For light/medium anchoring conditions I think a 22lb would be fine for your boat. But you'd get better advice if you told us what you're palnned conditions and use are rather than just boat size. Daysailing versus cruising are completely different situations.
 
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