Anchors; Plow v. Claw v. Delta v. Fluke

[Talisman66]

Doing research about anchors. I have more questions now than I did when I started looking. I searched sailnet for anchor threads and could not find any answers. So, I'll ask you guys. First, what my goal is. I'm trying to achieve a simple durable, low maintenance approach to setting an anchor and having it hold under a variety of conditions for a 45 foot 31,000lb cutter rig. The boat came with a 45lb genuine CQR plow and a 25lb Danforth. I wanted to get a 66lb claw as a primary and use the 45lb plow as a secondary on the bow and carry a spare as well as an aluminum fortress FX below. My thinking was the claw has no moving parts to fail. So, I wanted to get opinions and real life facts as to who is usuing what and why. Also, any good or bad experiences with replica CQR plow type anchors?

[sailingdog]

I'd highly recommend looking at the next gen anchors, like the Rocna, Manson Supreme, Buegel, etc.... since they have far more holding power than older designs and set/reset better in most conditions.

Copies of original design anchors aren't a good idea, as many aren't built to the same specifications as the originals.

I have a Rocna as the primary on my boat and it sets far better and far more securely than older designs, like the CQR, Danforth, and Bruce. Maine Sail, another member here, has most of the commonly used anchors and his two recommendations are usually the Rocna and the Manson Supreme.

[celenoglu]

All known anchors are good anchors. Make sure you buy originals. The measurements of all anchors are selected due to different reasons. Changing any of them will change how they behave on your boat or at the bottom.

All anchors claim they have a superior holding power. Some are better than the others on some types of bottom. None of them are superior to another on a general basis.

Make sure you have at least three different types of anchor. Two should be ready on the deck to change, the third should be the heaviest and can be kept in the cabin.

[patrickstickler]

Bulwagga

(ugly and a pain to handle and stow, but boy does it grip fast and hold...)

[xort]

don't know what category to put it...I have the Manson Supreme. Still have the CQR as back up.

both are 45 lbs.

We used the CQR several times and dragged twice in 30 k winds. Went back to the same spot, put down the Manson Supreme, saw 35 k winds and didn't move at all.
CQR is hard to set.

[lbdavis]

You're going to get as many opinions as there are possible combinations.

My vote:
A double roller with:
- Claw for calm anchorages/lunch hook
- Rocna/Manson Supreme for REAL holding.

[brak]

Fortress. It is a kind of a fluke, but I wouldn't use a regular fluke instead.

[sailingdog]

I wouldn't recommend Fortress or any fluke-type anchor in a reversing current/wind situation.

[billyruffn]

BR is 47 ft, 24 tons. The original equipment was a 35 kg CQR that we used for several years in New England waters with only one dragging incident (oyster shells on the bottom). Switched to the 30 kg Bruce when we went into the tropics, as it was said to have better holding in sand over coral (?Who knows?). Have used it ever since and have not had a problem with it -- a couple of times we needed to try for a better set, but once its in, we've never had it come out until we broke it out. (No doubt, some of our good fortune is due to the 1/2" chain the hook is attached to.)

There may be better anchors out there, but the only trouble with trying them is they're so damn expensive!

[sailortjk1]

Now you've done it.