Anchor Tests

[29 cascadefixer]

tsenator, sir !!
Just out of curiosity,what kind of bottom was your anchor set in,and how hard was it to haul it out of the bottom ?

[tsenator]

It was kind of a sand/mud bottom...typical for Block Island. The Chart says ''sft'' (soft)in the middle, but where I was I saw some lighter colored sand. I recall having to use my anchor washdown a bit the clean off the anchor. It was no problem at all to get the anchor up, the spade is like a delta/bruce anchor with a solid shaft and when you are directly over the anchor it pops right out.....if the anchor dragged at all it wasn''t by much....maybe a few feet or so. And it probably swung around 180 deg from the thunderstorm that went through to clear out the fog that was there.

[tsenator]

Let me make a clarification. I had 55 feet of anchor rode out. (kind of crowded in there during the summer). The anchor had 5 to 1 at high-tide (~11ft) and 8 to 1 at low-tide. I am not sure but the storm probably blew thru @ low tide.

[windship]

29cascadefixer,
I also carry a CQR just in case I run into an area that fouls my danforth, I still have two anchors to deploy or if I''m anchored and a squall blows through (keeping in mind the holding power of the Bruce)I STILL have two anchors to deploy.

Dennis

[windship]

tsenator,
How much did you pay for your Spade?

Dennis

[JIO]

Can someone tell me where to find the anchor test info described in this thread?

Thanks.

Jon

[windship]

Go to ussailing.com.

Dennis

[29 cascadefixer]

Howdy Dennis- Say, checked out the Prices of the Spade anchor at a couple sites- WOW - they are pricey. Double the price of a common Bruce or CQR. They got a pretty orange blade on ''em. Looks like a status symbol. There''s a place called Impulse Marine that sells an anchor called the Supercat- looks interesting. Also checked out an anchor with the name of Bulwagga.Very strange looking. Heard anything about how these two anchors perform ? Sorry to keep dragging bottom with these posts, but this subject is interesting--to me.

[windship]

29cascadefixer,
To me ,sailing is about self sufficiency so I love hangin'' on the hook far more than using a mooring or a slip and I love talking about ground tackle and all related stuff. So your not draggin'' anything out with me.
I''m sure that alot of other sailors that might not even post anything are getting something out of these conversations and sometimes debates.
No I have not yet seen or heard anything about the Supercat. Is there somewhere on line that anyone knows of where this anchor can be seen?
The Bullwagga? It does look weird but that does mean anything. I''ve never used one and have never seen any test results on them so I can''t really say much.You can be assured I will look into them.
Yeah, the Spade is very expensive but it looks like it might work well. I''ve spoke with a couple of people that use them and they like it.
Talk to ya later,

Dennis

[bmcald]

Practical Sailor rated the Spade and Bullwaga as having best holding power in sand.