Hi all,
There are some comments pertinent to Rocna 's and new generation anchors as well in the Anchors and Anchoring section. See particularly Simon 's report.
Dick

Hi Tim,
I am glad you have had such a good experience with your Rocna and I am not surprised you find a huge improvement over your CQR, as you clearly give homage to. BTW, I do not believe your anchor to be overweight, perhaps it is even underweight depending on your tonnage. My Spade anchor is 35kg for a 40 foot/16 ton boat which I think is about right for those who occasionally anchor in marginal conditions where gale level winds might visit un-announced.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hi John, Good to hear from you. I have never had an anchor that always came up facing the correct way to get it onto the roller easily. They all needed occasional tweaking. Were you correct in reporting that it “always” comes up backward? That would surprise me and be curious.
My best to you and to the SYH crew,
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hi all,
Please go to the swivel area of this list serve where for a fuller discussion, but for here, I will say that I know of no significant problem that a swivel solves and have been anchoring for 30+ years without one. The thought of introducing such a problematic element to a ground tackle system designed to keep you and your boat safe just to help with the occasional backward anchor seems quite misguided. I do know they have proved a weak link to a number of vessels and that I am not alone in believing that stainless steel, the material most are made of, has no place in a ground tackle system.
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Interesting video. I have now been using my Rocna and Ultra swivel for three years. My anchoring has been restricted to the UK which is sand and mud. This combination is the most effective I have ever come across and have never failed to set 1st time. Always reversing slowly. The ultra swivel always presenting the anchor as required to the roller.
SV Avista

Hi John,
I am glad you have had such good luck with your Rocna. It, like many of the new gen anchors, are amazing at initial setting when they are clean.
The following should be read as written from someone who believes a ground tackle system, in its proper design and execution, sometimes (perhaps often) has you and your crew’s life residing in its effectiveness. There are those that say that they rarely spend the night at anchor, usually use it as a lunch hook or for fishing: to them, I would say that it is also there for emergencies, unexpected squalls and engine breakdowns, where a good system proves itself invaluable. Those of us who cruise know how important it is at least a few times each season.
I would want you (or anyone with a swivel) to consider ditching the swivel for the following reasons:
The ground tackle system is to keep your boat and crew safe and nothing in that system should compromise that goal. I believe swivels do so compromise:
1.   Attached as advertised (looking at the Ultra’s web site the installation is straight onto the anchor) introduces the possibility of the anchor getting jammed and side loads prying the jaws apart. (Google anchor swivel failures for examples.) Adding a bit of connecting chain, as Daria suggests, mitigates that issue while introducing even more shackle connections (every connection is a potential vulnerability) and the likelihood that the one favored reason for buying a swivel (clean retrieval onto a roller) would no longer work so effectively.
2.   The Ultra (and most highly advertised and hyped swivels) is made of stainless steel and ss (in my judgment) has no place in a ground tackle system that, by definition, is in and out of salt water. It is potentially too brittle and prone to crevice corrosion and there are alternatives, all better, to ss shackles, anchors, chain etc. that one sees wherever there are boats.
3.   With the possible exception of anchoring for long periods where the boat circles its anchor repeatedly CW or CCW (and I have lived this scenario a couple of times without a swivel), a swivel does not contribute to the effectiveness of one’s ground tackle. Chain twist is always relieved by an adequate snubber.
4.   The advertised strength exceeding chain does not specify whether proof coil or high tensile. Among cruisers, HT is becoming more common. I would be in its strength if the anchor end was held rigid and the pull at right angles.
5.   An anchor that comes up backward is annoying and can entail a bit of fussing, but introducing a vulnerability into one’s ground tackle system in order not to be occasionally annoyed is (again my opinion) in no way justified.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I also had trouble with Rocna resetting after a tide current change, and find it hard in initial set unless speed is very slow, usually under 1.5 knots. I sold my Rocna and am very happy with a new Spade anchor.

Hi,
I am sorry you had trouble with your Rocna, but there are emerging reports about trouble re-setting. I am glad your difficulties do not sound like they led to damage. The other issue, needing to set at a very slow speed, is not one I have heard with respect to Rocnas too often, rather the opposite.
In any case, having been a Spade user for 6-8 yrs now, I suspect you will be happy with this choice.
On another note, the reports of Rocna’s difficulties re-setting (as have the videos) have existed for awhile, but seem not to have risen to the level of more public discussion nor has Rocna commented (to my knowledge). My more cynical side wonders whether we are seeing the journalists/magazines being loath to say anything bad about an advertiser. It seems to me worth exploring more publicly before there occurs damage to boat and/or crew.
Safe anchoring, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

There are only two weights of anchor
1) those that people laugh at as being overweight
2) those that drag

We have a 100 lb, say 45kg, Manson Supreme on our 47 footer, and feel it is right.

Our 100 lb Manson Supreme often comes up facing the wrong way.
We turn it by motoring gently astern with the anchor dangling in the water
Much easier than muscle work