Well it 's interesting that after the flurry of activity we still see a definite trend toward adoption of the new generation of anchors. If you add up the Rocna, Manson Supreme, Spade, and Ultra, the total outweighs (pun intended) the CQR number by more than 2:1.

Our CQR was onboard when we bought the boat and now lives ashore after several incidents in which it dragged. We have heard that people have had luck selling their used CQRs, so there may be a resale market, but I cannot say for certain.

Our Rocna has never dragged once set. It only failed to set once, in the outer anchorage in Cuttyhunk where we brought up a ton of weed.

Our Ultra has set on first try every time and has never dragged in a year of sailing around the Atlantic regardless of the bottom type.

Our Fortress tends to be a bit more difficult to set and can take several attempts. We use it for stern anchoring (bow and stern deployment) and med mooring when we have to deploy from the dinghy. But once it sets, it holds very well in soft bottoms. It 's not as effective in hard bottoms which is why we also carry a Delta for kedging and deploying from the dinghy.

We have found that our experience is paralleling the recent reports in major sailing magazines. I have previously posted a listing of references for anyone interested in seeing the independent surveys.

What is your experience with your anchors?


Happy Hooking!

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Yes I wonder how many of those buying a new anchor these days would opt for a CQR? I suspect the ones in the survey have been on the bow roller for many years.

We had a poorer response to the chain type survey but, for what it 's worth, posted below are the results.

[attachment=26]Chaintypesurvey.pdf[/attachment]

As for seabed type all I can say for sure is that our Manson really doesn 't like rock but then again perhaps I shouldn 't have been trying to anchor on rock! It 's pretty bomb proof in most other situations apart from thick kelp when it scoops it up by the truck load.

Some comments on the anchoring survey:
1. The CQR certainly appeared to be one of the more popular anchors. In view of all these new style anchors appearing on the market it would be interesting to know from those members who have CQR 's - is their CQR an addition to the boat, or has it always been on the boat?
2. In terms of chain, you made no mention of high test chain, maybe it 's not all that important.
3. Now that the hardware survey has been done, it would be interesting to know members ' views on how well their anchors have worked on a variety of seabeds.

After Dick Guckel 's electronic newsletter we had a surge of responses to the Anchor Survey. Responses continue to trickle but I think we now have a good picture of how OCC Members connect themselves to the seabed.

I have, as a result of this survey, already removed the stainless steel swivel from our anchor and I hope others find the results useful.

[attachment=25]OCCAnchorSurveyversion4.pdf[/attachment]

This in from Tom and Vicky aboard Sunstone:

I began answering your anchor survey, but unfortunately found it impossible to answer most of the questions as our anchor practice appears to differ a good deal from 'standard '. As there was no option for comments or explanations, I gave up.

For what it 's worth, you can make of the following what you can:

On extended cruise we carry the following:

2 x 45lb CQR (neither ever on the bow roller, one below and one in chocks on the foredeck)

1 x FX37 Fortress (lashed to the pushpit - used as kedge, stern anchor or for bahamian moor)

1 x 70lb Luke (in the bilge - never used in 120,000 miles)

55 metres 3/8 high test chain

40 metres 5/16 high test chain

10 metres 3/8 chain

8 metres 1/2 chain

4 metres 1/2 chain

200 metres 16mm nylon double braid (on a reel on the coach roof)

120 metres 16mm nylon double braid

Our chain locker and anchor windlass are on the starboard side deck about 1 metre forward of the mast, keeping weight out of the bow and giving good 'drop ' for the chain as the locker is quite deep and narrow.

Though it isn 't covered by your survey, we often use a bahamian moor in difficult anchoring situations. Our version of this uses a very large snatch block to bring the two rodes together. This is described in detail on our website ()and in an article we did a couple of years ago for FF. We have found this to be most useful in a wide variety of situations.

As a comment on the movement away from CQRs, we think that many cruisers have difficulty properly setting CQRs. In some cases this is because they try to reverse too quickly and too soon, before the anchor has had a chance to 'find itself ' on the bottom. The other major issue is the weight of chain. CQRs do seem to need solid weight and a good catenary. The tendency, paticularly among American cruisers, to use 5/16 high test even for quite large boats doesn 't help in this regard. When we are cruising in areas where there is lots of weed or kelp, as well as volatile weather, we add 4 metres of 1/2 inch chain immediately behind the anchor to give it more bite. This also helps to cut through weed and kelp. Though we have occasionally had to reset our CQR on first anchoring, we have never seriously dragged it once set. However, this may be because we would usually set a bahamian moor if the weather looked really wicked. We were interested to see that in the French test published by Yachting Monthly a few years ago, the CQR was second to the Spade for holding in firm ground and first in broken ground.

Hope this all of some use to you,

Tom and Vicky Jackson, Sunstone

And in follow up...
Yes, we haven 't so far found any need for the Luke in 15 years - at least not enough to justify the difficulty in launching and retrieving it. We have been impressed with the holding power of the Fortress in firm ground. Our loyalty to the CQR may be as much a matter of habit and miserliness as anything! But we can 't see the point in changing so long as it works, despite the plaudits for the Spade and its relations. We were interested to see the problems with Chinese manufacture of the once proud Rocna.

Thanks Tom and Vicky!

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Responses to the OCC anchor survey continue to trickle in.and below is the link to view the results.
[attachment=21]OCCAnchorSurveyversion3.pdf[/attachment]

If you would still like to contribute to this survey then please click here to go to the survey.

Simon, I was actually a bit surprised that your maximum rode length was 100M - we use 250ft of 5/16 chain and 300ft of 3/4 rope as our rode (165M)

Hope to never have to use it - but I have already had rope out...

Bill Balme

Daria,
The very large amount of chain carried seems to be a characteristic of the OCCers in the survey. Belt and braces for go anywhere sailors?

Preliminary observations 25-04-12:
- newest generation scoop-type anchors are gaining momentum in popularity
- fewer cruisers now carry a spare anchor at the bow
- Fortress is the choice for stowing below and kedging (it 's the only one that wouldn 't sink our dinghy, that 's for certain)

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Hi Robbie,
Great thought -- OCC members on the wild side.

There are many studies that have been published comparing different anchors and reporting holding power and we cover virtually all of them in our book, "Happy Hooking. The Art of Anchoring." I 'll try to share the most significant results here over time. A really good "scientific" review was published in PBO last year (2011). My favorite test series was done by West Marine and published by three magazines including SAIL.

Here 's a partial list of the sources:

Boote, Von Grundstucken und Haltungsnoten. October 2009.
Yachting Monthly, Which Anchor is Best? November 2009
Voiles et Voilliers, Jette l’ancre! Juillet 2009.
Yacht Skippers Magazin, Ankertest Vertrauensfrage. August 2009.
Vela, Ancore di nuova generazione. May 2009
Practical Sailor. Rock and Roll. PS takes heavy-duty roll-bar and Bruce-style anchors to the extreme. November 2008.
Practical Sailor, Three new anchors throw their weaight into the Practical Sailor Chronicles. January 2008.
MBM Club Pick the right hook. May 2007
Power and Motoryacht Anchors Aweigh February 2007
Sail Magazine, Holding Power. October 2006
Segeln 11 Anker IM Test. September 2006
Practical Sailor. Soft Mud Anchors for $200 or less. Part II. April 2006.
Practical Sailor, Anchor Reset Tests, January 2001
Practical Sailor, Anchor Tests: Soft Sand over Hard Sand http://www.practical-sailor.com/boatus/anchors/4rhod4598/03anchor.html
Yachting Monthly, Ultimate Holding Power. December 2006
Safety at Sea Studies. 1994 San Francisco Anchor Tests. http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets/Offshore/SAS+Studies/1994+anchor+test.pdf
Safety at Sea Studies. 1995 Anchor Study. Puget Sound.
http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets/Offshore/SAS+Studies/anchor+study.pdf
Safety at Sea Studies. 1990 Mud Anchor Tests. http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/General_Information/Safety_Studies/Safety_At_Sea_Studies_-_1990_Mud_Anchor_Tests.htm
Safety at Sea Studies. 1990 Sand Anchor Tests. http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/General_Information/Safety_Studies/Safety_At_Sea_Studies_-_1990_Sand_Anchor_Test.htm
Safety at Sea Studies. Portland Oregon Anchor Study. Robert A. Smith.
http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/General_Information/Safety_Studies/Safety_At_Sea_Studies_-_Portland__Oregon_Anchor_Study.htm
Safety at Sea Studies. Rope to Chain Splice Test. 1994.
http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/General_Information/Safety_Studies/Safety_At_Sea_Studies_-_Rope_to_Chain_Splice_Test.htm

Vice Commodore, OCC