Anchor Testing in Cobblestone Seabed. Test #83

Anchors Tested:
45 lb. CQR No Holding
10 lb. Fortress FX16 No Holding
14 lb. Northill No Holding
17 lb. Excel #1 No Holding
13 lb. Mantus M1 50 lbs. Holding
12 lb. Viking 50 lbs. Holding
11 lb. Bruce 50 lbs. Holding
21 lb. Spade S60 150 lbs. Holding
44 lb. Bruce 150 lbs. Holding
45 lb. Delta 200 lbs. Holding
27 lb. Excel #5 Aluminum 200 lbs. Holding
65 lb. Forfjord 200 lbs. Holding
45 lb. Manson S.(modified)250 lbs. Holding
46 lb. Ultra 310 lbs. Holding
45 lb. Mantus 370 lbs. Holding
48 lb. Super SARCA 370 lbs. Holding
45 lb. Spade 370 lbs. Holding
55 lb. Vulcan 430 lbs. Holding
47 lb. Excel 430 lbs. Holding

[@mvhassallfree1031]

I purchased a SARCA excel a few years ago after watching your videos, and it's performance has amazed me, it has never let me down, not once, we anchor about 30 weekends a year here in Australia mostly sand and mud. I replaced a Delta which failed time after time, SARCA excel for the win! Thanks for all your hard work Steve

[@Bakanelli]

Do you think it would beat this INOX Delta 66lb with 40% tip/weight ratio 😏🥊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/m16cYmuJerhmmrc

[@etalon3141]

Really useful videos, I dont know how we would even attempt to choose anchors without this sort of in-depth look at them.

[@tallbikercat]

Agreed, great video. You have nailed the camera bridle for the slow dragging anchor. Good work.

[@marioGarcia-du9eh]

thank you for the video! looks like i need to carry half those anchors! one area is rocky another sandy another mud! strong current with very high and low tide changes! i learned my lesson don’t take a nap on a rocky bottom with your fortress. i just need to be smarter! and your videos are very helpful!

[@davidhopkins]

Did not hold: 1:45 CQR 45 lb 3:00 Fortress FX 16 10 lb 3:58 Northill 14 lb 5:35 Sarca Excel #1 17 lb (steel) Holds 50 lbs thrust: 7:03 Mantus 13 lb 9:10 Viking 12 lb 11:13 Bruce 11 lb Holds 150 lbs 13:24 Spade S60 21lb (steel) 15:15 Bruce 44lb Holds 200 lbs: 17:18 Delta 45 lb 18:29 Sarca Excel #5 27 lb (aluminium) 19:49 Forfjord 65lb Holds 250 lbs: 23:00 Manson Supreme 45lb (modified) Holds 310 lbs: 24:34 Ulta 45lb Holds 370 lbs: 26:36 Mantus M1 45lb 28:04 Super Sarca 47lb 30:25 Spade s100 45 lb (steel) Holds 430 lb 32:55 Vulcan 55 lb 35:00 Sarca Excel #5 47 lb

[@flygoodwin]

Thanks for the great list, David. I did notice that your "pull" force categories are slightly different than what I presented. They are: No holding. 50lbs. 150lbs. 200lbs. 250lbs. 310lbs. 370lbs. 430lbs.

[@davidhopkins]

SV Panope did my best to get them right. I suggest you put a proper list in the video description.

[@flygoodwin]

That is a good idea. I'll do to later today. I am actually testing anchors as I write this.

[@fredio54]

@@flygoodwin put a google sheet together and just add data to it over time, you could even take contributions in terms of presenting and splitting that data from trusted viewers who you add as collaborators. Those docs hold history and you can add notes as "labeled versions" so if someone goes haywire you can roll back. You can also export backups and reimport if needed. It'd be a truly great resource especially with a time-stamp link sub-column for each cell where the data was filmed/shown.

[@fredio54]

David, thanks for your efforts putting that together! Appreciated. This type of seabed is always a challenge and sometimes unavoidable. I keep steering toward the Mantus M1 design for my own future anchoring solution, but home built.

[@conallocuinn407]

Wonderfully helpful video. Main lesson: stay away from cobbled anchorages if possible.

[@robintaylor1490]

Great comments and fantastic video, thanks for your help as I'm just putting my build together and moved to Haida Gwaii which has a similar sea bed as in your video.

[@DC_DC_DC_DC]

Great video again Steve, thank you a lot for the effort!

[@svenrump3287]

excellent pictures this time! keep it up please!

[@lyonsmike4145]

Thanks so much for these tests, sent a little cash your way :)

[@j121212100]

these videos are invaluable!

[@peterostrom8004]

Great video! Thanks!

[@barrydavies2977]

Great job Steve. 2 bits of advice. No1, don't anchor on this type of seabed. No2, see No1. Seriously, I have a mantus m1 15kg. A great anchor. For this type of seabed I would need 30kg. And even then I wouldn't trust it, or any other anchor.

[@robintaylor1490]

Hard not anchor on this type of sea bed for me on Haida Gwaii ... 😊

[@fredio54]

Sometimes you have little choice. He calls them cobble stone, I've always called it rubble. With a bruce set and seeming to hold, we got started on dinner one night, a couple of glasses of wine later I noticed the relative position of other vessels had moved, double checked, pulled it up and steamed another 45 minutes to a sandy bay with less shelter instead. Nearly made a mistake cutting a corner thanks to the wine, but other than that far-miss it worked out okay. In the coming days I'm going to fabricate a non-galvanised steel anchor in the style of mantus/rocna/sarca/etc as I need to do some close quarters anchoring in a very crowded patch of relatively deep water (30 feet) and the worn out plow/cqr will not do the job without excessive scope/rode/warp out.

[@barrydavies2977]

@@robintaylor1490 I have also anchored on the type of seabed. Even for a lunch hook there was no security. I would not anchor on this overnight. So the choice is, go elsewhere, or risk losing your boat and maybe your life.

[@romocolan]

can you show how you mounted the camera so you can check your own ancors?

[@benjaminnevins5211]

Dang, you almost clobbered that crab at 28:19

[@svenrump3287]

No Rocna? a very popular anchor?

[@Bigfishfun333]

What about Columbia River-style rock anchors with breakaway straps?

[@captainofbluepearl]

Watching the bruce in its side or its back all the time makes me wonder what would happen if you welded two back to back. Thanks for the great video!

[@noreenmaylight]

Informative. Thank you.

[@baseballunderthelights2373]

Steve - could you put some perspective into what 150, 200 lbs of thrust equates to in windspeed/sea state for a specific size boat?

[@flygoodwin]

Craig, For my boat PANOPE (34' LOD, 10' beam, 15K lbs.), 200 lbs. load on the anchor corresponds to about 20 kts. wind. I did put my load sensor on the anchor rode during just such conditions. Here is the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6rInZ6wrtF1fMk

[@roaxth]

You are doing a great job with your videos. Good entertainment and of course really good reviews. Do you have a recommendation for the best three must have anchors?

[@flygoodwin]

Thanks Skip, I really need to test for ultimate holding power, and also test in a few more seabed types before I can start proclaiming which are the "all around" best. Also, factors such as price, longevity, and compatibility with ones bow roller set-up will have different importance depending on the individual. That said, for the 45 pound(ish) anchors, the Excel, Mantus, Spade, Vulcan, and Ultra have performed well in my tests - so far. I can say, that for a Dinghy Anchor, the Mantus Dinghy anchor is the all-around winner.

[@johnpowell3392]

Great video! As someone new to sailing it is very helpful. Have just acquired a Tatyana 37 which has a 50 pound Manson Supreme w/ 400 ft of 5/16 high test steel chain. Will be used mostly in Fl and Caribbean waters. Is there anyways on calculate the holding power for wind speeds and wave height combinations? Would sure appreciate your thoughts or estimate of it’s holding power in a sand bottom. Thanks so much for your hard work. It helps keep us all a little bit safer out there. John

[@jean-marcfiliatrault266]

Hi Steve! Nice job, as usual. You have a lot of left over from removing the top of the shank on the Manson Supreme. Is it possible to add a portion of that steel to the tip of your Manson Supreme so that the latter is bent downwards while still remaining robust at the tip? I believe it would be interesting to see a tip with a curve “slightly” pointing downwards? This assumes that your have sand or mud underneath the actual layer of cobble stones. This is the case here in the Thousand Islands. There is about 5 millimetres of sand on the top and directly underneath, you have flat stones. Anyways, it’s my suggestion.

[@robintaylor1490]

The Ultra anchor has the tip pointed down and didn't do as well as the sarca or Vulcan.

[@jean-marcfiliatrault266]

Thx! I will then not do that modification. I have done all the mods proposed by Steve to my Manson, except removing the shank. I’m not sure that would make a huge difference to the efficacy of the anchor. However, adding holes to the fluke did the job of removing the succion cup phenomenon. I drilled at least one more hole than Steve did to his own Manson, and when I now retrieve the anchor, I don’t pull up the riverbed anymore. My 2nd and last mod was to remove the “spade” look-a-like tip of the Mason to make it “pointy”. I did that in the Fall. Can’t wait to try my Manson now in the hard-packed sand bottom we have in many places up state NY in the Thousand Islands. If my Manson now performs properly, I have it re-galvanised. Otherwise, I’ll be back to the drawing board!

[@codprawn]

I would love to see a proper fisherman's anchor in that situation.

[@fredio54]

What does a "proper fisherman's anchor" look like exactly?

[@anilkraj]

Amazing amount of work for a high quality video. Is the most challenging bottom type for an anchor? Thank you!

[@flygoodwin]

This cobblestone is certainly difficult, but more challenging seabeds do exist such as smooth bedrock.

[@mjlw200]

Great video. I have a vulcan and its always looked after me. Was there a reason not to test the rocna?

[@flygoodwin]

Roll bar Rocna 45lb. has been tested - see my anchor videos #85 and #87. Also, several years ago I tested a 33lb. Roll Bar Rocna - see my video #63.

[@33eyeman]

Yep☺️👍🙏

[@abbarr]

Nice work. I'm noticing a theme here in your vids. Might be time for you to use SARCA Excel affiliate links. Although, they're still not exactly easy to come by.

[@richardt9092]

Great videos . I watch tom cunliffe great sailor. 200 yes of sailing lol.

[@JamesMeyerArt]

I have a 45lb CQR that came with my boat - I've never used it but I've seen other sailors say it the best, why did it fail so badly? is there a different way you set it than the way that you did the tests? I know that a cobble stone rocky bed is one of the worst types of bottoms

[@the_ayesha_khan]

Hi Steve, these are great videos. Thank you. I've looked at a number now and can't make my mind up on whether the sarca excel or the ultra is best. Do you have an overall view? I think the ultra sets quicker but not sure. Kind regards Richard

[@flygoodwin]

Thanks Richard, The Ultra does appear to set faster than the Excel, however the Spade and Mantus appear to set faster than both of them. I need to conduct further tests (ultimate holding, hard sand, etc) before I can select a "best" anchor for me. Ultimately, the "best" anchor will vary depending on ones circumstances and priorities.

[@danasmith7171]

Thanks for this. I notice you seem to just drop the anchors down, and everything seems to work fine. I was always told to lower the anchor down as the boat drifts back, so anchor chain and rode are not piled on top of the anchor, so nothing gets fouled. What’s your thoughts? PS: I supported your efforts by PayPal!

[@flygoodwin]

Dana, For these tests, I often simulate worst case scenarios and "haphazard deployment" is one them. I note that during hundreds of filmed deployments, chain frequently piles onto the anchors. With the exception of an anchor using a "rock slot" (Manson Supreme), haphazard deployment has never caused an anchor to not set. Thank you so much for the Paypal hit! Steve

[@stanislaviordachescu4519]

Video e super bravo

[@BenjaHes]

What kind of boat are you using for the test ?

[@flygoodwin]

PANOPE is a Tom Colvin design called Saugeen Witch. Sailing rig and Pilot House are my own design. Interspersed among my numerous anchor test videos are videos depicting PANOPE'S modifaction/rebuild and also some sailing videos.

[@Stoic-of-Rome]

Drug! lol not dragged? So a bag will get bugged not bagged then?

[@fredio54]

'merica! Super common mistake there, but still inexcusable! :-D Pretty sure that there are other variants of that mistake, too, but I can't think of one right now.

[@codprawn]

Do all Yanks say drug instead of dragged? I didn't realise anchors made you high 😀

[@fredio54]

No, not all, but very common... and hyper annoying!