Supreme Boss 10 lb anchor review

[thataway]

The Boss 10# was ordered to see if it would be a satisfactory anchor for the C Dory 22. The fluke area is slightly more than the Manson Supreme 15# anchor, and about 50% larger than the Delta 14 we are currently using for primary anchor, and the Guardian 7/Fortress 6 Anchors we are using for back up bow anchors and primary stern anchors.

The goal is a lighter anchor to bring up (we do not have a windlass), and with the slot, which moves the attachment point toward the crown of the anchor, we can "trip" the anchor rather than breaking it out, hopefully the sand and mud will fall off as the anchor comes up, thus a lighter load on our backs.

Jay noted that there were some cosmetic issues (and we hope not structural) which we would not expect for this expensive an anchor. (He bought a 25 lb Manson Boss for his C Dory 22.).

The tables provided by Manson show that the 10 # is recommended for 15 to 22 foot boats, so we are at the upper margin for this size anchor. The 25 lb is rated for 25 to 35 foot boats. In comparison the Delta 14 is rated for 21 to 31 foot boats, and the Guardian/Fortress 7 is rated for 28 to 33 foot boats--and the Boss 10 lb has a larger fluke area than either of these two anchors by about 40%. (By direct overlay comparison).

I am not advocating that a steel anchor which weighs 10 lbs is as good as an aluminum design which actually weighs 7 lbs, or the well respected Delta Fast Set. For our "storm anchor" on the C Dory 22, we have an FX 37, left over from a larger boat, and rated for 38 to 51 foot boat or a HT steel anchor of about 50 lbs.

The Boss anchor is made of 800 mpa high tensile steel, which is the same as used in the Manson Supreme, but is not guaranteed against bending! My primary concern is that the weld of the shank to the fluke is the weakest point of the entire system. However, the weld on my anchor seems to be well done.

Here some photos and comments:
First side by side the Manson Boss, next to the Guardian 7, and the Delta 14 on the bow of the boat. The shank of the Boss 10 will fit into the standard roller, almost exactly as this Delta does.


Next some views of the Boss 10 as it would most likely land on the seabed. You can see that it will immediately begin to dig in with either position.



Some details of the Boss: First the Ears, and note that the welding is not a nice perfect seam--probably not structural, but as Jay, I would expect better for an expensive anchor. And the mud or water relief holes:



Now the most controversial part of the Boss: The keeper or "shackle preventer" which prevents the shackle to the rode from sliding down the shank slot to trip the anchor. It is made of a plastic (probably Durilon). I had expected a metal--the bolt is only 1/4"--although this will be in compression, I will feel better with a 1/2" SS bolt in this place--and also using some such as a Nylox, if I am not going to slide the shackle down the shank. Also this requires shackles, as many anchoring systems do.

The second photo is of the plate welded to the bottom. This comes back to the where the shank is welded on--and is plenty thick. I speculate that the plates were welded together, with a smaller plate about 3/8" thick under the base fluke. Then the weld ground to conformity and a taper to both sides and point of the fluke. Finally the anchor was galvanized.



The metal thickness: Shank is just under 1/4" @ 0.247", the bottom plate is 0.167, and the point where the second plate is welded in place is 0.575".

The real "test" will be in a week or so, when we hook up the 140 HP Suzuki on the Caracal, and see how much this anchor moves, and compares to the Delta Fast Set and Guardian 7.

[Chester]

Jay's 25 Boss will look huge on his bow. I've noticed people looking twice at the Boss 15 on Chester. It definitely has more fluke area then the 6 kg Rocna it replaced. BTW I'd consider selling the Rocna to someone local. I'm not interested in shipping it.
I detailed the issue with the galvanizing and getting a replacement for our first one a while back.
If you look at the one piece ears on the flukes Bob's Boss has and images on Bing, Google and the Manson site with two piece ears you will see the running change Manson made.
I think the shackle preventer on the first generation was better.

[thataway]

Chester thanks for the comments:

I am not sure exactly what the difference is in the "Shackle Preventer", although looking at a number of the photos of the "Boss" the shank slot profile has changed. What does your "Shackle preventer" look like?

I already made my own better "Shackle Preventer" out of a 5/16 SS bolt, a standard washer on each side and 2 to 3 lock washers in the middle, which fit exactly in the enlarged "hole" in the shank slot. This is cheap, easy to replace and will stay in place better than the standard "Shackle preventer". I may modify this by machining a 5/16 nut to be round, using locktite to keep it in place, and then a nylox washer on the outside of a second 5/16 standard washer. In any case this will be far stronger than the plastic which comes with the anchor. I will put a little corrosion preventive on the SS, to prevent it from reacting with the galvanizing, but the amount of time we anchor in Salt water, it should not be an electrolysis problem. I suppose that one could go with a galvanized Grade 8 bolt if you really wanted overkill~!

I had not realized that the "ears" had gone thru a number of changes--most likely to make them easier and cheaper to manufacture….It looks as if at one point the "ears" were forged as part of the bottom, then they were in 3 pieces as shown below:





By the way, if you want that shiny Stainless model of the 15# it will cost you
$2769.99, plus shipping and handling..! If you want the 25 # it is $3379.99. You can buy a new 90 hp outboard for the price of the 80# in SS!

[journey on]

Bob, how do you think that anchor will do in mud or soft sand? It has a small cross section in the pulling direction you show. I guess you'll find out when you test it.

Boris

[Chester]

Bob, the preventer on the old Boss was mostly metal, the new one is like the one you received.

[thataway]

Borris, Not sure I understand your question. The surface area of the fluke is larger than the Manson Supreme 15 lb, and considerably larger than the Delta Fast Set Plow.




Above is the Guardian 7 on top of the Boss 10 for comparison. The Guardian 7 is rated for a a 28 to 33 foot boat. The Boss 10 is about 50% more surface area, there is no possibility that a rock will jam between the flukes and shank (a defect of the Danforth type of anchor). The "down angle" of the flukes in the Fortress, Guardian and Danforth is 32 degrees--which is the same angle which the Boss assumes as it penetrates the sea bed (this is common to all of the "shovel" type of anchors: Ronca, Manson Supreme, and Spade etc.) It is also true for the CQR plow and Delta--they roll on the side (except in very sloppy mud), and then penetrate. Although they sit flat on a hard surface, once you pull, they begin to penetrate just as the fluke type anchors--Danforth etc. The Manson Supreme turned out in our last set of tests in mud/sand/shell combos to be the best holding power. (Over Danforth, Fortress, Northill, CQR, Delta, Fast Set, and fisherman). I believe that the Boss will have the same characteristics. The boss should penetrate even further than the Supreme, because there is no "roll bar" to impede the penetration.

I can see your objection, if the anchor were to not roll on its side and begin to set--but since that is what happens, there is a lot of surface area resisting the boat's pull.

A couple of photos of the "improved Shackle Preventer"

[Chester]

Bob, you gonna booger the end of the threads on the new preventer? It looks somewhat like the better (IMO) earlier version.

Here is another way to visualize the Boss.
I don't know how to get the image to post here, help gladly accepted.

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608004697341955434&pid=1.7[img]

The 15 lb Boss has much more fluke area than the 7.5 kg Bruce knock off that came with our boat.
With the Boss having the wing portion of the fluke behind the shank it shouldn't foul as easily as the Bruce pattern.

[journey on]

Bob, One of the questions I have of both the Manson Supreme and now the Boss is how they hold in mud and sand. I use my Manson Supreme in kelp and rock because it penetrates and digs in well due to the point and thin cross-section. I use a Danforth or Bruce in mud and sand, since the flukes are angled down from the stock.

Here's a picture you posted (above) with the comment as to how it would land on the seabed. If you measure the anchor's cross-section area in the direction of pull, it's only a thin rectangle. And that's with the shank level, parallel with the seabed. With a slight upward pull the penetration angle is worse. If the anchor gets buried in mud or loose sand, there's not much cross-sectional area resistance to pulling straight through. The same logic applies to sand.



So, I'd be interested in how it sets under water with a normal pull from you rode. Since the water is really clear in Flordia, how about some pictures as to how it lands and holds.your anchor rode? I would hope it would shoot my argument down. And, BTW, I appreciate the stack of wood supporting a trailer. Looks like my work.

Boris

[hardee]

This will be interesting to see your results. Looks to me like the Boss does not have the same shape as the Ronca, Manson Supreme, in that they had a shape that would add some compression force to the substrate, where this (Boss) looks like it may slice through more easily.

I have done very little anchoring, and when I have the Delta has held well, but it has been for lunch hook stops in relatively shallow water only. No disappointments, Just curious.

Harvey
SleepyC

[thataway]

The point or nose of the Boss, is almost identical in shape with the Manson supreme 15--I compared them side by side in the store. The difference is further back in the fluke design.

[Fortress Anchors]

thataway,

Just a quick note to advise that the Guardian G-7 model is designed for boats 17-22' and the Fortress FX-7 model is for boats 16-27'.

The Guardian G-16 model is the one which is designed for boats 28 - 33'.

Safe anchoring,
Brian Sheehan

Fortress Marine Anchors

[Foggy]

Besides anchor anatomy and how it affects seabed retention,
an important factor, yet mentioned here, is cross sectional area
of the rode attached to the anchor shank.

My understanding is, on the seabed, a thick fat rode (chain or
worse, a thick nylon line) will bury less efficiently than a thin wire.
The rode with greater cross sectional area will lie more on the
surface of the seabed affecting the angle of pull on the anchor shank.
This directly affects anchor retention as a deeper buried rode
allows the anchor to stay in a more desired location whereas a rode
closer to the seabed surface, or worse on the surface of the seabed,
will tend to pull the anchor out as the surface vessel exerts vertical
unseating forces.

As the boat swings, this rode thickness factor is also important in
maintaining a set anchor, or not, as the the forces become lateral
to the anchor shank.

This explains the emergence of new rodes made from wire and high
tech, tough materials (Dyneema et al) thinner than traditional bulky
link chain.

Aye.

[Hunkydory]

Regarding the cosmetic issues noticed with the 25 lb Boss , I recently purchased from Defender during their annual sale. Due to it not having the usual Manson sticker on the shank & touch up paint around the welded on tips of the flukes, I believe this was an anchor that had been previously sold by & then returned to Defender. This combined with the flaking off in spots of the galvanized coating & little if not any grinding to smooth out the area along the welds made for a disappointing first impression of this Manson Boss anchor. I would not have bought it directly from the store like this & didn't just return it due to the hassle of shipping & a trip planned before exchange could be made. The purchase does leave me with a much lessor opinion of Manson anchors & the selling retailer Defender. Photos can be deceiving, but the photo appearance of Bob's 10 lb Boss is what I was expecting to receive with the 25 lb Manson Boss.

I have spent many nights at anchor in the PNW with a large variety of bottom types, using the 22 lb claw type anchor with it overall working well. Other than very soft mud & one time on a rocky bottom no matter how hard the wind blew or the degree of tidal & wind changes it held once set, though at times getting the set could be a real chore with us not having a windless. My main reasons for the purchase of the larger Boss was for quick settings in most bottom types & holding with its large flukes & shape in soft mud, so I'm hoping Boris theory on this is wrong, but no doubt will find out during the next two years with our present cruise plans.

Jay

[Sea Wolf]

[Foggy]

Not my idea.
The fact there's "kinks" in a new concept does
not stop the fact new rodes are being developed.
I'm just a messenger here.

It would only be a given length, as often is chain,
and stretch would be from nylon connected to it.
Abrasion resistance should be no problem.

Aye.