Anchor Rehash -- New Anchor – Vulcan

[NORO LIM]

I think you will love that anchor. I don't think the removal of the roll-bar will compromise the performance of the Rocna. Twelve years ago I was in the market for an anchor and seriously considered the Rocna. I was a little concerned about the roll-bar possibly obscuring vision or increasing fowling/snagging chances. I think both worries were probably unfounded, but I discovered the French Spade anchor and decided on it. I was a really good anchor. It launched easily, never dinged the bow, and I slept well at anchor. I used it all over Puget Sound and up and down the Inside Passage. I never got my back-up Fortress out of stowage. As you can see, the Vulcan is very much like the Spade.


FRENCH SPADE ANCHOR:

ROCNA VULCAN ANCHOR:

 

[localboy]

My brother has a Spade on his 36' sailboat. He loves it. I was always a little concerned about the Delta, especially it's weight. With the 50' of chain we have this should more than suffice. 8)

 

[hardee]

I swithed anchors a couple years back, from a Delta plow, to a Rockna (Rainbow _my term), and have been a happy camper ever since. Originally the plan was to go to the Vulcan, but it just came too close to the gel coat. So Fisheries allowed the return, and I went anchoring. The shank curve in the Vulcan was it's undoi g for me.

The physics of the spade vs the plow just makes sense any way you look at it.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[localboy]

We have used the anchor only once, so far. Two observations: the first drop set...and I mean SET. The boat came to a sudden & abrupt halt. When retrieving it the windlass actually bogged down and stopped. I'm surprised the breaker didn't trip, honestly. It was covered in good, blackish gray mud too. Like a spoon fool of chocolate cake batter.

 

[Chester]

I swithed anchors a couple years back, from a Delta plow, to a Rockna (Rainbow _my term), and have been a happy camper ever since. Originally the plan was to go to the Vulcan, but it just came too close to the gel coat. So Fisheries allowed the return, and I went anchoring. The shank curve in the Vulcan was it's undoi g for me.

The physics of the spade vs the plow just makes sense any way you look at it.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

Harvey, which size Vulcan did you try?

Steve

 

[hardee]

I swithed anchors a couple years back, from a Delta plow, to a Rockna (Rainbow _my term), and have been a happy camper ever since. Originally the plan was to go to the Vulcan, but it just came too close to the gel coat. So Fisheries allowed the return, and I went anchoring. The shank curve in the Vulcan was it's undoi g for me.

The physics of the spade vs the plow just makes sense any way you look at it.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

Harvey, which size Vulcan did you try?

Steve

Steve, I honestly don't remeber for sure. I believe it was the Vulcan 9, which is 20 pounds, and fair oversize, but for ground tackle I aim for stout. I also thought it had a bit longer shank so it might fit better. It was just too close for my comfort, but I'm sure it would hold the boat.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[alainP]

I am very happy with the Vulcan 9 (20lb) fits nicely on the roller and sets fast. Great anchor.
The only thing i need to be cautious about is to slow down with the windlass remote as the anchor comes close to the roller or it might swing widely as it lines itself up.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

The only thing i need to be cautious about is to slow down with the windlass remote as the anchor comes close to the roller or it might swing widely as it lines itself up.

Something that might be helpful is a special colored marker on the anchor rode that indicates when the anchor is one or two feet below the surface. It is a good place to stop anyway and let the anchor soak off the mud, or to raise and lower a few times to get rid of eelgrass and kelp. Because my "windlass" is manual, I tend to just leave the anchor a foot below the surface and idle around the anchorage to wash it off before pulling it on to the roller.

Mark

 

[hardee]

The only thing i need to be cautious about is to slow down with the windlass remote as the anchor comes close to the roller or it might swing widely as it lines itself up.

Something that might be helpful is a special colored marker on the anchor rode that indicates when the anchor is one or two feet below the surface. It is a good place to stop anyway and let the anchor soak off the mud, or to raise and lower a few times to get rid of eelgrass and kelp. Because my "windlass" is manual, I tend to just leave the anchor a foot below the surface and idle around the anchorage to wash it off before pulling it on to the roller.

Mark

Washing the anchor. I do that. Bring it all the way up, take a look, if it needs re-dunking, drop it (to my 5 ft mark), and back away from the spot, idle for a 100 feet or so. If that doesn't do the trick, a couple of bumps on the throttle when in reverse make it look all shinny and new again.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[localboy]

I have a neon yellow zip-tie that is the point where the anchor is just below the surface. I see it, I stop the windlass and let things settle.

 

[Peter & Judy]

I put red spray paint, about a 2 foot length, on my anchor chain. As I am raising the anchor I know to stop when I see the red painted chain. The anchor is then still below the waters surface. I can then clean the anchor and raise it slowly to avoid damage to the boat.

 

[Pacificcoast101]

We use our boat for scuba diving, so we anchor twice every time we take the boat out. I drop the hook in sand along the edge of reefs and wrecks. My Bruce copy is perfect for that type of holding. I also replaced the rode I had used forever with all chain. Not only does the anchor never move but it makes it much easier to descend and ascend from a dive when the boat is nearly overhead.
If the windlass ever failed I could go back down and clip a liftbag to the anchor, making it easy to haul in by hand. I used to do that on my last boat without a windlass.
We use a different color set of plastic chain markers every five fathoms so I always know how much chain to play out and how close I am to retrieving the anchor.

 

[hardee]

Phil, Nice tip on the chain markers. Looks like they would go through the windlass ok. Do they?

This is the first time I have seen them mentioned here on the site. Where do you find them, [besides Amazon], if possible?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[thataway]

Where did you find the plastic link markers in 1/4" G4 caliper? All I found were 5/16" on up. We have been using both paint on the chain, and also colored zip ties on both the chain and rope rode.