journey on
New member
OK, I’ve been bashful in the past about posting my opinion, but now I have FACT.
Last summer we took Journey On over to the Channel Isles and tried to anchor in Frys Harbour. Now, Frys Harbour has a seaweed bottom, in which we had anchored many times with a Danforth anchor. Now we had Journey On which was equipped with a Bruce anchor. The Bruce would not set through the seaweed, we kept dragging and by unanimous request went down to Pelican, were we spent the night. This surprised the heck out of me since the Bruce had set in Desolation Sound, the Great Lakes, etc, etc. So we finally got home and this winter I bought two new anchors: a Manson Supreme ($180) and a West Marine knock off Danforth. The West marine Danforth was to replace the Fortress, which we used as a stern anchor and was too light to set in seaweed. Seaweed is tough to anchor.
On our trip up to the west coast of Vancouver I., I used the Manson, since it represented the new great breed of anchoring technology. But not being completely out of my mind, I threw the Bruce into the back of the truck, since it had provided secure anchoring for the last 3 years.
Our first anchorage was Barkley Sound, in Useless Inlet. Way in the back it was calm as a pond in 20’. We let the anchor down using all 70’ of chain and backed her down using a small amout to throttle. The boat reached the end of the chain and never stopped. We tried a couple of times and finally the bow dipped and we called it a day. No wind, only current out of Fatty Cove, and I’m not making those names up. We never needed to depend on the anchor, because the chain always stayed straight up and down. In several more anchorages, we had about the same result. Finally we found an anchorage where we got a reasonable set, but the anchor growled all night, so I guess it was a rocky bottom. Note that the Manson has a slot or a hole for the rode shackle. My first attempt was in the slot, as it seemed to offer the chance to pull the anchor out if it got stuck or tangled. On succeeding trys I changed it to the hole.
Got back to the truck (160 mile RT by car,) fished out the Bruce, threw the Manson in the back, took the Bruce back to the boat, and we’ve had decent sets since. In truth, the anchorages have been so protected that the anchor wasn’t really tested, but when the boat was backed down, the bow dipped at the end of the line.
Journey On has 200’ of ½’ rope and 70’ of ¼” HST chain, AND a windlass. The windlass was essential in our cruising, since pulling up the anchor to try another set was no harder the pressing a switch and Judy made us try a number of times.
Now, I’m not arguing for one type of anchor or another, but it’s clear all anchors are compromises. The Bruce was designed for the North Sea, to dig into a soft bottom or so I’ve heard, and the Manson was designed to dig in fast and smooth. Apparently in soft bottom its streamlined shape pulls straight through. Again, you suit the anchor to the bottom and not all are universally good. Remember even the famous CQR will plough through sand in a strong wind, as I’ve proved. Anyway, I’ve now got my choice of two anchors depending if I’m anchoring in SoCal or the Pacific Northwest.
I guess the main point is that if you have an anchor that works, keep it.
I also spun the propeller 2 hrs after launch. Now on the spare plastic propeller.
Boris
Last summer we took Journey On over to the Channel Isles and tried to anchor in Frys Harbour. Now, Frys Harbour has a seaweed bottom, in which we had anchored many times with a Danforth anchor. Now we had Journey On which was equipped with a Bruce anchor. The Bruce would not set through the seaweed, we kept dragging and by unanimous request went down to Pelican, were we spent the night. This surprised the heck out of me since the Bruce had set in Desolation Sound, the Great Lakes, etc, etc. So we finally got home and this winter I bought two new anchors: a Manson Supreme ($180) and a West Marine knock off Danforth. The West marine Danforth was to replace the Fortress, which we used as a stern anchor and was too light to set in seaweed. Seaweed is tough to anchor.
On our trip up to the west coast of Vancouver I., I used the Manson, since it represented the new great breed of anchoring technology. But not being completely out of my mind, I threw the Bruce into the back of the truck, since it had provided secure anchoring for the last 3 years.
Our first anchorage was Barkley Sound, in Useless Inlet. Way in the back it was calm as a pond in 20’. We let the anchor down using all 70’ of chain and backed her down using a small amout to throttle. The boat reached the end of the chain and never stopped. We tried a couple of times and finally the bow dipped and we called it a day. No wind, only current out of Fatty Cove, and I’m not making those names up. We never needed to depend on the anchor, because the chain always stayed straight up and down. In several more anchorages, we had about the same result. Finally we found an anchorage where we got a reasonable set, but the anchor growled all night, so I guess it was a rocky bottom. Note that the Manson has a slot or a hole for the rode shackle. My first attempt was in the slot, as it seemed to offer the chance to pull the anchor out if it got stuck or tangled. On succeeding trys I changed it to the hole.
Got back to the truck (160 mile RT by car,) fished out the Bruce, threw the Manson in the back, took the Bruce back to the boat, and we’ve had decent sets since. In truth, the anchorages have been so protected that the anchor wasn’t really tested, but when the boat was backed down, the bow dipped at the end of the line.
Journey On has 200’ of ½’ rope and 70’ of ¼” HST chain, AND a windlass. The windlass was essential in our cruising, since pulling up the anchor to try another set was no harder the pressing a switch and Judy made us try a number of times.
Now, I’m not arguing for one type of anchor or another, but it’s clear all anchors are compromises. The Bruce was designed for the North Sea, to dig into a soft bottom or so I’ve heard, and the Manson was designed to dig in fast and smooth. Apparently in soft bottom its streamlined shape pulls straight through. Again, you suit the anchor to the bottom and not all are universally good. Remember even the famous CQR will plough through sand in a strong wind, as I’ve proved. Anyway, I’ve now got my choice of two anchors depending if I’m anchoring in SoCal or the Pacific Northwest.
I guess the main point is that if you have an anchor that works, keep it.
I also spun the propeller 2 hrs after launch. Now on the spare plastic propeller.
Boris