Three years ago we were anchored in Echo Bay and a large SeaRay Sundancer anchored next to us and nude sunbathed on the deck and blasted the Thriller album in its entirety. One of our favorite boating memories.
Loved seeing my favorite stomping grounds. Also explained why my Bruce does so well in the San Juans. Too bad the Ultra Anchor didn’t make it; however, I bet it would have performed like the Mantus M2.
Hey Steve, recently starting watching your videos and it inspired me to make my own anchor following a delta design. Never would have guessed anchors were so interesting. Keep doing your thing Steve!
Watching you feel the mud took me back - Years ago when I was doing geology field work we used to distinguish between mud and silt by tasting the mud - if you could taste grit it was silt :-)! Well done recovering the ghost traps! If Viking could improve their non-performance metrics it would be unbeatable!
Great test. Seems to follow your previous "soft mud" results. Interesting observation on the tip thickness/weighting vs soft mud holding. Rules out surface area being a prime factor. Of course Fortress/Danforth have little tip weight/thickness & do really well in soft mud. Maybe the tapered tip cross sections of the weighted tip allows soft mud to flow/extruded around the tip whereas the flat x-section forms a mud-damn reducing mud flow and thus increasing holding?
I'm doing some anchor shopping, and found your vides. Love them. I have a 24' CC with a small anchor locker, and am looking for something for day use that always grabs right away. I like the Mantus M1, and they have a stainles "quick connect" version (like the dinghy anchor) in 13 lbs. That would fit to be stored when broken down. Have you ever taken a look at the larger quick connect versions?
Very interesting test results.. a "definitive" anchor test may never be possible because of the variety of local conditions. Two general all rounders might be the best approach for long term cruising in a variety of conditions, I.e. danforth and viking/excel/mantus/vulcan. I would have thought Sucia sand/mud more similar to Port Townsend sand/mud. Danforth/Fortress are no longer in your rankings, I realize you tested them previously, but curious how they would stack up against the current bunch. Wonderful work, every new video is an event in my household!
Very interesting results. I was a little surprised to see normally top performers like Vulcan, Excel, Spade anchors underperform so significantly. This raises a big question in my mind which is: would larger versions of Spade, Vulcan, Excel have the same severity of failure such as resetting ability? Any plans to subject larger versions of these anchors to testing in this ground in the foreseeable future, Steve?
Steve: first, thanks for getting those crab traps off the bottom. Nice work and much appreciated. Second, a question: is it your experience that the larger versions of the anchors if used on heavier boats follow the same patterns of performance as the lighter anchors do on your lighter boat? Or is a heavier anchor just a completely different creature than it's smaller sibling and one shouldn't extrapolate the performance characteristics from one to the other?
Does anyone know of a way to purchase a Viking anchor without paying overseas shipping? IE a local dealer, I live in Washington state. Thank you Steve for all the great content. I am heading to the San Juans at the end of August with the family for the first time. This video was perfect timing for us!!
I look forward to seeing some anchor testing in rocky ground gravelly beds with larger rocks, in other words non homogeneous marginal anchorages, to mimic hard coral beds in the pacific or the absence of soft mud and small bights in the inner passage. I would wonder how the anchors line up, and is weight a factor in those circumstances. I would wonder how Bruce anchors, Forjord, and others might rate as they have been anecdotally recommended in those circumstances. These spots also being where it’s easy to lose sleep since the holding power is uncertain, and which anchors grab onto rocks best and veer.
Tom, your timing could not be better as I recently spent a night in just such an anchorage. It was a small, exposed bight on the south side of Lesquetti Island with a seabed that had a very wide variety of materials but mostly dominated by rock ranging from golf ball sized gravel up to wheel barrow sized boulders. We were in cruising mode so I was not able to do "testing", but I did get a camera down in numerous spots around the anchorage and also with the forfjord during it's set. The conditions were fairly blustery out of the NW so we ended up lying to the Forfjord AND a 65 lb Bruce. I slept like the dead. Look for a video in the next week or so.
I have a CQR 35 LB. For a island packet 31. The vessel is 34 feet and displacement is 11000 LB I'm thinking of a 44 or 55 Lb. rocna or Volcan anchor to replace the 35 CQR one thing I really like about the CQR is I can put a retaining pin through the anchor shaft to secure the anchor to my sailboat bow sprit. Any thoughts on what anchor will work best with my sprit will be appreciated.
My new to me 30 foot Mainship pilot could not hold in shallow bay around Sucia island with all chain , just power setting with a 22 lb cqr anchor. I realize now that anchor is small for the boat and am looking to upgrade. The day before you posted this video I purchased a 33 lb Vulcan, (it was on sale at west marine with free pickup at a local store) but don't feel as confident with my purchase after this anchor test you performed in echo bay. What do you think?
Hope I am not intruding on your comment. Vulcan is a top performer in most substrates. Why not buy (if you have the money) a Viking anchor and have the Vulcan as a spare or else choose the anchor to use based on the substrate (mud = Viking) (sand = Vulcan)?
@@MrAthlon4800 Thanks for the reply. Yes I would have gone with the Viking anchor if i could have. My bow is of a closed design and the roll bar would not fit... It limits my anchor choices considerably. I believe all the anchors that did will in mud had a roll bar in SV Panope tests. I may add a emergency Danfoth as a spare. I believe these do well in mud...?
Three years ago we were anchored in Echo Bay and a large SeaRay Sundancer anchored next to us and nude sunbathed on the deck and blasted the Thriller album in its entirety. One of our favorite boating memories.
Loved seeing my favorite stomping grounds. Also explained why my Bruce does so well in the San Juans. Too bad the Ultra Anchor didn’t make it; however, I bet it would have performed like the Mantus M2.
Hey Steve, recently starting watching your videos and it inspired me to make my own anchor following a delta design. Never would have guessed anchors were so interesting. Keep doing your thing Steve!
Watching you feel the mud took me back - Years ago when I was doing geology field work we used to distinguish between mud and silt by tasting the mud - if you could taste grit it was silt :-)! Well done recovering the ghost traps! If Viking could improve their non-performance metrics it would be unbeatable!
Great test. Seems to follow your previous "soft mud" results.
Interesting observation on the tip thickness/weighting vs soft mud holding. Rules out surface area being a prime factor.
Of course Fortress/Danforth have little tip weight/thickness & do really well in soft mud.
Maybe the tapered tip cross sections of the weighted tip allows soft mud to flow/extruded around the tip whereas the flat x-section forms a mud-damn reducing mud flow and thus increasing holding?
What a service for San Juan sailors. Thanks!
I'm doing some anchor shopping, and found your vides. Love them. I have a 24' CC with a small anchor locker, and am looking for something for day use that always grabs right away. I like the Mantus M1, and they have a stainles "quick connect" version (like the dinghy anchor) in 13 lbs. That would fit to be stored when broken down. Have you ever taken a look at the larger quick connect versions?
Very interesting test results.. a "definitive" anchor test may never be possible because of the variety of local conditions. Two general all rounders might be the best approach for long term cruising in a variety of conditions, I.e. danforth and viking/excel/mantus/vulcan. I would have thought Sucia sand/mud more similar to Port Townsend sand/mud. Danforth/Fortress are no longer in your rankings, I realize you tested them previously, but curious how they would stack up against the current bunch. Wonderful work, every new video is an event in my household!
Very interesting results. I was a little surprised to see normally top performers like Vulcan, Excel, Spade anchors underperform so significantly. This raises a big question in my mind which is: would larger versions of Spade, Vulcan, Excel have the same severity of failure such as resetting ability? Any plans to subject larger versions of these anchors to testing in this ground in the foreseeable future, Steve?
Steve: first, thanks for getting those crab traps off the bottom. Nice work and much appreciated. Second, a question: is it your experience that the larger versions of the anchors if used on heavier boats follow the same patterns of performance as the lighter anchors do on your lighter boat? Or is a heavier anchor just a completely different creature than it's smaller sibling and one shouldn't extrapolate the performance characteristics from one to the other?
Does anyone know of a way to purchase a Viking anchor without paying overseas shipping? IE a local dealer, I live in Washington state. Thank you Steve for all the great content. I am heading to the San Juans at the end of August with the family for the first time. This video was perfect timing for us!!
Looking for a flats skiff anchor. In your opinion what anchor would you recommend between Viking or Mantus Small Boat collapsible anchor.
I look forward to seeing some anchor testing in rocky ground gravelly beds with larger rocks, in other words non homogeneous marginal anchorages, to mimic hard coral beds in the pacific or the absence of soft mud and small bights in the inner passage. I would wonder how the anchors line up, and is weight a factor in those circumstances. I would wonder how Bruce anchors, Forjord, and others might rate as they have been anecdotally recommended in those circumstances. These spots also being where it’s easy to lose sleep since the holding power is uncertain, and which anchors grab onto rocks best and veer.
Tom, your timing could not be better as I recently spent a night in just such an anchorage. It was a small, exposed bight on the south side of Lesquetti Island with a seabed that had a very wide variety of materials but mostly dominated by rock ranging from golf ball sized gravel up to wheel barrow sized boulders.
We were in cruising mode so I was not able to do "testing", but I did get a camera down in numerous spots around the anchorage and also with the forfjord during it's set.
The conditions were fairly blustery out of the NW so we ended up lying to the Forfjord AND a 65 lb Bruce. I slept like the dead.
Look for a video in the next week or so.
That’s great. How wonderful. Look forward to seeing that.
I have a CQR 35 LB. For a island packet 31.
The vessel is 34 feet and displacement is 11000 LB I'm thinking of a 44 or 55 Lb. rocna or Volcan anchor to replace the 35 CQR one thing I really like about the CQR is I can put a retaining pin through the anchor shaft to secure the anchor to my sailboat bow sprit. Any thoughts on what anchor will work best with my sprit will be appreciated.
Great vid!
I think a Danforth would have been the best choice at sucia as the bottom is so soft. If you get a chance to check that it would be much appreciated.
Another trip to Sucia is high on my list. I agree, a Danforth will likely do well here. Stay tuned.....
Hello can you test the Australian made lone star marine mmx anchor ⚓️ please
My new to me 30 foot Mainship pilot could not hold in shallow bay around Sucia island with all chain , just power setting with a 22 lb cqr anchor. I realize now that anchor is small for the boat and am looking to upgrade.
The day before you posted this video I purchased a 33 lb Vulcan, (it was on sale at west marine with free pickup at a local store) but don't feel as confident with my purchase after this anchor test you performed in echo bay. What do you think?
Hope I am not intruding on your comment. Vulcan is a top performer in most substrates. Why not buy (if you have the money) a Viking anchor and have the Vulcan as a spare or else choose the anchor to use based on the substrate (mud = Viking) (sand = Vulcan)?
@@MrAthlon4800 Thanks for the reply. Yes I would have gone with the Viking anchor if i could have. My bow is of a closed design and the roll bar would not fit... It limits my anchor choices considerably. I believe all the anchors that did will in mud had a roll bar in SV Panope tests. I may add a emergency Danfoth as a spare. I believe these do well in mud...?
@@johannpcurry Yes, Danforth (or else fortress anchor at the 32 degree angle only - see Steve’s tests) are good alternatives.