Last night I couldn't sleep and got reading about anchors and thinking about their operation etc. As a result I have about 50 tabs (from ~600 total) open with anchor info/pics. I want to close them. So I'll summarise here...
- Old style anchors suck.
- New style anchors rock.
New style = pointed fluke with fixed shank and roll over bar.
Old style brands:
- CQR < bulk of my experience.
- Bruce < more recent experience
- Danforth < very old school, not used on real boats in my lifetime :-p
New style brands:
- Rocna, original?, kiwi designed, china built (these days).
- Manson, kiwi clone?, kiwi built?
- SARCA, ozzy anchor
- Spade, no roll bar, weight based
- Mantus, yanky? Unprofessional marketing, but design looks best.
I plan to copy the Mantus if they're not really cheap to buy and it's not too expensive to have galvanised once built.
Rocna "4" = 200nzd including chain http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-m ... 861795.htm
"4" = 4kg and fluke of 460cm2 http://www.rocna.com/product-range/sizing-guides/
4.5kg Manson is also 200nzd without chain.
The Mantus is not available on trademe
Another reason to make my own would be to do better than what I can buy. For that, I'd need to understand the problem thoroughly.
Better might mean:
- Balance (ends up the right way up by itself/more often/more easily/more quickly)
- Weight (less of it to carry around in the boat, design is more important)
To address these you need to move this way:
- More weight in tip and to a lesser extent in the fluke
- Less weight in the shank
- Less weight in the roll over bar
So perhaps an aluminium shank bolted to a steel or bronze head could work very well. I could likely get a bronze fluke made up without too much hassle. A big piece of high grade aluminium will be pricey, though. Or perhaps a small piece of thick alloy around where the shank is, and a box section out to a thick eye at the other end. Alloy would suck on a permanently at sea boat, as it'd corrode and become unreliable, but on a trailer boat, this would be nice to have.
Pictures that I have cached, click to enlarge:
Rocna:
Manson:
SARCA:
Spade:
Mantus:
Fred.
