Yachting Monthly -Anchor Test Nov09
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ANCHOR TEST BOATS & GEAR TRIED & TESTED Which anchor Anchor design has undergone a revolution recently and bold claims have been made about better holding in a greater variety of seabeds. But how good are they? To find out, Daniel Allisy tested seven new steel designs and two lightweight aluminium ones against two of the most popular and trusted anchors in the world: the CQR and the Britany. The results are remarkable and the lessons learned invaluable

Lewmar Delia: this nciv-qeneration anchor is fined as standard by mam/ boatbuilders, but tends to plough the seahed without digging in deeply ■^^MH trust our yachts to tried-and-tested anchors which been proven over generations. Even then, one anchor drag is enough to shatter your faith and leave you wondering what's actually happening out of sight on the seabed. In this test, we set out to discover exactly what goes on In a previous anchor test, carried out by Voiles et Voiliers that some of Ihe new generation of anchor designs were worthy traditional designs. The test also showed that...

The anchors we tested were all of a similar size, but with a wide variety of shapes and surface area the force on the cable euery figures anyway - not just because they gave us three measurements of anchor holding power, rather than just one, but because our analysis of the results pointed to some interesting findings. We discovered that the anchors fell into two distinct categories: those whose holding power increased when the angle of pull changed, meaning they dug in deeper, and those that couldn't muster as much power straight away when the angle changed. We can at least report which...

Average holding power in hard sand = 1,138kg Holding power in muddy sand = 999kg with Bugels on their how rollers. This anchor's shape looks deceptively simple: a flat, triangular spade welded crowned with a chunky, which also serves as a useful cluttered with copies. We tested a genuine Bugel, supplied by Swiss Tech, which imports galvanised and stainless steel versions, but only the stainless model our test. Its main drawback high price. Don't assume that a cheap, knock-off copy will be anywhere near as good as the real McCoy. Total ttme of cable puff: 3mtns 26s Nsnson SupremeAveraQe...

Our findings show that, complex piece of kit with that the smallest change that a slightly bent fluke (less than a centimetre a major handicap. Leaving aside the folded flukes of the Fortress, bent when they were subjected to an force, and the broken stock Britany and Brake anchors never performed properly after being slightly bent We've shown that very nearly as effective as their steel counterparts more likely to bend out of shape. You'd be unwise only anchor conclusion from this new-generation anchors demonstrably better than their illustrious forebears, with double - even triple -...