anchor test - search results

The usual advice for anyone seeking all-rope anchor rode is usually to just get some three-strand nylon anchor. The makes sense. Three-strand nylon is inexpensive, wears best, and is easy to splice. But one size, or even one type of rope, does not necessarily fit all situations.

When summer comes, a dozen or more sparkling white lights will adorn every popular anchorage. Visible from miles away, they promise to provide good...

We often get this question. My car has air conditioning when Im running down the street so why can't my boat? First, your car only has air conditioning when the engine is running, which works out fine because we only need air conditioning when the engine is running. Second, the air-conditioning load for the car is a tiny parasitic load compared to the power required to drive the car down the road. Its actually less than the increased drag caused by driving with the windows rolled down. Thus, it is more or less an engineering afterthought with regards to the energy balance of an automobile.

The anchors a sailor chooses to carry onboard are often a compromise between weight and necessity. Since different anchor types are designed to work best in different conditions, it is a good idea to carry several anchors of different designs. So where does a lightweight alloy anchor fit in the hierarchy of cruising anchors? Practical Sailor looked at the weight, performance, design, and price of lightweight, alloy anchors from Spade, Fortress, Manson, and Anchor Right.

Our time spent testing anchors has prompted some important musings; we offer the following thoughts regarding the forces and factors to be considered before purchasing anchors and rodes.

For as long as I can remember, and probably for generations, it has been Chesapeake Bay lore that the longer an anchor soaks the...

If only there was a good standardized 12-volt electrical connector. I’ve never had a boat without multiple connector failures, and most of them involved...

In the process of our ongoing investigation on the effect of time and wind gusts on anchor setting and holding capacity, we performed limited testing at short scope and couldnt help but notice that holding capacity at short scope varied greatly. When recovering the test anchors, some anchors would lift out of the bottom while we were pulling the dinghy over to them, while others required heroic efforts even when the rode was nearly vertical.

Many published anchor tests focus on holding capacity, and most conclude that newer, concave fluke-design anchors such as the Spade, Rocna, and Manson anchors perform better than older, traditional anchors such as the plow-design CQR, claw anchors like the Bruce, and Danforth-style anchors such as the Fortress. But how useful is this data? Rather than just testing anchors to specific, fixed loads, PSs recent evaluation raises questions about the various wind-induced loads placed on anchors in real-life situations and how future anchor tests should be carried out.

In tough testing conditions, and considered by weight, the aluminum Fortress and galvanized West Marine Performance² do well, along with the Spade Model 80 and the Bulwagga.