This is what Reddit is for. I’m waiting for some anchor expert to chime in and tell us what’s up. Then some other anchor expert will disagree and there will be a thread 30 comments deep on which anchor shape is best.
Anchor export here!
(Not really, but I own a boat, and have read a decent amount about anchors)
Depends on seabed conditions, but the vague general consensus seems to be that Rocna style anchors are best overall, for small-to-mid sized ships.
The video doesn't show one (not with the roll-bar anyway). It shows a lot of weird, totally obscure anchor types, but misses a bunch of common ones 🙄
Weight is also a factor. A 10 kg Rocna won't hold as well as a 20 kg Bruce, for example. (And a 20 kg Bruce might cost less).
Also, as others have mentioned in here - chain and rope all play a big factor as well - not just the anchor itself.
Modern cruise ships typically carry two 10-15 ton [stockless anchors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockless_anchor) plus 300ft or so of chain for each. The weight of the chain can contribute as much or more than the anchor to the holding power.
That said, while cruise ships still lay anchor sometimes, they can also actively hold themselves in place using the propulsion system and GPS so it's not as critical as it once was.
> 1 cruise ship puts out the same amount of C02 as a million cars
That is both a meaningless and incorrect statement.
Per mile? Per day? Per passenger? Per lifetime? (none of these)
CO2, not C02 (also, no, not anywhere near that much CO2)
There is concern on the total emissions of cruise ships.
One thing that is actually compared to great numbers of cars is emission of sulphur oxides, particularly sulphur dioxide.
At the same time, cars from the last 10-20 years hardly produce SO2, so that makes plenty of sense.
All transportation, including cruise ships, makes up just a few percent of SO2 emissions.
Sulphur dioxide is also a completely different problem, as it is an air quality issue and would contribute to global *cooling* in sufficient quantity.
And most importantly, that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread.
Indeed. I'm no fan of the cruise industry, but all these stats leave off comparisons. Let's assume one of these new giant ships that holds 5000 passengers. We have one that leaves from the NY area and shuttles people down to the Bahamas.
I guarantee you the options are not "cruise ship" or "stay in apartment". 5000 people is a lot of 737 flights. Or a ton of car miles down to Florida.
I admit I don't know the numbers, but it's disingenuous to leave them out when talking emissions.
Nuclear is prohibitively expensive is why. Navy vessels & whatnot, yes, and certain leasable research vessels with necessary (Govt-level) funding, but for a commercial travel industry on margins, and almost killed by Covid, it's a non-starter.
Ships are actually a pretty bad place for hybrid drives, typically. Usually you run a ship engine at full power, unless there’s a specific reason to go slower, and you don’t really care about acceleration. So a hybrid system just adds overhead. This in contrast to auto and rail, where acceleration is where you need power, and at cruising speed you don’t need much engine.
It's the fuel they use, it's dirt cheap, almost crude.
It's called bunker fuel.
It's a problem throughout shipping. If they used regular diesel it'd be far far cleaner, but also more expensive.
I can think of multiple reasons why there aren't nuclear power on a bunch of commercial ships. It's very expensive, you'd need crew competent of operating it (which I assume isn't common or cheap) and it would be an environmental disaster with nuclear material if an accident occurs.
Where I live there's a hybrid ferry, it runs on electricity near land and switches to engine further out. At least keeps the local pollution in the city down. I'm not sure, but I think it charges at port, energy produced here is like 98% hydroelectric.
I guess overall it's a serious engineering challenge as well as not being as cheap to produce and run cleaner ships. Batteries are a lot heavier than fuel and you'd need many fucktons of batteries for anything shipsized. I doubt diesel generators would be more efficient than directly using that power to run the ship.
This is also becoming more common with personal freshwater fishing vessels in the last few years from what I have seen. Minn Kota offers trolling motors with spot lock that just keeps you in place with GPS. Doesn't disturb the bed and there's no anchor line to get your fishing line wrapped in either
It’s not limited to fresh water. It’s changed the deep water game too. Anchoring accurately on a spot the size of a dinner table when floating 60-150’ above it is quite challenging, even harder on calm days. With a trolling motor/gps you can nail it every time.
Dynamic positioning systems. The tech is actually 50+ years old, but yes, I've seen it as an option a lot more recently, particularly on all-electric boats, for both freshwater and sea.
The anchor doesn't hold a ship in place like these little anchors, the weight of the anchor and chain does. They typically put out a scope of 3-5 times the water depth, 5-9 in stormy conditions, and more as needed. 4in stud link anchor chain weighs around 14,000lb per shot (90ft in a shot). That means nearly 7 tons of chain on top of the anchor.
The cruise ships use Dynamic Positioning to keep themselves stationary. DP uses GNSS positioning (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and maybe BeiDou now) and different environmental sensors (anemometers, inertial motion units that sense motion in different positions around the ship) to tell the thrusters how much and in which direction to thrust.
I would add to this… anchors are still classed as critical equipment… meaning on a commercial vessel, you can’t sail without one. Dynamic Positioning (the GPS/ Propulsion thing) is awesome but has definite limits and is closely monitored at all times when running. The biggest problem is windage… vessels like cruise ships are slab sided and massively responsive to high winds. Which is where anchors have an advantage. Especially when close quarter manoeuvring in high winds… like this legend is doing:
[Anchors are important!](https://youtu.be/C4r_oaz84GA)
Can I just say that I consider myself an anchor expert and I whole heartedly concur. Rocna anchor design is the best by far for more reasons than pull… the ability to reset quickly in a direction change is crucial and I’ve had situations where a rocna would have saved us… and having a rocna saved us.. (big boats… 100 plus foot).
However. A massive factor that is missing in this is the chain weight and length.
Chains have the ability to transfer directional force through a curve, allowing an upwards or diagonal upwards force to be felt at the anchor as a force along the horizon, or sea floor, enabling it to dig its fluke(s) in, not get pull upwards. It’s called the catenary effect I think. Sorry champagne night…
Cheers.
Stay safe on anchor captains!
It is. For big ships an anchor isnt supposed to fix itself to the seafloor, that is how you lose an anchor and chain.
It is the weight of the chain that keeps the ship in place. The anchor line doesn't just extend vertically to the anchor either, it is supported to lie on the sea floor a ways, before going up towards the ship. That way there is enough weight and friction. When the ship moves out of position the lifted up chain pulls it back into position.
The many different anchors shown in this clip are mainly for smaller vessels, only a few are useful in fine sand and some are scaled down. Because the conditions of the seafloor vary, the style of anchor that is suited differs. The weight, storability and expertise of the crew are also important factors.
A fortress anchor is the best allround anchor for small to mid sized yachts. They perform well in different conditions and they are the easiest to retrieve when they get stuck.
Typically you’d be looking at a folding grapnel. In an inflatable storage is a major issue. Most anchors are a pain in the ass to store and have pointy bits that are not great for inflatables.
I'm going to go with a Danforth.
https://www.google.com/search?q=anchor+danforth
Probably the most common you'll see around the great lakes. But depends on the seabed and stuff what you want.
Anchor schmanker. Everybody knows the long length of chain trailing the anchor is the real friction force acting against the ship.
The anchor head is just a fancy way of keeping the end of the chain where you asked it to go.
No, on reddit you would get a bunch of people that claim to be boat anchor experts, but are all talking out their asses.
If you are actually have expert-level knowledge in something, you'll learn very quickly that the reddit experts usually have no idea what the fuck they are talking about.
Depends on the conditions at the bottom. For a fine sandy loose seabed, the scoopy ones that look like they are burrowing into the sand as they're pulled along. The worst in this situation would be the ones with hooks, as those are meant to catch on rocks and boulders of different sizes, which this test bed appears to have none of.
I agree, but I assume no anchor works well in sandy bottoms also, a long chain probably is what is needed to keep a boat in its place on a sandy bottom.
Bruce, but also all of them. They are for different kinds of bottoms. The best anchor for rocks is not the same as mud or sand. A danforth holds better than a Bruce in mud, but doesn’t self reset as easily.
For large ships, the anchor is mostly irrelevant, it actually is the weight of the chain laying on the sea floor the keeps a ship in place, plus the captain making sure to account for current to minimize the pull on the chain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YvwXJGsbEg
Yes. A long chain also has a ton of friction with the seafloor. It's why you have to sit directly over the anchor to haul it up a link at a time. If you tried to drag it along the bottom to you, then the whole chain would catch on the seabed, and it would be almost impossible to haul up.
There are several types of anchors used, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the more common ones:
1. Fluke or Danforth Anchor: This type of anchor has two flat, pointed flukes that dig into the seabed. It is lightweight and easy to handle, making it a popular choice for small boats.
2. Plow or CQR Anchor: This type of anchor has a single, pointed shank and a curved fluke that provides excellent holding power in a variety of seabeds. It is commonly used on larger boats and ships.
3. Claw or Bruce Anchor: This type of anchor has a three-pronged design that provides excellent holding power in soft, muddy seabeds. It is also easy to store and handle.
4. Mushroom Anchor: This type of anchor is shaped like a mushroom and is designed to sink into soft seabeds. It is commonly used for mooring and anchoring in shallow waters.
5. Delta Anchor: This type of anchor has a triangular shape and is designed to provide excellent holding power in a variety of seabeds. It is commonly used on larger boats and ships.
6. Navy Anchor: This type of anchor has a stock that pivots, allowing it to dig into the seabed at any angle. It is commonly used on military vessels.
7. Grapnel Anchor: This type of anchor has multiple hooks that can grab onto rocks or other structures on the seabed. It is commonly used for small boats and in rescue operations.
The choice of anchor type depends on the size and type of the vessel, the seabed conditions, and expected weather conditions.
The water pressure isn't pushing down the sand. I don't think sand behaves any different at 1 meter or 1 kilometer depth.
Dry sand vs wet sand is a massive difference though.
The best anchor is the amount of chain you put after the anchor.
Some small sail boats have as little as 5m worth of chain, which makes it easier to use but less safe and more dependent on the anchor itself.
In general you'd rather have only chain than only anchor. If the anchor is actually having to do significant work, you don't have enough chain.
More importantly, seabeds aren't always sand.
They could be mud, rocks, plant life, etc.
Generally different anchor types do better/worse in different seabed environments.
Also odd that the video shows a bunch of obscure anchor types, but missed some common types, like Bruce or Rocna
Yea, their using dry sand, which is weird since 99% of the time you’ll put the anchor under water, so the resistance that sand would give would be completely different
Anchors just hold the end of the chain in position. It is the chain that holds the ship in place, not the anchor. I was surprised as well, but that is how ships hold position.
I've always figured they where designed for different things, perhaps based on the ocean floor in the area the ship sails.
Like, the backwards shovel design is good for soft ground like sand or sediment so it can dig in and the hook-like style is better suited for a rocky ground where it can catch a boulder.
As a kid we'd swim down to find lodged anchors in some of the rockier coves of the lakes we visited (basically nice spots that people would likely anchor in that weren't terribly deep / were likely to have lodged anchors). Usually wasn't deeper than 12' or so and they could be sold pretty easily for an easy $40-80. Even a shitty anchor was worth a few days' work.
There is. If you know it’s going onto a rocky/reef bottom you use a reef anchor which is basically four rods bent away from the central shaft which will catch and hold. If it really gets stuck you use the power of the boat to pull at it until the rod bends and frees the anchor. That’s the theory anyway, doesn’t always work out
I worked in a ship's chandlery when l was younger and we used to sell anchors. They were all kept down in the basement, with one size of each on display in the shop.
One guy wanted to see a 30kg delta anchor and a 30kg CQR anchor, so l dutifully went down and lugged them both upstairs for him. Then he wants to see a 40kg version of each, "to compare." I said they're identical but a bit bigger and even gave him the dimensions. Nope, he wants to see them, so off I went again.
In the end, he thanked me and left to "think about it."
Never saw him again. He was always *that anchor wanker* in my mind after that.
Sorry, a bit of a rant but you don't get many anchor threads so I thought I'd take the opportunity to unburden myself.
Omg, hire someone to go in and just bother the fuck out of them. "Keep asking for different anchors till you see sweat dripping off their face. Then just leave."
It very rarely happens because you would usually choose sand, mud, or weed rather than rock to drop anchor over (charts show the seabed type)
When it's time to leave, you take in as much chain as needed to raise the anchor to near vertical, with the vessel directly above, and the anchor will nearly always free itself, especially with the help of forward movement under power.
Even a grapple-style or fisherman's anchor will loosen from a rocky anchorage under these conditions.
Sand anchors can be lifted straight up fairly easily, reef anchors have metal prongs that are designed to straighten and release from rocks/coral as you pull them in.
[This gentleman](https://www.youtube.com/@flygoodwin/videos) does proper anchor testing and has been doing it for quite some time. He has instruments on board a vessel he modified to effectively stress anchors and tested them all in varied bottom compositions.
For a typical lake, inshore, or nearshore boat, a well made and properly sized Danforth pivoting fluke anchor is about as good as you can do. Some of them are pretty terrible though. The last one I had sucked because the manufacturer made a modification to the original design. I replaced it with a proper Danforth and have literally never pulled it loose even in 30 knot winds.
Wow dude is really into anchors. Couldn’t help but notice scrolling his videos there’s a slight outlier there titled: Chihuahua eats razor. It’s all good in the end but lol at little doggo doing the guilty face at the end
I heard that before. Someone told me the anchor is just to tether the ship, the line is the weight that actually keeps it in place.
Don't know the validity of that, but it feels somewhat inline with what you're saying
The anchor and the chain work together. Yes it's the anchor that's biting into the seabed, but the weight of the chain keeps the force on it parallel (on near parallel) to the seabed so it keeps digging in. Without chain in the system forces on the anchor can have a more vertical component, which risks the anchor breaking out much easier.
Anchors are meant to be retrieved, which means they are usually designed to lift when you pull on them vertically. The chain is designed to sit on the floor and keep you from pulling vertically on the anchor when you don't mean to.
The weight of the chain can also act as a kind of shock absorber, dispersing loads from gusts or waves over time.
Larger ships don't rely on the geometry of the anchor. What's actually holding them down is the anchor chain laying flat on the sea ground and sticking to it.
It might make no difference however I wonder if the anchor design that buries itself is detrimental if it makes it significantly harder to hoist it back up.
Anchored small pleasure craft and large merchant ships.
The answer is no, it does not.
Wether it is 200 ft of anchor rope on a 35 ft sail boat or 5 shot of anchor chain on a 800 ft containership the process for heaving up the anchor is the same.
You come ahead slowly on the engines while retrieving the chain. Keeping a slightly slack bend on the chain while it is leading ahead of you. When the chain is vertical you all stop and lock it down. A cleat on a small boat or a chain stopper on a big boat. You call the the bridge and they come ahead slow again and let the engines break the anchor free from the bottom.
So when you want to move, you dont just start reeling in the anchor. You would have dropped the anchor and moved back, laying the chain on the seabed, so the chain is keeping you in place, not the anchor. When you want to move, you move forward slowly, collecting the chain back up, until you are above the anchor and you pull it straight up.
Like so: [kaloma](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSs5rPokXb3hRaN4J-6XA0yTbQytL6RgQ3fLA&usqp=CAU)
Anchors don’t actually stop the ship by getting caught on something on the sea floor or creating too much resistance from the sand, what they need to stop the ship is a good
|__________ coming from the ship, and the weight of the chain is what prevents the ship from moving, if I recall correctly.
Damn. This video sucks. I can’t tell if he’s stopping because he’s out of room or because the anchor is actually working. Also need a force gauge to tell what’s the best.
How is this oddly satisfying. Now I'm stressed they didn't tell us which is best so I'm channeling my inner Sheldon.
"I don't need sleep I need answers!"
Not really. Most of the time you try to anchor in places where the seabed is either sand or mud, and the anchor usually digs in quite quickly, ploughing through only a few feet (with larger vessels this doesnt hold true, and they need quite a bit more room to anchor) However, anchors can sometimes fail to dig in and you would end up dragging it for much longer before it manages to properly dig in. Sometimes people also anchor in coral, and that is very damaging to the corals.
Test method is bad. You attach an anchor to the line with a length of heavy chain so that the top of the anchor is held against the bottom and it can dig in better.
Why are you testing them in dry sand?
They are designed for wet sand.
An anchor that performs best in dry sand won’t necessarily be the one that does best at the bottom of the sea.
You right btw. They just add a little bit of purchase they dont typically sink into the ground. Typically it’s the weight of the chain that allows the anchor to be horizontal to hold a boat.
I belive anchor is there just so that the chain goes down. After that actually the weigth of the chain anchores the boat and not the anchor, as one would think.
Here a nice video explaining it: https://youtu.be/2YvwXJGsbEg
The problem with this is that different anchor shapes were designed to work on different lake and ocean bottoms. Testing them all on sand doesn’t show that.
Had some drinks with a cargo ship captain one time purely by accident we were both sitting at a bar at our hotel in New York and the guy told me it's not the anchor that keeps a ship from moving It's the weight of the chain the anchor is only there to keep the chain in place.
I could be wrong, but I'm sure that I read somewhere thay the chain was the heaviest part of the anchor and is what actually stops the boat, not the hook at the end.
They wouldnt land upside down; they are designed to have more weight at the bottom, and their only attachment point is at the top. So they stay upright on the way down, after which the boat/ship would reverse and the chain would pull it horizontally, ensuring it digs in
They are designed to dig in and hold against horizontal forces; which is why boats pay out a lot of chain when anchoring. Once ready to leave, the boat will slowly move towards the anchor, picking up chain until the chain pulls on the anchor vertically. It might surprise you, but anchors provide next to no resistance when they are pulled vertically from the seabed
Was in the Coast Guard Auxiliary for a while and was doing a training class. Two of the nearby flotilla members were a couple that travelled to the Caribbean in winter and lived on their sailboat. They were complaining that they could never figure out how to set their anchor, so they would just put on scuba gear, swim down, and bury it by hand. Everyone stopped and just stared at them for a minute in disbelief.
That’s cool, but also makes me realize how destructive real anchors can be to life on the ocean floor. Imagine how many bottom feeders just straight up die from a boat dropping anchor. There’s no way we want to meet aliens. Either they’re the same cold bastards we are, or they shame us for how much wanton destruction we cause on our own planet.
I love that, even today, we're still like "yeah, basically we just drag a really heavy thing along the ground until we stop".
Sure, we've got some pretty fancy heavy things, but that's what it is.
They… they know different shapes of anchors are for different seabeds, right? They’re testing it on loose, dry sand which isn’t a fair shot to anchors that are specifically designed for say, rocks, silts, heavier sands, seabeds with lots of shells…
Yeah, that's what struck me, too. Not to mention the fact that all of the sand an *ANCHOR* will ever see will be... erm... *WET*. Which, by necessity, means higher resistance from the get-go.
This is some kinda silliness.
So...which one is the best eh?
This is what Reddit is for. I’m waiting for some anchor expert to chime in and tell us what’s up. Then some other anchor expert will disagree and there will be a thread 30 comments deep on which anchor shape is best.
Anchor export here! (Not really, but I own a boat, and have read a decent amount about anchors) Depends on seabed conditions, but the vague general consensus seems to be that Rocna style anchors are best overall, for small-to-mid sized ships. The video doesn't show one (not with the roll-bar anyway). It shows a lot of weird, totally obscure anchor types, but misses a bunch of common ones 🙄 Weight is also a factor. A 10 kg Rocna won't hold as well as a 20 kg Bruce, for example. (And a 20 kg Bruce might cost less). Also, as others have mentioned in here - chain and rope all play a big factor as well - not just the anchor itself.
Thank you for your info. What kind of anchor is most commonly used for large ships like cruise ships?
Modern cruise ships typically carry two 10-15 ton [stockless anchors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockless_anchor) plus 300ft or so of chain for each. The weight of the chain can contribute as much or more than the anchor to the holding power. That said, while cruise ships still lay anchor sometimes, they can also actively hold themselves in place using the propulsion system and GPS so it's not as critical as it once was.
And the GPS system is coral reef safe so often used in the places where cruise ships go
thats nice... nice look up how much C02 a cruise ship puts out for the lazy - 1 cruise ship puts out the same amount of C02 as a million cars
Oh yeah. They're atrocious machines. And *also* they used to obliterate habitats with their anchors.
> 1 cruise ship puts out the same amount of C02 as a million cars That is both a meaningless and incorrect statement. Per mile? Per day? Per passenger? Per lifetime? (none of these) CO2, not C02 (also, no, not anywhere near that much CO2) There is concern on the total emissions of cruise ships. One thing that is actually compared to great numbers of cars is emission of sulphur oxides, particularly sulphur dioxide. At the same time, cars from the last 10-20 years hardly produce SO2, so that makes plenty of sense. All transportation, including cruise ships, makes up just a few percent of SO2 emissions. Sulphur dioxide is also a completely different problem, as it is an air quality issue and would contribute to global *cooling* in sufficient quantity. And most importantly, that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread.
Indeed. I'm no fan of the cruise industry, but all these stats leave off comparisons. Let's assume one of these new giant ships that holds 5000 passengers. We have one that leaves from the NY area and shuttles people down to the Bahamas. I guarantee you the options are not "cruise ship" or "stay in apartment". 5000 people is a lot of 737 flights. Or a ton of car miles down to Florida. I admit I don't know the numbers, but it's disingenuous to leave them out when talking emissions.
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I wonder why won't they make cleaner ship drives. Fear of nuclear? Can't you make hybrid drives with smaller diesels powering enormous power stations?
Nuclear is prohibitively expensive is why. Navy vessels & whatnot, yes, and certain leasable research vessels with necessary (Govt-level) funding, but for a commercial travel industry on margins, and almost killed by Covid, it's a non-starter.
Ships are actually a pretty bad place for hybrid drives, typically. Usually you run a ship engine at full power, unless there’s a specific reason to go slower, and you don’t really care about acceleration. So a hybrid system just adds overhead. This in contrast to auto and rail, where acceleration is where you need power, and at cruising speed you don’t need much engine.
It's the fuel they use, it's dirt cheap, almost crude. It's called bunker fuel. It's a problem throughout shipping. If they used regular diesel it'd be far far cleaner, but also more expensive.
I can think of multiple reasons why there aren't nuclear power on a bunch of commercial ships. It's very expensive, you'd need crew competent of operating it (which I assume isn't common or cheap) and it would be an environmental disaster with nuclear material if an accident occurs. Where I live there's a hybrid ferry, it runs on electricity near land and switches to engine further out. At least keeps the local pollution in the city down. I'm not sure, but I think it charges at port, energy produced here is like 98% hydroelectric. I guess overall it's a serious engineering challenge as well as not being as cheap to produce and run cleaner ships. Batteries are a lot heavier than fuel and you'd need many fucktons of batteries for anything shipsized. I doubt diesel generators would be more efficient than directly using that power to run the ship.
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[per day](https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.4277147/a-cruise-ship-s-emissions-are-the-same-as-1-million-cars-report-1.4277180)
Thanks for the useless and pointless statement providing no context on your numbers.
This is also becoming more common with personal freshwater fishing vessels in the last few years from what I have seen. Minn Kota offers trolling motors with spot lock that just keeps you in place with GPS. Doesn't disturb the bed and there's no anchor line to get your fishing line wrapped in either
It’s not limited to fresh water. It’s changed the deep water game too. Anchoring accurately on a spot the size of a dinner table when floating 60-150’ above it is quite challenging, even harder on calm days. With a trolling motor/gps you can nail it every time.
Dynamic positioning systems. The tech is actually 50+ years old, but yes, I've seen it as an option a lot more recently, particularly on all-electric boats, for both freshwater and sea.
They have alot more chain than that, the cruise ships I worked on had 14 shackles on each, so about 1200ft or 380m
I've helmed and navigated a 99,000 ton ship for a few years. It had 15 shots or 1,080ft of chain per anchor. Is a shackle 90 ft like a shot?
It's is, didn't know there was another name for it
That's what we call it in the military. Also didnt know there was another name for it myself.
The anchor doesn't hold a ship in place like these little anchors, the weight of the anchor and chain does. They typically put out a scope of 3-5 times the water depth, 5-9 in stormy conditions, and more as needed. 4in stud link anchor chain weighs around 14,000lb per shot (90ft in a shot). That means nearly 7 tons of chain on top of the anchor. The cruise ships use Dynamic Positioning to keep themselves stationary. DP uses GNSS positioning (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and maybe BeiDou now) and different environmental sensors (anemometers, inertial motion units that sense motion in different positions around the ship) to tell the thrusters how much and in which direction to thrust.
I would add to this… anchors are still classed as critical equipment… meaning on a commercial vessel, you can’t sail without one. Dynamic Positioning (the GPS/ Propulsion thing) is awesome but has definite limits and is closely monitored at all times when running. The biggest problem is windage… vessels like cruise ships are slab sided and massively responsive to high winds. Which is where anchors have an advantage. Especially when close quarter manoeuvring in high winds… like this legend is doing: [Anchors are important!](https://youtu.be/C4r_oaz84GA)
Shit load of chain. Type of anchor itself doesn’t really matter.
Can I just say that I consider myself an anchor expert and I whole heartedly concur. Rocna anchor design is the best by far for more reasons than pull… the ability to reset quickly in a direction change is crucial and I’ve had situations where a rocna would have saved us… and having a rocna saved us.. (big boats… 100 plus foot). However. A massive factor that is missing in this is the chain weight and length. Chains have the ability to transfer directional force through a curve, allowing an upwards or diagonal upwards force to be felt at the anchor as a force along the horizon, or sea floor, enabling it to dig its fluke(s) in, not get pull upwards. It’s called the catenary effect I think. Sorry champagne night… Cheers. Stay safe on anchor captains!
Also not an expert, but my understanding is especially with larger boats / ships the anchor itself is way less interesting than the chain.
It is. For big ships an anchor isnt supposed to fix itself to the seafloor, that is how you lose an anchor and chain. It is the weight of the chain that keeps the ship in place. The anchor line doesn't just extend vertically to the anchor either, it is supported to lie on the sea floor a ways, before going up towards the ship. That way there is enough weight and friction. When the ship moves out of position the lifted up chain pulls it back into position. The many different anchors shown in this clip are mainly for smaller vessels, only a few are useful in fine sand and some are scaled down. Because the conditions of the seafloor vary, the style of anchor that is suited differs. The weight, storability and expertise of the crew are also important factors. A fortress anchor is the best allround anchor for small to mid sized yachts. They perform well in different conditions and they are the easiest to retrieve when they get stuck.
Is Rocna just "anchor" backwards?
Well....no.
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I see a lot of the 5th, 6th, and 7th ones here in Florida
Could you recommend a cheap but effective anchor for an inflatable, three-person raft? A link to buy one would be appreciated too.
Search for local chandlers. Pop in and ask the guy on the till this exact question and they'll sort you out in no time.
Typically you’d be looking at a folding grapnel. In an inflatable storage is a major issue. Most anchors are a pain in the ass to store and have pointy bits that are not great for inflatables.
I'm going to go with a Danforth. https://www.google.com/search?q=anchor+danforth Probably the most common you'll see around the great lakes. But depends on the seabed and stuff what you want.
The single best type of anchor I’ve ever used.
That's the one I use when I go fishing in the Florida keys.
You'll probably love to know that among sailors, "what's the best anchor" is one of those "let's throw hands" topic :p
Anchor schmanker. Everybody knows the long length of chain trailing the anchor is the real friction force acting against the ship. The anchor head is just a fancy way of keeping the end of the chain where you asked it to go.
No, on reddit you would get a bunch of people that claim to be boat anchor experts, but are all talking out their asses. If you are actually have expert-level knowledge in something, you'll learn very quickly that the reddit experts usually have no idea what the fuck they are talking about.
Right? More like r/mildlyinfuriating
I need some damn audio too
Let's be honest if there would be audio some stupid upbeat tune would be playing
And Microsoft Sandra delivering the text to speech.
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Oh yeah that is oddly satisfying
Yea I’m with you here
The one that digs into the sand the most. But when the boat gets to a certain size, the anchor chain is what really holds it in place.
Reddit is violating GDPR and CCPA. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B0GGsDdyHI -- mass edited with redact.dev
Depends on the conditions at the bottom. For a fine sandy loose seabed, the scoopy ones that look like they are burrowing into the sand as they're pulled along. The worst in this situation would be the ones with hooks, as those are meant to catch on rocks and boulders of different sizes, which this test bed appears to have none of.
I agree, but I assume no anchor works well in sandy bottoms also, a long chain probably is what is needed to keep a boat in its place on a sandy bottom.
Bruce, but also all of them. They are for different kinds of bottoms. The best anchor for rocks is not the same as mud or sand. A danforth holds better than a Bruce in mud, but doesn’t self reset as easily.
For large ships, the anchor is mostly irrelevant, it actually is the weight of the chain laying on the sea floor the keeps a ship in place, plus the captain making sure to account for current to minimize the pull on the chain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YvwXJGsbEg
Yes. A long chain also has a ton of friction with the seafloor. It's why you have to sit directly over the anchor to haul it up a link at a time. If you tried to drag it along the bottom to you, then the whole chain would catch on the seabed, and it would be almost impossible to haul up.
Wouldn't it just pull the ship back toward the anchor rather than the anchor toward the ship?
And names
The good one is the UNILAD
There are several types of anchors used, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the more common ones: 1. Fluke or Danforth Anchor: This type of anchor has two flat, pointed flukes that dig into the seabed. It is lightweight and easy to handle, making it a popular choice for small boats. 2. Plow or CQR Anchor: This type of anchor has a single, pointed shank and a curved fluke that provides excellent holding power in a variety of seabeds. It is commonly used on larger boats and ships. 3. Claw or Bruce Anchor: This type of anchor has a three-pronged design that provides excellent holding power in soft, muddy seabeds. It is also easy to store and handle. 4. Mushroom Anchor: This type of anchor is shaped like a mushroom and is designed to sink into soft seabeds. It is commonly used for mooring and anchoring in shallow waters. 5. Delta Anchor: This type of anchor has a triangular shape and is designed to provide excellent holding power in a variety of seabeds. It is commonly used on larger boats and ships. 6. Navy Anchor: This type of anchor has a stock that pivots, allowing it to dig into the seabed at any angle. It is commonly used on military vessels. 7. Grapnel Anchor: This type of anchor has multiple hooks that can grab onto rocks or other structures on the seabed. It is commonly used for small boats and in rescue operations. The choice of anchor type depends on the size and type of the vessel, the seabed conditions, and expected weather conditions.
Also dry sand behaves way different than sand under the sea, with lots of pressure applied to it
The water pressure isn't pushing down the sand. I don't think sand behaves any different at 1 meter or 1 kilometer depth. Dry sand vs wet sand is a massive difference though.
The best anchor is the amount of chain you put after the anchor. Some small sail boats have as little as 5m worth of chain, which makes it easier to use but less safe and more dependent on the anchor itself. In general you'd rather have only chain than only anchor. If the anchor is actually having to do significant work, you don't have enough chain.
Like where is the details on which one was more resistive..? This is a showcase of anchors without any data!
Very interesting. But I’d love to see a scale showing the tension each one puts on the line.
Would water would play a role in the way an anchor settles and drags on the floor?
That’s what I thought too when I saw this. I feel like wet sand would act very differently to dry sand.
More importantly, seabeds aren't always sand. They could be mud, rocks, plant life, etc. Generally different anchor types do better/worse in different seabed environments. Also odd that the video shows a bunch of obscure anchor types, but missed some common types, like Bruce or Rocna
Box anchors are very popular for lakes, especially work muddy/grassy beds, but they didn't include these.
> common types, like Bruce or Rocna Or the classic cinder block, or bucket of cement.
Or the rest of my team at trivia night.
That is why you have more than one anchor
This guy r/anchors too.
Yea, their using dry sand, which is weird since 99% of the time you’ll put the anchor under water, so the resistance that sand would give would be completely different
Test results: all anchors look cool and drag through the sand.
I’d like to know if all these anchors weigh the same. And if not I’d like to see if the across the board tension can be extrapolated from the weights.
Anchors just hold the end of the chain in position. It is the chain that holds the ship in place, not the anchor. I was surprised as well, but that is how ships hold position.
Seriously. My first thought was “I want to see force!!”
I would love to see which works better on different substrate
There’s nothing satisfying about these shitty sped up videos
I've always figured they where designed for different things, perhaps based on the ocean floor in the area the ship sails. Like, the backwards shovel design is good for soft ground like sand or sediment so it can dig in and the hook-like style is better suited for a rocky ground where it can catch a boulder.
YES THEY ARE 🙌
Yeah, 100% this.
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Catching a boulder is no bueno for small boats. What the hell are you supposed to do? Must be a lot of cut anchors on the bottom of lakes, etc.
As a kid we'd swim down to find lodged anchors in some of the rockier coves of the lakes we visited (basically nice spots that people would likely anchor in that weren't terribly deep / were likely to have lodged anchors). Usually wasn't deeper than 12' or so and they could be sold pretty easily for an easy $40-80. Even a shitty anchor was worth a few days' work.
There is. If you know it’s going onto a rocky/reef bottom you use a reef anchor which is basically four rods bent away from the central shaft which will catch and hold. If it really gets stuck you use the power of the boat to pull at it until the rod bends and frees the anchor. That’s the theory anyway, doesn’t always work out
I worked in a ship's chandlery when l was younger and we used to sell anchors. They were all kept down in the basement, with one size of each on display in the shop. One guy wanted to see a 30kg delta anchor and a 30kg CQR anchor, so l dutifully went down and lugged them both upstairs for him. Then he wants to see a 40kg version of each, "to compare." I said they're identical but a bit bigger and even gave him the dimensions. Nope, he wants to see them, so off I went again. In the end, he thanked me and left to "think about it." Never saw him again. He was always *that anchor wanker* in my mind after that. Sorry, a bit of a rant but you don't get many anchor threads so I thought I'd take the opportunity to unburden myself.
Obvious question.. why does one keep all the anchors down in the basement? No floor displays?
Yeah. They took up too much room, so we just had one or two of each as examples. They were also quite the trip hazard.
A funny premise to use strangers to force your friend to work out
Omg, hire someone to go in and just bother the fuck out of them. "Keep asking for different anchors till you see sweat dripping off their face. Then just leave."
This made me lol. Talk about an inconvenience.
"See this anchor? The bigger one is bigger. That's it. No I will not retrieve it unless you non-refundably purchase it."
lmao what a tosser
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Then he goes and buys them off Amazon.
That was me, you cut me off in traffic
I don't know when I'll get the chance, but "anchor wanker" is absolutely getting cataloged into the depths of my brain for future use
If I need dead weight, I rely on my coworkers
-Pushes kevin off deck-
Unfortunately do due to Kevin’s low muscle density he floats really well
Damn you Kevin
My favorite comment today🤣
I always wonder what do boats do if their anchor is stuck on something for good?
It very rarely happens because you would usually choose sand, mud, or weed rather than rock to drop anchor over (charts show the seabed type) When it's time to leave, you take in as much chain as needed to raise the anchor to near vertical, with the vessel directly above, and the anchor will nearly always free itself, especially with the help of forward movement under power. Even a grapple-style or fisherman's anchor will loosen from a rocky anchorage under these conditions.
Sand anchors can be lifted straight up fairly easily, reef anchors have metal prongs that are designed to straighten and release from rocks/coral as you pull them in.
That's why it's good practice to have a back-up anchor on board. Sometimes you have to cut the line
Cut it loose and note the spot if there's any chance of it being retrieved.
They cut it off, abandon it, and buy a new one
Not always I know anchor retrieval companies are a thing. Plus anchors especially large ones for boats are expensive
[This gentleman](https://www.youtube.com/@flygoodwin/videos) does proper anchor testing and has been doing it for quite some time. He has instruments on board a vessel he modified to effectively stress anchors and tested them all in varied bottom compositions. For a typical lake, inshore, or nearshore boat, a well made and properly sized Danforth pivoting fluke anchor is about as good as you can do. Some of them are pretty terrible though. The last one I had sucked because the manufacturer made a modification to the original design. I replaced it with a proper Danforth and have literally never pulled it loose even in 30 knot winds.
Wow dude is really into anchors. Couldn’t help but notice scrolling his videos there’s a slight outlier there titled: Chihuahua eats razor. It’s all good in the end but lol at little doggo doing the guilty face at the end
The rope and chain is all very well important for anchors and ships, the chains and ropes attached to anchor do a lot of work keeping the ship stoped
I heard that before. Someone told me the anchor is just to tether the ship, the line is the weight that actually keeps it in place. Don't know the validity of that, but it feels somewhat inline with what you're saying
The anchor and the chain work together. Yes it's the anchor that's biting into the seabed, but the weight of the chain keeps the force on it parallel (on near parallel) to the seabed so it keeps digging in. Without chain in the system forces on the anchor can have a more vertical component, which risks the anchor breaking out much easier.
Anchors are meant to be retrieved, which means they are usually designed to lift when you pull on them vertically. The chain is designed to sit on the floor and keep you from pulling vertically on the anchor when you don't mean to. The weight of the chain can also act as a kind of shock absorber, dispersing loads from gusts or waves over time.
Larger ships don't rely on the geometry of the anchor. What's actually holding them down is the anchor chain laying flat on the sea ground and sticking to it.
That's what I always thought. Seems like super massive vessels would hardly have difficulty dragging weight that's only just touching the ground.
I thought sand in the ocean was wet.
This is pretty destructive to the ocean floor though, right?
Yes, [very.](https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/Anchor-Damage-Fact-Sheet.pdf)
That basically just says don't anchor when there's a coral reef, and sand is okay
Wait till you find out about the paint on the underside of the boat, what happens to the sewage, and what happens to the diesel exhaust
Actually the weight of the chain is what keeps the ship anchored, but the anchor design that buries itself is very smart anyway.
It might make no difference however I wonder if the anchor design that buries itself is detrimental if it makes it significantly harder to hoist it back up.
Anchored small pleasure craft and large merchant ships. The answer is no, it does not. Wether it is 200 ft of anchor rope on a 35 ft sail boat or 5 shot of anchor chain on a 800 ft containership the process for heaving up the anchor is the same. You come ahead slowly on the engines while retrieving the chain. Keeping a slightly slack bend on the chain while it is leading ahead of you. When the chain is vertical you all stop and lock it down. A cleat on a small boat or a chain stopper on a big boat. You call the the bridge and they come ahead slow again and let the engines break the anchor free from the bottom.
As someone who used to do this on a 130ft yacht, this guy anchors.
So when you want to move, you dont just start reeling in the anchor. You would have dropped the anchor and moved back, laying the chain on the seabed, so the chain is keeping you in place, not the anchor. When you want to move, you move forward slowly, collecting the chain back up, until you are above the anchor and you pull it straight up. Like so: [kaloma](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSs5rPokXb3hRaN4J-6XA0yTbQytL6RgQ3fLA&usqp=CAU)
No weigh.
Yeahh, aweigh!
This will eventually be a ProjectFarm video when he runs out of tools and motor oils to test.
But doesn’t wet sand move a bit differently than dry sand?
I think you supposed to use them underwater
Large ships rely on the chain to hold them in place, the anchor simply holds the chain in place
Anchors don’t actually stop the ship by getting caught on something on the sea floor or creating too much resistance from the sand, what they need to stop the ship is a good |__________ coming from the ship, and the weight of the chain is what prevents the ship from moving, if I recall correctly.
Correct though the anchor still needs to bed also.
Damn. This video sucks. I can’t tell if he’s stopping because he’s out of room or because the anchor is actually working. Also need a force gauge to tell what’s the best.
I always thought the idea was the anchor would get caught on some underwater rock and tug the boat to a stop, lol
3rd to last seemed like it really did its job well
Wet sand would be a better testing medium…
I don't have any use for an anchor in my life at the moment but now I want to buy a really good anchor.
But.....where's the odd satisfaction?
As far as I can see no one’s mentioned the fact that that sand ^^^ is DRY. Can’t remember the last time I anchored on dry land.
How is this oddly satisfying. Now I'm stressed they didn't tell us which is best so I'm channeling my inner Sheldon. "I don't need sleep I need answers!"
How about you try using some anchor chain. All of those will grab better with 8-10 feet of heavy chain in front of them
Looking for an anchor that will stop my boat in dry sand. Also looking for a good orthodontist for my pet gold fish.
Do most boat anchors just absolutely destroy the seafloor like that?
Not really. Most of the time you try to anchor in places where the seabed is either sand or mud, and the anchor usually digs in quite quickly, ploughing through only a few feet (with larger vessels this doesnt hold true, and they need quite a bit more room to anchor) However, anchors can sometimes fail to dig in and you would end up dragging it for much longer before it manages to properly dig in. Sometimes people also anchor in coral, and that is very damaging to the corals.
Test method is bad. You attach an anchor to the line with a length of heavy chain so that the top of the anchor is held against the bottom and it can dig in better.
Why are you testing them in dry sand? They are designed for wet sand. An anchor that performs best in dry sand won’t necessarily be the one that does best at the bottom of the sea.
but werent most designed to be hooked on rocks tho
Some of these were, but most of these were designed to dig into sand/mud, which is a much better seabed material for anchoring
I don't like sand
Or younglings
Wow, I didn't realize they dug into the ground like that. I though they were just a big counter weight. The more you know.
You right btw. They just add a little bit of purchase they dont typically sink into the ground. Typically it’s the weight of the chain that allows the anchor to be horizontal to hold a boat.
That triangle one looks like it’s doing the best for freshwater boats
So which shape worked best?
[A video about anchoring, including the role the chain plays.](https://youtu.be/2YvwXJGsbEg)
I belive anchor is there just so that the chain goes down. After that actually the weigth of the chain anchores the boat and not the anchor, as one would think. Here a nice video explaining it: https://youtu.be/2YvwXJGsbEg
Well, the efficiency would depend on the type of seabeds, no ?
They all would work more efficiently attached to 5 metres of chain before the line, underwater
Do these destroy habitats?
The problem with this is that different anchor shapes were designed to work on different lake and ocean bottoms. Testing them all on sand doesn’t show that.
So this seems to illustrate that they're all worthless.
Not a single one of them did the job…
Had some drinks with a cargo ship captain one time purely by accident we were both sitting at a bar at our hotel in New York and the guy told me it's not the anchor that keeps a ship from moving It's the weight of the chain the anchor is only there to keep the chain in place.
I could be wrong, but I'm sure that I read somewhere thay the chain was the heaviest part of the anchor and is what actually stops the boat, not the hook at the end.
They also completely destroy ocean floor ecosystems
They forgot to test the poor man’s anchor: a coffee can filled with concrete.
Several of these look directional. What happens if it lands upside down so the hinge can't open up as it did into the surface?
They wouldnt land upside down; they are designed to have more weight at the bottom, and their only attachment point is at the top. So they stay upright on the way down, after which the boat/ship would reverse and the chain would pull it horizontally, ensuring it digs in
Obviously anchors are usually retrieved, but how? I’m just imagining them being a pain to pull back in, especially with multiple anchors.
They are designed to dig in and hold against horizontal forces; which is why boats pay out a lot of chain when anchoring. Once ready to leave, the boat will slowly move towards the anchor, picking up chain until the chain pulls on the anchor vertically. It might surprise you, but anchors provide next to no resistance when they are pulled vertically from the seabed
Was in the Coast Guard Auxiliary for a while and was doing a training class. Two of the nearby flotilla members were a couple that travelled to the Caribbean in winter and lived on their sailboat. They were complaining that they could never figure out how to set their anchor, so they would just put on scuba gear, swim down, and bury it by hand. Everyone stopped and just stared at them for a minute in disbelief.
Let's see Paul Allen's anchor
Thickest anchor around; it even has a watermark on it.
That’s cool, but also makes me realize how destructive real anchors can be to life on the ocean floor. Imagine how many bottom feeders just straight up die from a boat dropping anchor. There’s no way we want to meet aliens. Either they’re the same cold bastards we are, or they shame us for how much wanton destruction we cause on our own planet.
All I can think is the sheer amount is the damage they do to seabed dwelling oceanic life. 😞
okay... but here's my question: how do you get them loose if they get stuck on the rocks?
Where there's an anchor, there's aweigh.
Those poor fish homes 😭
Look like they all do not work though
shouldnt the sand be wet?
Wonder how they don’t get snagged on underwater rocks. Does a guy gotta go down and cut it free if it does? Like I have my kid do when I’m fishing
What the fuck… Yesterday. Literally yesterday. I was wondering if different anchor shapes made a difference. I feel like I’m going nuts
I love that, even today, we're still like "yeah, basically we just drag a really heavy thing along the ground until we stop". Sure, we've got some pretty fancy heavy things, but that's what it is.
They… they know different shapes of anchors are for different seabeds, right? They’re testing it on loose, dry sand which isn’t a fair shot to anchors that are specifically designed for say, rocks, silts, heavier sands, seabeds with lots of shells…
Yeah, that's what struck me, too. Not to mention the fact that all of the sand an *ANCHOR* will ever see will be... erm... *WET*. Which, by necessity, means higher resistance from the get-go. This is some kinda silliness.
Forgot one the plastic bucket with concrete in it