A new anchor

I've been making many upgrades and improvements before we embark on our cruising life.  I plan on doing up future blog posts about many of my 'projects'.

One such upgrade that I made was a new anchor.

Now, I've actually got a pretty decent ground tackle system on our boat.  I had a 15 kg Bruce on 75 feet of chain backed up by a couple hundred feet of nylon as my primary anchor.  I've got  a CQR with a short length of chain backed up by nylon for my secondary anchor, mounted at the bow.  I've got two Fortress anchors, one for a stern anchor and one large one (35 lbs) for a storm anchor.  I've also got a good sized folding grapnel to use as a rock anchor or a kedging anchor.

Most of the boaters at our home marina boggle when they hear about my ground tackle setup, and I'd love to take credit for it, but this is the way it was set up when we bought the boat.

As good as all this is though, I wanted better.  I wanted a primary anchor that would give me that little extra confidence and peace of mind.  We will, after all, be anchoring out a lot, so this is a pretty important item.

So, while my current ground tackle caused a boggle or two, I managed a couple jaw drops and 'holy cow' comments when I showed people my new anchor.  I've replaced my 15 kg Bruce with a 45 lb Manson Supreme as our primary anchor.

Like most with an enclosed anchor roller that pick up a Bugel style anchor (like the Manson and the Rocna for example) I've got a bit of a fit problem with the new anchor.  It's not a major problem though, as it's stable where it is.  I'll have to research a new anchor roller setup, but for now it's good to go.

 I did get a good laugh when one of the boaters at our home marina, upon seeing our new anchor, asked "Holy cow! What hurricane are you planning on anchoring in with that beast?".  My answer was "Any one that I want to...". :-)