Hooked on the Rocna

We recently researched replacement anchors and replaced our plow-style anchor with a Rocna. On a late summer overnight in the Chesapeake Bay (muddy bottom), we had a thunderstorm roll by with 25-30 kt winds. I would call those winds moderate and certainly not enough to cause a good anchor to drag. It was daylight, so I kept watch on some nearby shore objects and observed us dragging. I started the engines to take strain off the anchor and stay in deeper water.

I say "deeper water", which is definitely a relative term in the Chesapeake, where shallow water and muddy bottoms are the norm. If you've not run aground in the Chesapeake, you've not done much sailing/boating there. Fortunately, it is very forgiving, due to the muddy bottom.

We had found that the plow could often take several attempts to get it to set in places where our prior boat (a Westwind 38, which is for sale) would quickly set its 35lb CQR. The episode with the mild thunderstorm settled it; a new anchor was needed.

We had heard good things about the Rocna as well as some rumors of galvanizing or other problems. There was also the Manson and Spade anchors. After some research on the rumored problems, we found that there was some merit to them for a period of time when the manufacturing of the anchors was outsourced to China. It has since been changed to a Canadian company and the problems seem to have been eliminated.

The final key for us was when Gene on the Yahoo Leopard list reported that the Rocna 25 (55 lb) fit perfectly. Looking at the Rocna sizing charts, that's up one size from what they recommend for the Leopard 40 size/weight. That's just fine with us - it makes for more relaxed sleeping at anchor.

So the Rocna 25 is what we ordered from West Marine. Defender also carries this anchor at a slight discount from West Marine, so we invoked the Price Match to get the same price, delivered to our local store. An added benefit was that we purchased it during one of West Marine's discount sales.

In the photo, you'll notice that the anchor isn't all the way up. We typically lock the chain and that causes the anchor to come back down a bit as the chain lock engages the next link that aligns with its slot. When the anchor is all the way up, the roll-bar snugs the bridle tail against the hull at the top of the roll-bar. The old plow anchor's tip could hit the hull, leaving marks that you can see in the photo, while the Rocna's tip is about 1/2-inch away from the hull.

The real question is how well it performs. The first time we anchored with it, we were unprepared for the quick set and the way that it yanked on the anchor chain. The old plow would gradually set over a long drag, so strain would come up on the chain over a long time. With the Rocna, the set is so quick that we can easily stress the anchor windlass (a Lewmar H3 windlass). Retrieval is equally easy. We bring the chain in a few feet at a time as LUX comes up to the anchor. A little power over it or even use the windlass and it breaks out easily. There are two holes in the crown for attaching trip lines, which we've not needed so far. We've not had high winds yet, so we can't comment on how it performs in those situations. We have reversed direction on it in the current present in ICW anchorages and it didn't budge. That's not as severe a test as a thunderstorm or hurricane. We'll do an update after we put it to a more challenging test.

Taking a clue from Bruce on the Leopard list, we acquired a very large shackle to drop down over the chain and work over the shank if we need to retrieve it in situations where we've not deployed a trip line. We'll need to use the dinghy to perform this function as we'll need the anchor chain tight to get the big shackle to work its way down the chain, into the bottom to get to the shank. But at least we have a plan for how to retrieve it should we need it. Hopefully we won't ever need this backup plan.

We're hooked on the Rocna, pun intended. We can already tell that it is much better than the old plow, even without a significant test of its performance.

Jan 29, 2013 Update
We were able to get a picture of the Rocna at anchor in the Bahamas. The anchor set in just a few feet and buried itself as it should.  There still hasn't been a good high-wind test yet. I'm sure we'll have one this coming year.

May 7, 2013 Update
Other Leopard 40 owners have reported that the Rocna 33 (33Kg) fits very nicely. If we had known that it fit, we would have probably purchased it instead.

  -Terry