SARCA anchor

[Bowser]

Has anyone tried these out? If they are any good the advantage of only having to carry only one anchor would be seem to be good to me and save space as well.

[basserman]

haven't tryed one out but i am getting one
the butie of the system is it is all built around a plough anchor
from what they(makers) say you will only need to onebut i think carrieing another just in case it did get stuck fast in a bit of reef and had to be cut away
but will tell you how i find them in a few mounths they sure sound great

[Kerry]

Can't really see any advantage in the single anchor angle, not really a good safety aspect at all.

Slip type shaft anchors, well one either trusts them or they don't.

Cheers, Kerry.

[basserman]

one is ok and many boats go out with just one but that depends on what and where and for how long you are going
if it is just for a few hour bottom bash one is fine but if your doing any crusing sure need two or more
but as i sayed i still would take the two the SARCA and also a back up reef pick
the sarca will do everything you and i want :)

but kerry i would like to know how any anochor is a safty item when trolling the shelf or past the 120meter mark???
i only have 200meters of rope need to double the depth for angle should only anchor in 100m the 120 max ???

[neptune]

I recently bought a sarca anchor. It is okay, but it does not hold the bottom like my trusty plough anchor. I don't use it around reef areas, the old reef pick is still the go especially around coral( I always carry two picks, one still straight just in case). As far as the sarca is concerned, I'm not going to take mine anymore, it can sit at home and gather dust.

[Kerry]

Don't see any connection between trolling the reef beyond the shelf and the fact that an anchor is a safety item. Bit unrelated that one in most respects but then I suppose one must realize the actual purpose of an anchor.

Cheers, Kerry.

[whiteman]

My reef pick does all the anchoring while fishing and the sand pick for beaching the boat. Thanks for the tip NEPTUNE about keeping a straight reef pick on board - great idea. Now all I've gotta do is save up for 200m of rope!

[basserman]

bla has spools of 200m of 8mm siver roap on sale now for$99

[basserman]

kerry i can see you can't see the conection
what i was saying was that when your out at the shelf or past 120m of depth the anchor then become nothing more than a paper wheight and can do bugger all for your safty
fair enoght if in closer
but anchors can also and has brang some boats undone
one case new years eve here at port macquarie three people when fishing through the day in about 30m of water about 2m sweel on 1.5 m sea anchored up but mustn't of had enoght rope out the wind picked up from the south swang the boat and the outboard picked the rope up and shortend it even more the next big roller just sucked the boat down backward
after a 10 hour cling to the hull they were found down near foster about 70km down south
bet they no longer see a anochor as a safty item!
i have two reef picks and one sand anchor as well as a sea anchor eperb inshore and off shore flares and every other peice of equipment you could think of in my safty kits so don't get me wrong that i don't agree with safty equipment but i just don't see a anchor as being a big saftey item

[Kerry]

No it's not the anchors that bring boats undone it's the people that use them that bring boats undone.

Once one gets to the shelf for sure what might be the purpose of an anchor (well actually there's a few reasons) some might well ask.

Really it's like all the other so called safety equipment, all has a differeent purpose but all are supposed to achieve one result depending on the circumstances or sequence of circumstances.

Cheers, Kerry.

[basserman]

i think one major problem with anchoring alot of people have is they just don't put enoght rope out (as i think was the case in the new years eve sinking)
my rulle is double the depth in good ti fair weather and triple when the weather wind starts to pick up
main resone i have 200m of rope
you look in most boats anchor wells at the boat ramp alot of them are lucky to have 50m
but back to the topic i am very suprised to hear the SARCA don't hold bottom all that well! must resurch more and it might be back to the drawing board

[neptune]

Basserman, I didn't say that they didn't hold the bottom well, just no where near as well as the plough holds the bottom. I have a genuine manson plough which I believe holds better or maybe sets better than the cheaper copies. Obviously the weight of the anchor and the chain is a major player in holding the bottom. I changed from ordinary galvo chain to the tested galvo chain which has shorter links giving more weight per meter and I noticed a huge difference.

[Kerry]

It really doesn't matter much if it's a good holder or not. From my perpective any anchor where there is a possibility of the fixing point shifting and changing the characterics of the anchor is not good.

Like many who use a 16 cent lecky tie just in case their anchor snags, yes the principle works fine but then many become complacent and end up using the setup anyway while away from the boat and really one puts an awful lot of faith in a bit of plastic. 100's of $$ in probably good anchor gear with 1000's of $$'s of boat hanging of it and all resting on that bit of plastic.

Cheers, Kerry.

[basserman]

one things for sure 'ANCHORS AIN'T ANCHORS!'

[neptune]

Kerry, can you explicate as to why you think it doesn't matter about the holding power of an anchor. In my view it is the most important aspect of all.

[Kerry]

Neptune, In the rest of the context you read that as I'm not interested in any sliding type anchor what so ever regardless of if it's a good holding anchor or not.

Yes an anchor must have good holding power but it must also never have the possibility of loosing that attribute, regardless of if it's convienient at times or not.

Cheers, Kerry.

[basserman]

so what your main worrie would be kerry is if you anchor at say the last hour of run in and stay anchored when it turns and the boats swings to face the other way the slide (d shackle) might slide backwards and accualy relese the anchor!

i think i could see that point

[Kerry]

Well something like that. Most of these things are ok for a "lunch" pick but for an unattended boat in some of the large tide/high run/isolated areas like around here the risk simply isn't worth it as no anchor manufacturer is ever going to give one a rock solid guarantee.

Over the years picked up the odd boat still merrily dragging the the lot and going down wind at a great rate of knots. What generally stops them however is something solid and the ones I've seen that didn't miss rocks were a sad and sorry sight.

Some of the guys around here having been caught out in the past actually carry some fairly heafty gear now, not that they might ever need it but having it is a bit of insurance.

Know of an 18 foot hydrofield that carries a 60lb plough as backup insurance, he's been there and done this type of thing before. Might never ever need it but the thinking was when he desperately wanted something like it, he was a long way from home.

Cheers, Kerry.

[basserman]

well i have had some of the things happen to me luckly whist in the boat for reef i think there is no dout a good reef pick does the job but when i have anchored in the estery with the sand anchore i have had it drag for a couple of hunderd meters without holding anything and this is with 4 times the rope
my big problem is i have a 18 footer with a targa top and all round clears (makes for one hell of a sail)
thats my main resone for thinking the sarca but after now hearing a few thing i think i might be best to invest in a decent size plough!
cheers

[Daintreeboy]

Basserman how much chain were you using with the estuary setup?

[basserman]

4 meters of 10mm gal chain

[neptune]

Basserman, there are a lot of sand anchors on the market, it might sound funny, but if you have a genuine danforth anchor, it will hold or bite in better than the copies.

[basserman]

yeh i belive i have a cheaper copy (not sure came with the boat)
thats the main resone i'm looking for a good anchor was after a alrounder but after listening to you bloke i'm not sure one exists much better to just get the good qulity proper ones

[Boblee]

Deleted because thread was very old and didn't see date.

[Fatenhappy]

I recently bought a sarca anchor. It is okay, but it does not hold the bottom like my trusty plough anchor. I don't use it around reef areas, the old reef pick is still the go especially around coral( I always carry two picks, one still straight just in case). As far as the sarca is concerned, I'm not going to take mine anymore, it can sit at home and gather dust.

I'm with you Neptune ...

We've played "bump in the night" against another boat a couple of years ago when anchored up close much to my surprise when there was a mud bottom and that was using all chain.

We tried our SARCA No2 in many different applicatons and on 2 seperate boats, (one plate and one glass) but repetedly had trouble with them with mud or when there's a bit of a slippery bottom. Even tried swivells etc but still no good especially in that application on a changing tide.

Found the SARCA good with sand, particularly with chain, but have long since reverted back to a plough. Never missed a beat since ...

Cheers
Greg

[Wear the fox hat]

You need extra chain with the SARCA's. I have a 5.2m boat & started with 5m of 10mm chain & the SARCA wouldn't hold, even with 100m of rope out & only in 50m of water. Then went to 8m of 10mm chain & it works like a dream on any type of bottom. Only downside is that it's a lot of chain to be dragging up, even with a ball.

WTFH

[Fatenhappy]

Ran a SARCA No2 on the two previous boats. One 6.4m ally and one glass 6.6m .... both were bloody hopless around weed or mud.

Back to a plough after dragging anchor with the Whittley in the middle of the night for the last time and that was even with an all chain rode ....

SARCA's are good for what they were designed for and in my experience and opinion that's sand bottoms, beyond that not real flash at all, even to the point of having sold the No2 a while back.

I have been looking closely at the ROCNA which look similar to the SARCAs but have some vital differences for F&H's refit. The price frightens me a bit, but then again with all those dollars tided up with the boat, perhaps worth the investment.

Cheers

[ozscott]

I love my Manson plough. Heavy and works. There is a reason they have stood the test of time.\

Cheers

[aqua rat]

I found the that using a ETEC outboard was the a very affective anchor and the best use for an ETEC !