Delta Anchor

For years I've been thinking about trying out a Delta anchor.  The literature claims that weight for weight they set faster and hold better than plow (e.g. CQR) anchors.

Two weeks ago I was at the club and had a glance at the postings on the bulletin board while I waited for my turn at the coffee machine.  The top item for sale was a 16 kg (35 lb) Delta anchor and 30 meters of 10mm (3/8") chain with another 20 meters of rope attached to it, for $250.

Anchor, Chain, and Rope

16 kg Delta Anchor

I telephoned from Brenda's house and the man told me that he had decided to put a heavier Delta anchor on his Hans 43 and I agreed that a 16 kg Delta seemed a bit light for a 43 ft boat.  He told me that the anchor and rode had hardly been used but the chain had gotten a bit rusty from storage in the anchor well.  He reckoned that the price of a new Delta 16 kg was $330 and the chain another $1000.  I did some Google work and confirmed the price of a new anchor, but the cost of 30 meters of chain varied from just over $200 to close to $1000. 

He lived only a few blocks away from Brenda so I drove to have a look after visiting the boat and taking careful measurement of one of the links on my chain (pitch, width, wire size) because I had to ensure that the new chain would match the gypsy on Pachuca's anchor windlass.

The Delta anchor indeed looked like it had been hardly used.  The chain had superficial rust but the inside of the links showed no wear.  I told him that I had deep concern about the chain because I could not risk the welfare of the boat with anchor chain out of China.  He showed me the "PWB L" stamped on one of the links.  This was good because "L" stood for "Low Carbon".  The rope also looked very good, and that had to be worth at least $100.  I made the purchase and during a short chat afterward it turned out that his Hans 43 is berthed on the other side of D jetty very close to Pachuca, so I expect to see him around.  We both agreed that plow type anchors, including Deltas, are pretty useless over weed or rock but to my surprise he only carries only the one anchor on board because he drops anchor only in sand.  Not me.  I carry at least one Fisherman anchor on board because sometimes you must quickly toss an anchor over the side without the luxury of being able to examine and choose the bottom.

Back at the house I Googled "PWB L" and confirmed that PWB chains are made in Australia to Australian standards.  Last week I dropped the chain off for re galvanizing for about $240.  I could have gotten by with the slight rust on the chain but I could not resist the convenience having the work done before setting the chain up on the boat.

The Delta anchor is 10 lb lighter than the 45 lb plow anchor that I've been using, which will make for much easier handling at the bow.  Between the lighter anchor and shorter (30 m vs 38 m) chain the load at the bow will be much lower, making for better sailing characteristics of the boat.  The 20 m of rope will be spliced at the end of the chain so that I can move the rode from the gypsy to the drum for paying out the rope.

In the coming season I'll evaluate the setting and holding properties of the anchor as well handling the rode.  I'll also have the 38 m of chain currently in the locker re galvanized.

Notice to Mariners

The following is a message that I recently sent to the FSC Cruising Section:

About three weeks ago Kim Klaka notified me of his success in his effort to have the DOT issue a Ntm regarding changing bathymetry of the Parmelia and Success banks during winter.

See notice 48 at http://161.152.28.103:10003/pls/lweb/notice_info?p_chart_id=WA%20001

Notice 48 is at the end of the above document, and states:
--------------------------------

48. Insert
Text CAUTION (See note 8) in positions
32° 04.28' S   115° 39.34' E
32° 07.71' S   115° 40.85' E
and text
8.  Parmelia and Success Banks are subject to seasonal shoaling, mariners are advised to navigate with caution. in position
31° 53.78' S   115° 46.60' E

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I hope that this notice will find its way to the next edition of the relevant DOT charts.

 The NtM appears vague because it is dealing with a vague problem.  However, to an experienced sailor in unfamiliar waters the phrase "seasonal shoaling" will jump out of the chart in large bold lettering.