On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 11:01:22 +0200, Len
wrote:

Anyone with a comment on the statement that the spade, when used in
sand or mud, keeps on digging down and can be difficult to get out ?
Thanks again,

========================

I've never had a problem getting mine out, straight vertical pull does
it every time. I've had a few issues like that with other anchors
however. Patience, wave action, and a little power are your friends.

Never had a problem getting out of mud, even set very well.

--


Keith
__
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."--Henny
Youngman
"Len" wrote in message

Anyone with a comment on the statement that the spade, when used in
sand or mud, keeps on digging down and can be difficult to get out ?
Thanks again,

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

I've never had a problem getting mine out, straight vertical pull does
it every time. I've had a few issues like that with other anchors
however. Patience, wave action, and a little power are your friends.

The operative words there are "straight up". It will come out fairly easily
with a little patience but PLEASE don't use the windlass to drag the boat up
to the anchor. Motor or sail up and slightly over before trying to break it
out. The Spade sets very firmly and realigns itself by pivoting about its
point. It will realign itself well under the worst natural conditions but
if you get cocked sidways while drawing yourself up it will not have time to
realign with the new pull and put an awfull lot of side stress on the shank.
Not a problem with the steel models but the aluminum ones can bend.

If you bend it I will replace it but it takes a couple of months to get a
new shank from Tunisia and it cost me the freight and I have to mill the new
bolt hole. Just use normal good anchor techniques and neither of us will
have any problem. :-)

I purchased a 66 lb Spade from Glenn Ashmore and got a good price and
excellent service. I can highly recommend him to anyone looking for a
Spade anchor. I just wish that he would get into more products. :-)

Lee Huddleston
s/v Truelove
Mauritius 43, steel, center cockpit, cutter-ketch, raised poop
lying Sea Gate Marina, Core Creek, NC

In article ,
(CatManDo) wrote:

Overall, a good anchor, but frankly I might try the bulwagga for my
current boat as the Chesapeake has lots of soft mud and people have
problems with the spade in certain locations here. In sand though,
literally I would spend two weeks in 50 knots plus winds without it
budging.

??? We've used ours for a few years now all over the Chesapeake and
never had a problem in any of the bottoms except hard current-swept
sand, but that spot is almost as hard as concrete. It WILL bury pretty
deep some times, but pulling straight up will almost always free it by
hand.

Over Labor Day weekend, we set it to the side to realign a raft-up: 18
boats up to two 45s. Overnight, the wind shifted and came up. It held
us all quite nicely in 15-20 knot winds, without budging an inch in a
REAL soft mud bottom. Now, it WAS out on about 20-1 scope, but that was
above and beyond duty. Getting it out WAS a problem that time; had to
use power.

Oh, it's the aluminum 80, about 15 pounds. 30' (and 30#) of chain, which
I suspect helps.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/