On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 10:05:37 -0400, "Sir Gregory Hall, Esq."
wrote:

Most of the recent anchors like the Rocna are a gimmick and
not as reliable as the older patent anchors. That people pay
such exorbitant prices for these dubious anchors is folly.

===

I disagree but your mileage may vary. Over the last 45 years we have
tried almost every type of anchor known to mankind, and in a lot of
different boats and conditions. After reading a lot of positive
reviews we purchased a 45 lb Spade for our last boat, and it was just
an incredibly reliable anchor that almost always set on the first try
and never, ever dragged or broke out no matter what happened.

Remembering that success, we purchased a 120 pound Spade for our
present boat, a high windage trawler weighing 70,000 pounds. It was
a great anchor also, but the weight was almost too much for our
windlass to handle under some conditions. When we decided to replace
it with something lighter, Spade anchors had become difficult to find
and Glenn Ashmore was no longer in the business of importing them. The
closest thing we could find was a 90 pound Rocna, and after 3 full
seasons with that, it has also performed very well although sometimes
slightly slower to set than the big Spade. In my opinion both the
Rocna and Spade are excellent anchors and well worth the money, cheap
insurance I believe.