Ancora Latina anchors

[CapnK]

João of Ancora Latina is a recent sailFar member, and has posted some pics (see below) of his Raya Tempest anchor. It looks really interesting, and the fact that it disassembles into easily stowable pieces would be of interest to almost any small boat owner, I'd think.

So, here's the thread to ask João anchor questions about the Raya and other products that Ancora Latina has.

Welcome aboard, João! :)

The Tempest:

[Ancora Latina]

Hi CapnK,

and many thanks for your introduction.

Yes we have the dismountable « Tempest » model, but also for those who doesn't like anchors in two parts, we have the standard Raya model...

More info on our Web page {link removed by moderator} and I will be very pleased to answer your questions.

Um Abraço

João

[Amgine]

I'm looking at adding another new generation anchor to my line up, and the Ancora Latina is high on my list.

Some of the things I'm interested in, so as to know which anchor to deploy when:

• How well does this anchor pentrate weed (hard eel grass) compared with Bruce or Plow type anchors?
• How well does this anchor deploy in rock, comparied with Bruce, Plow, or Fisherman type anchors?

I know these may not be fair questions, but the only time I've dragged has been in eel grass, and many of my anchorages are nothing but rock. (Fjords on the Pacific coast of Canada.)

[Rick Westlake]

The only "problem" I can see with the Raya Tempest is getting it through the U.S. Postal Service. :o

João made another Raya Tempest 800 for me when the first one was lost between Customs in Miami and my home in Maryland.  I expect to see it someday in a Miami marina - probably on a mailman's cabin cruiser, named "Return To Sender"!  >:( >:(

The Raya Tempest 800 breaks down to fit in an anchor locker made for a Danforth S600.  The stock is a bit more than 25 inches long, and the fluke is about 12 inches wide and 3 1/2 inches high.  It is, of course, a WHOLE HULL of a lot more anchor than the little Danforth!

MORE, 12 Aug 09 -

I have had the Bossa Nova out at anchor a few times on the middle Chesapeake Bay - this is fairly soft mud, and in the anchorages I chose it's fairly deep mud.  I took my time setting the anchor to dig it in well ...

It's a darn good thing I had a buoyed tripline on the back of the anchor.  Even with the tripline I had the devil of a time getting it out the next morning!  Maybe it really is too much of an anchor for my boat ....

Naaaaah. ;D

[Rick Westlake]

Now that I've used the Raya Tempest a few times, I really like the anchor - but I have one problem with it. ;)  The anchor digs so deep, sets so solidly, that I have the devil of a time raising it in the morning!   ;D

It's probably my fault, because I set the anchor hard when I do spend the night "on the hook".  I've been doing the occasional overnight journey on the Chesapeake Bay, south of Annapolis; the Bay is medium-soft mud for the most part, and I set the anchor carefully, in case a thunderstorm blows up during the night. 

So far, I've spent my nights drifting around the end of the anchor chain, because the Raya Tempest digs so deep that it drags the 30-foot chain rode into the mud with it!  The next morning, I get my exercise from a "wrestling match" with the rode and the trip-line that I buoy over the hook itself (this is how I know I'm veering around the end of the chain.)

The only other item I'd mention is that I need to scrub-down the anchor quite thoroughly when I raise and stow it in the morning.  The stock slip-fits tightly into the fluke, and any leftover mud will make it jam.  I may start spraying the stock with SailKote to make sure it's easier to slip in and out.   ::) 

All kidding aside, this is a very solid and secure anchor.  For those who think it looks like the old "Spade" anchor, I just recently saw a Spade - and this is a much better piece of engineering.  It's overkill for the boat I've got and the conditions in which I've been using it, but ... one night I may need that extra holding power, so I'm content to carry it, to set it, and to wrestle it up in the morning.

Grog to ye, João!

[polecat]

Rick - Which anchor (size) did you get?  What boat you sporting it on?  Did you believe their selection chart?  Or did you go the normal 1-2 steps up in size?  Have you ever tried the 40 degree hook up point?  I'm thinking of the Raya 800--20' 5/16s chain --5/8 nylon for an everyday hook on my Pearson Renegade (Around 8000 lbs all up) -- sound about right to you?
jim

[s/v Faith]

Rick,

  Sounds a lot like my Manson Supreme.   :)  There is a lot to me said for this 'new generation' of anchors.

Do you have a picture of this anchor stowed on your roller (I guess I should ask if you use a roller).  Some have worried about the Manson stowing on the roller (it is not a problem at all).  I wonder about how that big loop on the top of the shank on the Ancora Latina would work with a bow roller's bail.

  Glad it is working well for you, thanks for the update. 

[Ancora Latina]

Do you have a picture of this anchor stowed on your roller

If it may help??



João

[s/v Faith]

João,

  Thank you, I appreciate your assistance.

   It looks like to stows nicely, but looks like you have to remove the bail from the roller for it to work.  I don't think this is a big deal, it could be replaced by a pin, or a hold down strap.  The only time the bail is used when anchored is to keep the rode from 'jumping' out out of the roller, but a bit of small stuff made up around the end of the roller would fix this nicely.



  FWIW, just a personal observation.*  Having an excellent product should speak for it's self.  Your helpful, (as opposed to forceful) sales allow your excellent product to shine.  I am very happy with my Manson Supreme, but if I were in the market for a new hook, I would definitely look at you products.










_{*This post  reflects the opinions of the poster alone, it is not intended to represent an official enforcement of one manufacturer or their represented products over another by 'SailFar', it's owner, or employees... any similarity to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.}   ;D


 

[Zen]

from the pic, it's looks like a great battering ram... :o

[Rick Westlake]

Rick - Which anchor (size) did you get?  What boat you sporting it on?  Did you believe their selection chart?  Or did you go the normal 1-2 steps up in size?  Have you ever tried the 40 degree hook up point?  I'm thinking of the Raya 800--20' 5/16s chain --5/8 nylon for an everyday hook on my Pearson Renegade (Around 8000 lbs all up) -- sound about right to you?
jim

Jim, I'm using it on a MacGregor 26X - a light, high-topsides 26' boat compared to your Renegade.  I chose the Raya Tempest 800 because it's a comfortable "size up" and it fits nicely into my anchor-rode locker:


(Brand-new anchor, brand-new rode - 150 feet of Yale Brait with 30 feet of 5/16" proof coil chain.  It's not so clean and shiny, any more.)

Bossa Nova doesn't have an anchor roller.  I have 8" SS bow cleats and Skene chocks for the rode.  I lead the rode out the side of the pulpit (from the starboard-aft corner of the anchor locker), then forward to the cleat and chock.

I have not tried the 40-degree hook-up point; I haven't needed it where I've anchored.  I may tie markers on my trip-line, and dive down to see how deep the anchor is actually digging ... but, as I said August 17, the hook pulls enough chain into the mud that I was swinging all night on the top end of the chain.  (As for "self-cleaning," though, João - not in Rhode River mud! I have to scrub it down, especially the stock and the inside of the stock-receiver, before I stow it.)

For me, the "disadvantage" of having to assemble the anchor before I deploy it - a simple task: insert stock into fluke, then shackle stock to rode - is overcome, and then some, by having a very secure and strong anchor that I can tuck into my little, shallow anchor-locker.  If I had a good bow roller to secure the anchor full-time, I might have bought the "straight" Raya 800 instead; but this was a "better mousetrap" for me, and I can't think of an anchor I'd take in trade on Bossa Nova.

Hope this helps - Rick

[Silkie]

Hi. As one of the first Raya users in the UK I couldn't not sign up to post my experiences on this thread.

Silkie is a Hurley 22, a 22' pocket cruiser with a long fin keel, 45% ballast ratio and displacing something over 2T in cruising trim. Oh, all right then, you talked me into it.  :)


Click for a bigger version if you find yourself dazzled by her beauty.

For various reasons I've hardly sailed at all in July and August and so have only anchored overnight eight times since first using the Raya 600 in May.  Two of these have been in F5/6 and one included a 30-35 knot squall blowing straight in the mouth of the anchorage. I took a wee bit of video shortly after it started (turn the volume down)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqH5u7_vmhM

Waves quickly built to the point where we took some seaweed on deck. It's a bit nerve-racking using a relatively untried anchor particularly when it only weighs 4.75kg but I had an excellent transit (and the gps) and am pleased to report that we didn't move an inch. Not a bad test to have had in the first couple of months.

I've only anchored in mud and sand and a bit of weed and not yet had to cope with kelp or a 180 degree wind shift but I'm impressed so far. It has always set first time and it's weight makes it a delight to handle though I've still to decide how best to stow it on deck.

I should also mention that I help to moderate BlueMoment, a sailing forum with a Scottish flavour, and after a bit of banter about anchors last year João agreed to send us an anchor to test. What a nice man! Before you write me off as an Ancora Latina puppet I'd just like to say that I really do have no axe to grind and the only commitment I made was that I would give an honest report of my experiences on BlueMoment - and now can't resist doing so on here too!

[Frank]

I watched the video....yep, that would be un nerving with an untried anchor all right  :o   Between dragging anchors dragging, chaff on the rode and sharp motion, it sure wouldn't be a relaxing time for a snooze.  Nice boat  ;)

[Silkie]

The squall in the video only lasted about 20 minutes or so. The breeze was less than 20 knots overnight and having held in over 30 I was much more relaxed by then, although that might also have had something to do with the drams.

Thanks for your kind comment about the good ship Silkie. The Hurley 22 is a fine wee boat though not well known on your side of the Atlantic I think?

PS - Is long-link chain, as in Rick's photo of his anchor locker, the norm for anchor rode in the US of A?

[maxiSwede]

Hi Silkie

I am - still- on your side of the Atlantic and I was actually very close to by a Hurekly 22 once. I actually did own a Hurley 20 for a little more than a year, but a 22 is something completel different.

A tip - if interested in 'good old british' boats, there are bargains to be made made in Sweden. They are somewhat considered 'odd birds' and sell very low caompared to in the UK. This goes for Hurleys, Westerlys, Cutlass 27, Whistlers etc. but they are relatively few and far between, so it might take a while to find one...

[Frank]

I have saw the odd one in Canada but they are rare. "a wee dram" never hurts to settle the nerves.  ;D  Speaking of drams...have one for posting here.  ;)

[Rick Westlake]

Is long-link chain, as in Rick's photo of his anchor locker, the norm for anchor rode in the US of A?

... Odd, I never gave a thought to the links.  I don't use a windlass, so I don't need "BBB" chain.  This is ordinary, galvanized proof coil chain from Campbell; they got high marks for mooring chain in a Practical Sailor article I saw last year, and the price of this chain at a hardware store was about half the price of Acco chain from our big chandlers (West Marine). 

That photo was from the day I got the anchor; I had second thoughts about such light chain (1/4"), and returned it for the next size up (5/16") before I got it wet.  The line rode is 1/2" Yale Brait, which has more stretch than 3-strand, so it won't put as much strain on the boat.  It's a "size up" from what you'd need for a MacGregor 26, but good ground tackle is better for your sleep than anything else on a boat, isn't it?

Silkie is a charming little boat, and your video shows her as quite seaworthy.  Looks like you have her ready for serious sailing.  Is she trailerable?

[CapnK]

I've checked the Ancora Latina site a few times in the past month since noticing that it went down, and it looks like the site has been abandoned...

Anyone have any news about this company/anchor?

I was really liking the idea, very interested, especially the stowable model... Hope they're still around...

I sent a query to the email address we have on file, but have doubts I'll hear anything, as it ending with "@ancoralatina.com"...

Updated, following day: Email is bouncing back, no answer...

[Rick Westlake]

 :'(  I'm sorry to hear of that. IMO, Joao made a very good anchor, but he made them in small numbers and his company was "far off the beaten track" when it comes to sales and shipping.

From the shipping and Customs documents I received with my Raya Tempest last year, I gather that anchors were not his sole business.  I think he did specialty steel fabrication as well, and that in a town outside of any major yacht markets.  I do know that a prospective buyer contacted me a few months ago, and told me that the shipping costs to the USA were astronomical - that was no-doubt based on the problems he had shipping me my Raya Tempest, where the first one disappeared between Miami Customs and the Miami Post Office and he had to ship me a second anchor.  DHL's rate was about three or four times the price of Correos do Brasil - but it would be insured...

[s/v Faith]

Too bad...

Now that Mocna is being made in the home of 'Harbor Freight Tools' I suspect we will
see lots of mass produced Chinese copies of designs like the Ancora Latina...  ;)