Best Watercraft and Accessories for Fishing in Alaska in 2017
Mantus 13-pound Anchor
www.mantusmarine.com
Mantus anchors are available in weights from 8 pounds up to 175 pounds in galvanized- or stainless steel. We tested a 13-pound galvanized Mantus on an 18-foot Fish-Rite Rivermaster sled. Since we often use a 26-pound Columbia River-style anchor with this boat we were skeptical that a 13-pound anchor would hold in heavy current such as we commonly encounter while anchoring for halibut. Using other anchors in Cook Inlet current, we’ve occasionally broken free and drifted away from the honey hole we were trying to fish. What we experienced with the Mantus is that it set very quickly in sand, mud and gravel bottoms and it never broke free until we intentionally pulled the anchor. That’s pretty impressive. We used 3/8-inch braided nylon rope and 8 feet of chain with this anchor, same as we use with other anchors in similar conditions. The anchor’s galvanized coating is thick and we haven’t witnessed any corrosion to date. This anchor can be rigged breakaway-style with a short length of chain and zip-ties to facilitate getting it off the bottom should it become fouled. Mantus Anchors carry a lifetime warranty, structurally, and a 3-year warranty for the galvanized coating on the non-stainless versions.
BACKGROUND In response to a Cuisers Forum thread regarding shank strength, we promised to provide an assessment on how Mantus compared to the competition. First it is important to note, this load case is NOT an everyday occurrence. The challenge was to assume the following loading (See Fig. 1): The shank modeled as a cantilever…
We often get questions about the “bolts” that attach the shank to the fluke. Usually a simple explanation suffices: “You have 5/16″ chain? Well, this 35-lbs anchor has 1/2″ bolts and not one, but four of them. Each bolt is stronger than the chain that attaches to your anchor.” But some know it’s more complicated…
