Look at the “Buegel Anchor” and see for yourself how ingeniously its inventor has combined:
So often we find, that when inventors intuitively follow the laws of physics and Mother Nature, the result (“Buegel Anchor”) looks good, is ergonomic to handle, and in this case, is self-launching and also stores perfectly on most bow fittings.
The Surface Area of an anchor should have a wide, flat area in order to offer a high level of resistance to the constant pull of wind and wake once the anchor is set.
As shown in several anchor tests (e.g. by “Cruising World”…, the French magazines “Bateaux” and “Voiles” and others), Danforth style anchors, with their wide and flat surfaces, have great holding power if they are properly set and have penetrated into the ground.
Designing an anchor with more surface area is easy; the challenge is finding the optimal combination of surface area AND Form and Shape.
Form and Shape determine whether and how fast an anchor will dig into and penetrate different anchoring grounds. Obviously, soft mud and sand are easy to penetrate. However, hard sand, clay, scale and grassy bottoms are a very different ball game. These are the bottoms where Danforth and Fluke type anchors most often fail to set ultimately forcing the crew to dive and set the anchor by hand. And even then, you read again and again in cruise reports and books how even properly “hand set” anchors broke out when wind or current changed direction, and worse…underwater film cameras have recorded, that when broken out, these anchors literally tumble over the ground, unable to dig in again.
Don’t rely on test results gathered from straight-pull tests. A straight pull test measures only an anchor’s holding power under “straight pull”; it does not reflect an anchor’s performance in real life conditions where wind and current directions invariably change and boats sometimes sway 45 degrees or more to either side.
Plow-shaped anchors like the CQR and Delta tend to plow through the ground under stress because their surface area slopes backwards and does not provide enough resistance to the pulling force. They also do not set well, if at all, in grass, hard sand and dense clay bottoms.
The “Buegel Anchor” meets this challenge head on. Its inventor, Rolf Kaczirek, focused his research on the anchor’s holding power and ability to set and RE-Set easily. With the assistance of German Lloyd’s, he ultimately designed the “Buegel Anchor” so that it penetrates even the most difficult bottoms almost instantaneously, including volcanic rock found usually under a thin layer of sand in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Belize and many other cruising areas. The Buegel (bow/hoop) turns the anchor immediately into the “dig in” position, and even if the “Buegel Anchor” breaks loose when wind or current shifts, it digs right back in. The solid Buegel (bow/hoop) also adds a considerable amount of resistance against breaking out of the ground.
Weight also significantly impacts how well and how fast an anchor digs in. A material, when fully immersed in water, looses a considerable amount of the force of its weight. This fact makes lightweight anchors relatively useless unless you are willing to dive and set the anchor by hand. Even then, wind and current changes break out any anchor -and the light anchor will not set back in. The Buegel Anchor’s weight, combined with it’s wide flat surface and it’s patented form and shape makes it dig right back in after changes in wind and current direction.
Hinged anchors tend to be unstable because they “twist” under stress and break out. A rigid anchor avoids this pitfall. The Buegel Anchor is extremely rigid.
The strength of an anchor lies at its tip. A sharp, pointed tip enables the anchor to penetrate hard, grassy and rocky bottoms. The sharp point, however, is quite useless if it bends when it hits coral or rocky ground. The Buegel’s strong and rigid blade is thick but sharp and pointed and will not bend or deform.
You would expect such a perfect anchor to be quite expensive – it’s not! It is quite affordable, even “cheap” considering the value of your boat, gear and life.
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