Greg,

Subject: M1 anchor

Message Body:
Just received my second m1 anchor these are the best I have ever used while at the local sand bar we do get a lot of wave action from boats and skis going bye it’s funny to watch everyone have to go reset their anchor while I sit on my swim deck drinking a beer and my buddy says  are you going to reset your anchor I said no I have a mantus it doesn’t move till I pull it up one day I let him drop anchor and it almost pulled him out of the boat I asked him what happened and he said man I have never had an anchor set that quick the thing almost ripped me out of the boat. I just laughed and said that’s my mantus thanks for such a great product

“Today I received my Mantus S2 Anchor Swivel.  To be honest, I had NO idea what I was getting.  I thought quality made products pretty much ended in the 60’s.  I’m very impressed with the S2 Swivel, the weight of it, the castings, everything.  They sent a warranty card with it, I’m not going to register it because if it breaks, I’m going to have bigger problems than a lost anchor !!  Thank Mantus for a quality product.”

Just wanted to give you guys a shout out. The anchor market is large and full of guarantees that “this anchor is the best”. After many struggles anchoring on different bottoms with a danforth I gave up and began my quest for something better. I watched many videos and read many reviews. I ultimately ended up with your 13lb for my 2014 yamaha sx240. I have been to 8 different lakes this summer with varying bottoms and all I can say is wow. This anchor performs exactly as promised and hooks so quick and easily it is almost fool proof. What a product you guys have designed….kudos I am thoroughly impressed and that says A LOT!!!! My wife now does all of our anchor sets…and that my friends is nothing short of a miracle.

Greetings guys I thought i would just share this quick story and incident with y’all. I have a 23ft Yamaha jetboat and recently purchased the 17lb anchor for you. It sticks first try every time.
So last weekend I anchored up at a cool local spot.  the current rips through there too and it was ripping this day. i also had my good buddy’s 21ft Mako attached to me on my anchor. No prob at all.
We had some people anchor 100 ft off our bow. They had 3 Boats around 25 ft all tied up together, well they were distracted and inattentive, and eventually broke anchor drifting right into us. Well long story short. My anchor held all 5 boats with a ripping current while me and my buddy released each boat safely. I just thought that was very impressive for an anchor of that size.
Anyways thanks again for putting out a great product. i’m looking to get a smaller one for when i double anchor to the beach and just get rid of my stock one.

cheers and happy boating.

Having tried all the anchors out there, from a mushroom, a river, and any number of fluke style anchors, I just couldn’t get my boat to stay put exactly where I wanted, when I wanted.  I have a 19 foot fishing boat that spends a lot of time on Lake of the Woods in Minnesota.  I bought the 8 lb anchor in hopes of getting on the spot.  This anchor, with the correct amount of chain (1 foot per foot of boat) gets down and holds faster and stronger than the 6 previous anchors I have tried in the last 2 years.  I was getting tired of buying an anchor with the hope it would do what it is supposed to do.  My checkbook was getting lighter too.

After a frustrating cruising season in Belize last year trying to anchor with my 60 lb CQR anchor, dragging over thin sand and grass, I purchased a 55 lb Mantus.

What a difference this year!  Belize’s difficult anchoring spots were no trouble at all.  Last year, I had to try 3 times to set at South Water Cay.  This year, one try and the Mantus set in less than 1 yard!

This is a great anchor and combined with my Mantus anchor shackle, anchoring is safe and secure.

Many thanks and best regards,

• Bob Huether
• SV Moondance
• Island Packet 38

Hello Mantus Crew,

I just wanted to say hello and thanks for making such an awesome product that sets so fast.  My wife and I and two little ones, are refitting our sailboat to do some cruising about two months at a time.  Its an older Columbia 29 S&S design and as such she carries a narrow beam, plus were only a 29 foot boat!

So with limited space we have to select all our gear carefully.  We need the most functional and pragmatic products at the best price.  We believe after extensive research that your anchors fit that need.  The Cruisers Forum has amazing photos and video of your anchors setting and it really pushed us over the top.  Its an excellent value proposition and we expect it to last us for many years.  Matter of fact were headed to the Cook’s in December and were thinking about trying to get some photos of your anchors setting with our new underwater camera (gotta love Costco prices and Fuji)!

Please send our regard to all the folks involved with design, marketing, manufacture and even shipping.  As we sail more and more we will no doubt find continued value with your products and we feel like your enabling our adventures so THANK YOU!

We initially bought the 25lbs hook which is appropriate and our next two anchors will be the 35lbs for heavy weather anchoring, followed by the 2lbs anchor for our Zodiac and Porta-Bote.  I haven’t seen your bow rollers in person yet, but I know they will be excellent quality too and that’s on our list.

Again, you guys are awesome and as we continue our refit later this month following our haul-out maybe I can send a few photos.  When she is done, it will be one of the most beautiful and sea kindly pocket cruisers ever!

Cheers

• Daniel & Julia Harrison
• Bozeman, MT

HI Phillip,

If you recall, we met at the boat show. Here’s my testimonial story:

Last year, at the boat show, my husband became intrigued by your Mantus SCUBA apparatus,  and decided to buy it on the spot. I, of course, rolled my eyes. Another toy for the boat. He had the right words though: someday, when we need it, we’ll have it. Well, lo and behold, that day came, and earlier then we would have expected. That fall, in the North Channel, friends we were sailing with put their boat on the rocks. A big pile of boulders that was just below the surface and not marked well. They were locked in, too. The boat was floating, but waves continued to knock it against the rocks.

My husband had the perfect tool. He set up the Mantus Scuba and dove down to investigate. He found that if we could turn the bow in a certain direction, we just might be able to float if out. Three hours later, kedging and kedging, we got it faced in the direction it needed to be, and out she came.  Without the Mantus SCUBA Kit we never would have figured it out. With the visibility under water, even snorkel gear wouldn’t have helped. The cost of the SCUBA Kit saved our friends an outrageous tow fee. Thank you Mantus! What a great product.

All my best,

• Kimberli A. Bindschatel

Dog Day Afternoon

It was a beautiful, sunny, but of course hot August afternoon on Saturday, August 19 as 9 boats rafted up alongside Blue Moon in Eagle Cove to spend the afternoon sampling gourmet hot dogs (40 of them to be exact), share side dishes and sailing stories, and down a LOT of beverages. Starlight Express with Diane and Joe Jackins and Tony Torres aboard were the first to tie up, followed quickly by Dave and Denise Pirone in their Scout powerboat, Dick and Dretta Peterson aboard April Fool, Wally and Jean Gribbin in their Boston Whaler, Clent Lowe in his unique little powerboat, prospective members Joe and Sally Morris aboard their perfectly kept Bristol 35.5 Sara, Dod Poe and his son Henry and friend Everett on his powerboat Blackbird, Peggy and Ed Poe aboard Ravenous, and finally Jim and Janet Ganeyhill, friends of the Jackins who sailed down from the Bush River aboard Snow Dance, their beautiful Cabo Rico 38.

In the late afternoon, several boats broke off to head home, leaving Starlight Express, April Fool, and Snow Dance still tied up to Blue Moon. After a nice sunset, and anticipating a quiet night, a look at the weather radar showed (what else?) a line of thunderstorms due to hit around 11:00 PM. Prudence, good seamanship, and common sense all told us to break up the raft, but Blue Moon has a new windlass, new chain, new chain snubber, and a new 85 lb. Mantus anchor that we wanted to test out. So we sat with some trepidation as approximately 100,000 pounds of boats hung on the single anchor, keys in ignitions, lines ready to be let loose, and room downwind of us with no boats to hit. Luckily, the storms split a bit, the worst going north and south of us, so we only received a little rain, and wind to 25 knots with some gusts over 30.  Several powerboats dragged (no surprise there…) and at least one sailboat as well, but we did not move as we held our breath. The storms cooled the night down wonderfully, and we ended up sleeping under a blanket! A great ending to a fun day on the Magothy.

Just got back from a month cruising the San Juan Islands and Canada. I
cannot say enough about the mantus anchor you sold us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy Moley!

Set the first time (EVERY TIME!) At one point we stayed anchored for 4
nights, with many 180 degree wind shifts and then were surprised by a
25mph+ wind… She stayed put while others were dragging. Actually had
to start our engine and get ready to give way to a larger power boat
that had dragged over our anchor and was about to hit our boat…
Nothing happened and thee mantus still held! Boat probably weighed 7k#
to 7.5k# with your 25# & swivel, 40′ of 5/16″ G4 and 1/2″ braided nylon…

Just fantastic! We BOTH commented over and over again on how secure we
felt. able to sleep peacefully.

THANK YOU!

Richard & Teresa

I installed the mid-sized swivel on a 52 Kg Vulcan anchor for my Selene 53 trawler which has a Maxwell 2500 windlass and 400 feet of 3/8 inch chain.  Swivel construction was impressive.  Installation went well and was simple.  First night out about 2 weeks ago we were anchored out on the Yeocomico River off the Chesapeake Bay.  A major storm with steady wind of 40 and gusts to 60 blew through within an hour  and I let out an additional 50 feet of rode to give me a 7 to one ratio for scope.  The 100,000 trawler did some dancing in the anchorage for around an hour and drew the chain tight many times.  The anchor and swivel performed flawlessly.  That was a great test for my new ground tackle set up and I can sleep peacefully in the future.

Thanks – Jack

Before purchasing this Mantus anchor I watched lots of videos about anchor reviews. I decided to purchase the Mantus 17 lb galvanized steel anchor. I am so happy with my decision. With this anchor we can simply throw it into the lake and then we let out plenty of anchor line. This Mantus anchor holds the bottom like crazy. It is so impressive. Our friends met us on the lake and their anchor was not holding. They tied up to our boat and the Mantus anchor had no problem holding both boats. On the Mantus website it appeared that the 13 lb anchor was all we needed to hold our boat. I’m a believer in “bigger is better” and I had room to store the larger 17 lb anchor on my boat. So I went with the 17 lb anchor and then also bought 5/8″ thick anchor line. I’ve never thought I’d be talking about an anchor so much when I’m on the water. I see other people struggling with their anchors and I walk over (on the sandbar) and tell them they need to go to SailorSams.com and order themselves a Mantus anchor. With my old anchor I used to have to dive into the water and try to set the anchor by positioning the tines into the clay/sand bottom. Half the time my old anchor didn’t hold. With the Mantus anchor I just drop the anchor in and it holds within a couple feet of the drop point – given that we give it enough anchor line for a good angle on the line. Now I use my old anchor on the back of my boat. I am going to order a Mantus 13 lb anchor for the back of my boat and get rid of my old anchor entirely. Wow…I am such a raving fan about my Mantus anchor. This is a great investment. Happy Boating!

Tried to leave the following review but kept getting blocked.

On Sunday April 16th, we found ourselves in 45 Kts and 10ft breaking wind waves heading to San Franciso in a SE wind.  After 6 hours of struggling against wind coming from the direction of our destination we were forced to run for anchorage in Drakes Bay, north of San Francisco.  In a south easterly, Drakes Bay offers no shelter but it does provide an anchorage.   The wind were maintaining a steady 35 kts when reached Drakes Bay.  We dropped our 55lb Mantus with 180 ft of 3/8 chain. You can imagine the relief when immediatly set with our lee shore approx 550yds away

We set up an anchor watch and sat for 7 hours with 35kts on the nose and 4 ft wind waves.  Around 1:00 am the wind settled back to around 15 kts, the waves dropped to around 2 ft and we slept.

The anchor did an astonishing job in very uncertain circumstances.   We l done team.

We chose the same Mantus 65# for our 44′ cutter. Couldn’t be happier. Have safely been on the hook for squalls over 50 kts; sustained winds of 40 kts. and Hurricane Matthew winds in southern FL, >50 kts. The boat weighs in at 23,000, empty. (But, when does that ever happen?!) Fully laden we are probably closer to 28,000#. Our #2 is a Fortress FX-37. It was deployed on a 45* alongside the Mantus for the hurricane. Have a Britney 38# and a Danforth 25# on the stern, just in case. We even have two sizes of dinghy anchors. Never, never, never skimp on ground tackle.

I usually don’t rate products but this anchor is the security I was looking for.  I upgraded from a Delta which was marginal at best.  We swing on anchor most of the summer in the North Channel Ontario.  This anchor responded exactly as advertised, set fast and held hard!!! I used it in conjunction with the bridle and mantus hook.  What a smooth ride on the anchor.  Looking forward to another great year in the coming summer or when the ice melts.

Thank you for a great product!

I bought a 45 lb Mantus and a bridle and swivel for my Grand Banks 36.  It has set on the first time every time I’ve used it and it’s never drug.  My boat hasn’t moved an inch with the anchor you gave me. I love it.  And I really like doing business with your company. I’ve said so on the trawler forum.  Thank you for giving me the best anchor available.
Bryant.

Paul and I went out for a little putt putt in the bay and lo and behold as were putting along both engines died.
We had to call Paul Conner to get a boat and come out and work on the engines all the while not knowing whether the new anchor was going to hold or we were going to drift into the ship channel.
It did hold on a very short scope, like two to one. Grabbed the second we put it down. Thanks.
Nice relaxing day at sea.

Hi Greg, just wanted to let you know how impressed we were with our new Mantus anchor.  We just got back from the BVI where we installed the anchor and used it.  It grabbed the first time, no plowing like our previous Delta, and dug in deep.  Thanks again.

Rob

Hi Greg,

I’ve been meaning to drop you a note and since I received this email, I figured a response was in order.  I’d say the Mantus Anchor passed my personal challenge as well.

We were headed off shore to Florida on the 23rd of April but had a mechanical failure and after it was fixed, and we had lost a weather window, we decided to head up the ICW.  The first night was at a place call the Taylor Bayou Outflow.  It was recommends to use by others that have traveled the ICW.  It was supposedly a good overnight anchorage and active captain had it listed as good as well.

Yeah, well my opinion of the anchorage is something else.  It’s not great.  Doable but not great.  The wind was blowing down the length of the canal at about 15-20kts.  Ok.. I’ll live with it and played out about 125′ of 3/8 chain on the Mantus.  Depth as I recall was around 15′ ish.

We walked on the anchor part of the night and after the winds settled it was a good evening.

Now, the next morning we woke to see a huge wall cloud/storm to the southwest of us.  My girlfriend had also received a couple of texts warning us of a storm that had come through Houston.  Not soon after that the storm hit.  And I mean HIT.  The winds heeled over the boat about 10 degrees and blew it 180 degrees from where it was facing.  This all happened very rapidly in a narrow area.  The boat was moving rapidly in the opposite direction when it came to a stop.  The anchor reset and held perfectly.  We didn’t budge for the 45 min that the high winds blew.   I’m not sure the wind speed but I suspected it was around 30 kts for awhile then down to 15kts.

Anyway, after that, all the way to Florida, I have slept soundly knowing that the anchor is first rate, sets well and resets even after a hard rotation.  Just thought you should know.

Ed

Hello Greg,
This is Kendall sipe. Talked with you in November 2015 on a 18′ aluminum boat with a duck blind. This anchor is awesome! This thing would hold the titanic!! Thanks for all your help.
Kendall

Hi there,

Dear Mantus Anchor:

I just had to send you a note telling you that I love my Mantus Anchor.
I have a 30 foot Hunter Sailboat that we sail at Clinton Lake – Lawrence, Kansas. It’s a Corp of Engineers lake and the bottom is pure mud! We also get some serious wind gusts here on this lake.
I have (shall I say, had!) a NorthStar CQR plow anchor (35 lb.) that we used for a lunch anchor. It would never really set in this muddy lake bottom and I was always on guard whenever we stopped to swim or have lunch. It would slowly allow the boat to drift as the anchor “plowed” along the bottom.
I replaced it with a 25 lb. Galvanized Mantus anchor. Wow! What a difference. All I have to do is drop anchor and it hold tight like a vise. I just love it. No dragging or movement. The anchor is also very forgiving with a short rode and wind direction changes.
Thanks again for an excellent and safe product!

If you are a cruiser, then you know that watching other boats come into anchor can be a pretty fun spectator sport. Particularly when you have been securely set for a day or two, reading a book in the cockpit, perhaps a drink in hand. We have watched numerous boats make 3 or 4 attempts to set their own hooks. We never have to reset. EVER! I really don’t think this is lack of skill on their part. It is simply the anchor. All anchors are NOT equal.

Good day

I wish to say the units you sold us are working flawlessly. Your product line is truly a first class one.  All the info you gave me turned out to be right on!

For this I wish to say thank you

Garry Linne

Megafend mooring products

Love! my anchors.  Bought, one, 8 lb anchor, two years ago @ the Newport, RI Boat Show.  It worked so well, I bought another at the same show this year for my 19 ft center console boat with a 115 hp E-TEC Evinrude engine.

I have a challenging anchoring situation at a place called Boat Beach on the Westport River in Westport, Massachusetts.  One has to anchor the stern at an accurate position as your coming in perpendicular to the beach.  There is a strong current running parallel to the beach and there are other boats close by.  It works perfectly every time on the sandy bottom.

When I assembled the anchor I used Never-Seeze [ https://neverseezproducts.com ] instead of the grease supplied.  Probably didn’t have to do that, because I don’t ever plan to take it apart, but you know how engineers are.

I like your ‘Team’

Happy Holidays,

Don Hadfield

Retired Mechanical Engineer

Mantus has preformed flawlessly from Kemah to Saint Joe Florida. We have spent the night on the anchor approximately 40 nights and the Mantus has set the first time every time. We have never drug and have been through multiple wind and current shifts without issue.
We have recommended the Mantus to anyone who will listen and feel it was probably our best purchase in preparations for cruising.

Dan Kelley & Audrey Eaton
S/V Brynli

We’ve now made two trips from Seattle to Alaska with our Kadey Krogen 48NS. We absolutely love the Mantus. It has always impressed us at how quickly it takes hold. The only occasion where it may take a bit of time to set is when you can feel (and hear) it being dragged across a solid slab of rock. And even in those cases it seem to find a purchase. We’ve come to trust it to hold and that is in Alaska and Northern  British Columbia where anchoring is often in deep locations with little room to swing resulting in relatively short scope conditions.

Thanks for reading through this. I’m looking forward to your ideas on what we might do for a bow anchor roller.

Regards,

Don

Hi Greg,
It was nice talking with you earlier.
I have used a Mantus anchor for the past two years on our 1990 Catalina 34 MK II , Pleiades, with great success.  We have anchored in sand, gravel, sand plus shells, sand with grass, and mud.  We have experienced winds from calm to 40 knots while at anchor. and have also had situations where the boat had rotated 180 degrees due to tidal effects, and at no time have we ever dragged anchor!

Furthermore, in addition to Pleiades, my wife and I also own the Jeanneau 36i Sandpiper that was part of the Sunsail charter fleet in the BVI for five years, and is now part of the Horizon charter fleet in Antigua.  Sandpiper was outfitted by Sunsail with a Lewmar “Delta” anchor.  Since the water in the Caribbean is very clear I am able to actually see the anchor when snorkeling.  Thus, I will do an “anchor check” after it is evident that we are set, and not dragging anchor.  Almost every time, the Lewmar Delta would show a “furrow” anywhere from 10 to 25 feet long where it had initially dragged, before finally setting.

However,  after I bought our 25 lb. Mantus anchor for Pleiades– based on both reviews from prior users, and your underwater videos during comparison tests with other anchor brands – I did the same thing whenever possible here in New England.  While our local waters are generally not anywhere near as clear as those in the Caribbean, there were a few locations such as Kettle Cove off Naushon Island, and near Provincetown on Cape Cod, where I could do a visual anchor check.  In every case the “furrow” was less than the length of the anchor!   Impressive.

I am also impressed by Mantus’ sense of innovation.  The new Mantus Anchor Guard is an excellent example.  Hopefully, the anchor will no longer wobble back and forth every time we tack, and the tip will be much less likely to dink our Awl Grip topsides.

I have attached both a current CV, and a photograph of Pleiades sailing in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, with Newport, RI in the background.  While perhaps difficult to see, our Mantus anchor is on the bow.

I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Paul

Received the anchor 25lb Mantus.  I chuckled when I saw the box 4″ in height. Removed the top of the box and was impressed  how securely the anchor parts were packaged.  Assembled the anchor  per the instructions – used plenty of grease.  Went to my boat and removed the 10k Bruce that’s been on there for years and installed the Mantus.  When I called you to get your opinion on how the Mantus would sit on the bow roller the Bruce had been on, you said it would be okay and you were right.  Sailed to Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara Channel (off the coast of So. Cal), last weekend, went to Pelican Bay.  Let my new anchor down in 30′ of water, back down had about 120′ of chain and 1/2″ anchor rode out, cleated it off and told my sailing buddy to set the hook, took the rpm up to 2000 and the boat didn’t move, surprisingly, it was already set. We then went to the 180′ marker on the rode cleated it off again this time went to 2500 rpm the boat still didn’t move, I’m not use to this happening with the Bruce.  After two days there and the Northerlies coming in at night, the boat pitching and pulling, I thought  retrieving the anchor would be difficult, especially not having a windless;however, it was no more difficult to pull up than the Bruce.  Thanks for all your help and good service.

Misty Seas S/V. Ventura Ca.

Dear Mantus Anchor:

I just had to send you a note telling you that I love my Mantus Anchor.

I have a 30 foot Hunter Sailboat that we sail at Clinton Lake – Lawrence, Kansas.  It’s a Corp of Engineers lake and the bottom is pure mud!  We also get some serious wind gusts here on this lake.  I have (shall I say, had!) a NorthStar CQR plow anchor (35 lb.) that we used for a lunch anchor.  It would never really set in this muddy lake bottom and I was always on guard whenever we stopped to swim or have lunch.  It would slowly allow the boat to drift as the anchor “plowed” along the bottom. I replaced it with a 25 lb. Galvanized Mantus anchor.  Wow!  What a difference.  All I have to do is drop anchor and it hold tight like a vise.  I just love it.  No dragging or movement.  The anchor is also very forgiving with a short rode and wind direction changes.   Thanks again for an excellent and safe product!
A. T. Martin

Hi Greg,

Just wanted to let you know how impressed we were with our new Mantus anchor.  We just got back from the BVI where we installed the anchor and used it.  It grabbed the first time, no plowing like our previous

Delta, and dug in deep.

Thanks again, Rob

Hi,

We moved from a Rocna 40Kg to a Mantus 125#. The Rocna is a great anchor. However, with the weather we are experiencing we sleep well with the Mantus. It sets really fast and shift around on the spot on wind direction changes. Very reassuring. The Bahamas sand is mostly easy off course. We still have the Rocna, but of now it is in the locker with a secondary chain and 3-strand as a back up. Over the years I have learned not to save on the anchor system. Our boat comes recommended by the brokers (maybe suggested by Lagoon) with a Delta 25kg. That is a total joke.

I had hoped to use you Mantus hooks as well to make thinks easy for the Admiral on the fore deck. However, it is way too big to fit through the bow roller on a Lagoon 450 catamaran. We look forward to test the Mantus in grassy bottoms. We expect the sharp point and steep angle provided by the roll bar will make it pierce through the grass in no time at all, before it can accumulate a lot of grass that will prevent any anchor from setting.

Great service from you guys too. Very responsive and good follow up. Unfortunately, often in the marine industry, the customer does not exist anymore once he has paid.  Thanks for the several follow ups.

Boat: Lagoon 450
Cruising weight 40,000+ pounds
High windage boat.

Best regards

Rolf

My first trip out with this anchor on my boat and what a crazy experience. 20 mph winds gust to 26 mph 4′ chop white caps, and this anchor held solid and never let go in this extreme weather. Blown away by the anchor holding solid and never slipping. Recommend this anchor for your application you will not be disappointed.

Talking anchors is a bit like talking religion and people have strong opinions. After spending almost every night at anchor over the last year and surviving strong winds and rough anchorages with all kinds of bottoms without dragging, I’m ready to jump into the fray with a plug (uncompensated and with no hidden agenda) for our Mantus anchor. We love it. Yeah, we love it so much maybe we WILL marry it……….

Hi Phillip, thanks for sending the anchor to us.  As it turned out, we anchored in a bit of a blow 40 knot gusts in the North Channel up in Canada, at 2 in the morning, we heard a bump…I knew what that was…someone else had lost their anchor and more or less drifted right into us. After catching their boat, they rafted onto us, and spent the night there …two boats, one anchor…Mantus!  I was very glad to have had it that night!!

Walter Payerl

President

RapidShot N.A., Inc.

The first weekend came where we didn’t have to do anything and it was going to be relaxing, but oh no, bitch nature had something to say about that.  The past 36 hours it’s been blowing hard.  A guy came by and tried talking my Captain into moving to a mooring saying the holding here is only a few inches of “stuff” on top of limestone.  Well, my Captain wouldn’t have anything of it, but he did deploy his second anchor just in case.  Good thing because I hate dragging my anchor.

The two anchors he has out now are the Bullwagga and the Mantus.  Both are new style anchors but the Bullwagga maker is out of business.  Captain loves the Bullwagga but for some reason, this storm seems to be mostly riding on the Mantus and it’s doing quite well.  It’s our first time using this anchor so it’s good to know she can handle her own.  Winds at times were reach 40 knots but mostly in the range of 25 knots.

This anchorage has a problem with strong currents and due to the fact that there isn’t good protection all the way around in any anchorage and many stories around about “the last storm” that I think the Captain is going to head to Marithon soon as they have a very good mooring field that is protected in all directions…. Read the rest here

Hi Greg;

Just received your 13lb. Being very curious how you got your design to set in hard packed sand (where others fail), I had to try it right away in our yard. It did indeed set, well done! It seems that you have perfected the chisel point, a little different than both our Rocna and Manson.

I have to admit I’m a bit of an anchor buff, and have about 30 anchors in our boat house, and I love to photograph them under water to see how they perform. We have been sailing on Georgian Bay since ’65 (part of Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes), where the sea bed is often a combination of weed, rock, gravel, mud, and sometimes sand (and old logs too left over from the days of logging the area).

You should think about a simple knock down design with perhaps one shank bolt and welded tabs the shank foot slides into, it would be great for those who want to stow it in pieces and need quicker deployment.

Again, great job, thanks!
Brian.

It’s working great. It digs in very quickly. I have used it in mud and soft sand.
The soft sand was at Ship Island in MS. The anchorage was partially exposed
overnight and the wind increased to 20 knots. I’m going on a week and half long trip
two weeks from now. I’ll reference my log after and give you a detailed report. We
will be anchoring every night thanks to my shoal draft capabilities!

The latest anchoring research indicates that the venerable articulated shank plow (CQR) and double fluke (Danforth) types of anchors are not roll stable, i.e. they often pull out when wind direction changes. Conversely, the non-articulated, fixed shank types such as Mantus, Delta, and Spade are roll stable. As I am preparing for long distance coastwise cruising beginning in October, this prompted me to abandon my big CQR and get a 35lb Mantus for my trawler.
Wow!
I love the Mantus. Sets for me quickly every time in all bottoms, including sand, grass, soft mud, clay, and has held beautifully in all these holding grounds.
I am totally sold on the Mantus design and quality.
Phil Geren
Past Vice Commodore
Texas Mariners Cruising Association

Just returned from a cruise with 2 of the boats equipped with Mantus
anchors. Flawless performance (as expected), including a night in high winds anchored in a cove off an old sawmill where the lake bottom was amix of waterlogged pine tree bark chips and grey clay. Not the best for holding, as the bark chips (pieces mostly around 2″ X 6″) tend to block the flukes of Danforth and Bruce types, requiring multiple setting attempts. Mantus bites immediately. I normally go for a swim to check the set, but in this case the dark tannin in the water prevents a visual check… a little stressful in bad weather.
I’ve just placed an order for another two Mantus anchors, officially retiring the two other anchors we carry aboard. No sense lugging around obsolete ground tackle.

Thanks!
Brian, Sailing an Alberg on The Great Lakes.

“Just wanted to post a quick endorsement of Mantus Anchors.
I have a 44 foot Voyage Catamaran, it had a 55lb Delta. I am a charter boat Captain current’y doing charters in the galveston Bay area but am heading to the Virgin Islands this fall. The Delta worked ok, but I wanted an anchor that I would not have to think about. While catering to a boat full of guests the last thing I want to worry about is whether my anchor is going to drag in the middle of the night. On my prior boat I had a Manson Supreme which worked great, I was planning on buying one of them until I came across the Mantus at a local boat show. I decided to get the 85lb, I wanted to sleep well. I had problems getting this anchor to fit on my bow roller, after some discussions with Mantus we traded it for the smaller 65lb anchor. This fits perfectly.
I first used the anchor this past Labor Day weekend. The first night there was little wind and figured we would not have a problem dragging, what stood out in my mind was that when we backed down to set the anchor it hooked up so well that it almost jerked one of the guys off the boat. The bottom in Galveston Bay is mud, thick mud, usually when the anchor is pulled up it is completely covered, the Mantus shed most of this mud.
The second and third night were spend at another anchorage, lots more wind and we actually had a 180 wind shift and then a shift back to the original direction over a few hours. I happened to be on the boat while this happened and we never were anywhere close to pulling the anchor loose. I did watch a few other boats drag.
Although I haven’t used the Mantus all that much yet I am please with my purchase, it took a lot of convincing to not go with a Manson Supreme but I am happy that I did.
If you have any questions you can contact me directly.
Captain Steve Schlosser
S/V Alternate Latitude
usvicatamaran.com

This is the Mantus anchor which I have grown to love…not much left to see huh?  It’s really dug in.  I’ve ridden solely on both anchors in winds over 50 knots so I know they are both very good anchors and set very well.  You can’t buy a new Bulwagga anymore so I’d recommend the Mantus over any other anchor on the market.  From what I can tell, the extra weight on the tip and the expanded rollbar really help the tip dig in immediately

Franklin Gray

“The primary anchor, the Mantus, did very well.  It didn’t budge much at all, just enough for it to dig in so deep that the very top of the rollbar was 6 inches below the surface, which I believe was only about 2 feet of drag.  The in tandum anchor chain still had its 10+ feet of slack so that means the Mantus never dragged.  It did rotate when the winds rotated as it was pointing 120 degrees different direction from how it was set.  All in all, it passed a very tough test.  70 knots gusting to 80 knots and it didn’t drag but 2 feet….awesome!” – Franklin Gray reports from Bahamas

full blog post here: Dreamboat and it’s crazy Captain

We love our new 3/8″ Mantis Hook! We have been sailing our 45′ Prout catamaran to the Bahamas for the last 3 years.
We have tended to anchor out rather than do the marinas to save on the cruising fund.
One constant issue with a catamaran is that one must deploy a bridle that extends 10-12′ from the bows to keep the vessel from wandering at anchor. Since we draw only 4′ the bridle sometime winds up laying on the bottom. If the wind and current slack and we have anchored in less than 12′.. more like 6′ or 7 ‘ … the standard chain hook often falls off once it rests on the bottom.
Not so with the Mantis Hook !
It holds on and I sleep better and so does the Admiral!
Greatefully noted-
Capt. Dave andChris O’Neill
S/V Felix

Mantus passes first test on trip to Blake Island

For a full story: http://gulf32aeolus.blogspot.com/2013/01/mantus-passes-first-test-on-trip-to.html

“When we pulled up to about 1:1 the windlass actually bogged down a bit and had a moment of struggle to free the Mantus from the seabed. Let me tell you something, that never happened with our CQR. And our windlass is a 1000W Lofrans Tigres. A really beautiful beast”

“So the Mantus set right away into a mud/sand bottom, held the boat firm when tugged back, and then was a bit hard to pull out with our windlass until we were really 1:1. I would say that is great news for this anchor and I am excited about giving some more work in the months ahead”

Anchor Away
Created by a cruising sailor frustrated by the performance of traditional ground tackle, the Mantus anchor—available in galvanized or stainless-steel models—is a high-performance, “new generation” anchor especially designed to set and hold in hard or grassy bottoms. Formulated with steel plate and no cast parts (the shank and shank boot are welded from top to bottom, and the shank and roll bar are bolted to the fluke), the anchor’s “nose” is reinforced for extra strength, and every Mantus comes with a lifetime guarantee.
$90 to $940 (galvanized models), (855) 262-6887, www.mantusmarine.com

http://www.cruisingworld.com/gear/hardware/aprils-new-products

“..this was my second time anchoring with my new Mantus anchor, and wow, once again it was pretty incredible… this captain is super happy with the holding power of his anchor!”
Full story: Perfect trip to Friday Harbor and Mantus proves itself again
-Brian W.
S/V Aeolus

Just to let you know that the Mantus 8/9 pound anchor is doing great on my Bahamas cruise. Since l sailed over here in my 12 foot boat, I could only carry one anchor and I’m glad I choose your product. As advertised it sets quickly and holds well in many bottom types.  Of course the little boat gets a lot of attention and people also ask about my ground tackle which I’m happy to show them since I’m often in the shallows or dried out in the flats. Well keep up the good work.

Dave Bolduc
Exumas, Bahamas

I have been living on my Pacific Seacraft Orion 27 since Nov. 2011 I started from Cambride, MD , spent the first winter in Farendena, FL. Went back north as far as Washington,NC. proceeded south to Southport NC. I left Southport June 22 2012 arrived at Clearlake TX August 25 2012 and was hit by a Searay speed boat 2 hours after arriving. I have lived on the hook all but 9 days of that time. I have a Rocna 10 kilo and a Rocna 15 kilo that is presently my primary anchor, I have been very happy with them up to this point. We were having easterly wind of sustained 15 to 20 knots with gusts of up to 35 knots. When I noticed that I was draging down wind at a very slow rate of under 1 knot. My primary has never done that with all the varied bottoms that I encountered traveling the ICW from Southport around the Keys to Clearlake. I pulled the anchor and noticed that it hadn’t completely burried itself having the rollbar showing the upper third clean of mud. I have an all chain rode of 5/16 ” g4 and always set my anchor by backing down at 2300 rpms on the 2Qm15 Yanmar engine that is in Thalassa. I have been doing my own tests with a Mantus 8lb that I purchased at Boaters resale. I do admit that my testing is a little ruthless but I have no time in my life for fabicated truth. I have had the Mantus taking all the strain for the past 2 weeks on Clearlake with 12 feet of 1/4 chain and 3/8″ rode of about 15 meters. I have reset the anchor every other day from my dinghy, and am very pleased with the holding as well as the retrieval. It sets quickly, holds fast and can be retrieved with the dinghy. It has come to the surface with no mud clogged on the fluke but once, and that time there was only about 20% of the fluke covered, witch was easily cleared with a few dunks in the water. The performance has been as good or better than my 16.5 lb claw anchor that I have to retrieve with Thaalassa, not being able to pull it out of the bottom with the dinghy. Clearlake has got a top cover of pudding mud that covers really hard mud. I will be leaving for North Carolina within the month after I redo the standing rigging on Thalassa, I have an old master fiberglass craftsman that I have worked with in North Carolina and will take Thalassa there to have the job done properly.

Hi Greg,
We are in Georgetown Bahamas and headed for the Turks and Caicos tomorrow, just wanted to update that we LOVE THE ANCHOR and have named it Monte! Monte digs in hard every time we stop. We have not dragged once since we left Key west over a month ago and have anchored out all but about 5 days in some pretty tough conditions including a sleepless night at Allen Cay in the Exumas when the wind shifted from E to W and we knew Monte could not hold but he did.. We did have one instance where I let the chain out to fast and it got wrapped around the shank of the anchor and it never set but that was my fault! Anyway the Anchor, the Combo tool, the Chain hook and the bottle opener are all working perfectly for us.

Thanks for the great product,

John Young
S/V Jacasso

Update we are now in Luperon DR and Monte loves the Luperon Mud! We have some very gusty winds during the day and so far in the last week 2 boats have had their anchors fail and one mooring ball broke loose. We just sit here comfortably knowing that the Mantus is set and we are going nowhere! Thanks again..
John Young
S/V Jacasso

A few months ago I purchased a 35lb Mantus anchor for my Endeavour cat 30 sailboat to go with a new windless. I just returned from 2 months cruising the Bahamas. I have sailed for over 30 years and used many brands of anchors.
No anchor I have ever used before has set EVERY TIME, in every type bottom, on the first pull except the Mantus. In the heavy grass I always dive to check the set. The Mantus set perfectly every time with only the “roll bar” showing. Heavy tidal currents and midnight storms all failed to unset it.
Friends I was cruising with would dive their anchors then look at mine and could not believe it. No other anchor even comes close!!!
Vaughan Weaver PE,
LCDR USN Ret.

We have been using the new bridle, hook and carabiner for about two weeks now.
As usual the anchor is working great, since removing the swivel I hook up on the first try every time. We have had unusually high wind here this past week and the anchor has worked great.
Now that Deb is here I have a second set of hands to help me out when anchoring and picking up mooring ball. I typically drive the boat and she handles the bow work. She is really pretty new to sailing and definitely new to working on a 44 foot catamaran. The new bridle and attachments have been VERY easy for her to use. She looks like a pro on the bow that has been doing it for a lot longer than she has. She hasn’t even chipped a nail yet.
Thanks again for making a quality product!

Steve
www.usvicatamaran.com

We just finished coming up the ICW and after many, many nights of anchoring I had tried all kinds of different ways to connect the chain to the bridle. I tried hooks, shackles, rolling hitches, etc. All had their shortcomings. Took too long to install / remove, fell off, etc. Then I found the Mantus chain hook. What a beauty in simplicity! Easy to install on the chain and easy to remove. Literally only takes seconds. The Mantus hook never fell off, even when it lay in mud all night. I could not be happier with this purchase. If you’re looking for the perfect chain hook, check out the Mantus.
Sid at Sailaway, 2001 Lagoon 410

http://www.multihulls4us.com/forums/showthread.php?p=60029&posted=1#post60029

Hi Folks~
I bought a 45 lb. Mantus and have used it as my primary anchor. We did a portion of the ICW from Georgia to Norfolk and anchored out most of the nights. Let me tell you something, this anchor set EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! Fast and deep. In Georgia and South Carolina we saw currents over 4 knots at some points. We had reversing currents with opposing wind and at one point we had to anchor in Whiteside Creek off of Dewey’s Inlet due to some serious weather building. Whiteside is not protected by anything other than a small bluff with trees on it. The wind built to 25 knots fast and there wasn’t too much room for error due to the grass sticking up out of the water on either side of the small creek. It was the only time I “worried” about the anchor setting and holding. I tell you, we didn’t have a single issue. It set and held all night long.
My wife and I live full-time and travel on our 35 ft. Cal sailboat… and I can say, the only thing I hate about this anchor is pulling it up in the morning. If you’re looking for a roll-bar type anchor, you should definitely put them on your list.
Chris D.
s/v Vacilando

After over 60,000 miles of cruising and anchoring 2 or 3 times a week using a combination of a 45lb CQR and a 45lb Danforth anchors with 80 feet each of 3/8″ chain backed up by 100 ft each of 1″ nylon rode, we decided to re-evaluate our ground tackle on Sampatecho II. It wasn’t that we were dragging with any regularity, although we had on occasion and it wasn’t that the 400 lbs on the bow hurt our performance severely although we did ride a little bow-heavy and “stuff” more big seas than I like. Ultimately, it just came down to placing more value on a good night’s sleep with fewer anchor-watches and midnight re-sets.
So, a little over a year ago, the search for a new anchor began. Like any other cruiser, I began reading magazine articles, surfing the Internet, checking out boat show exhibits and seriously talking to other boaters. You would think that boaters would be the best source of reliable information but I soon discovered that ground tackle runs a close third to politics and religion when it comes to subjectivity. Even the guy with a bucket of rocks thinks he has “the ultimate anchor”! From our own experience, we were ruling out the traditional anchors; Bruce, Danforth, CQR and Delta which, when properly set, are good in many conditions but definitely not ALL conditions.
We’re searching for the Holy Grail of anchors which would set immediately in sand, mud, marle, rocks, gravel and kelp, hold with 5:1 scope through gale force winds and re-set just as quickly should the tidal current reverse and pull in the opposite direction. It took about 4 months but we narrowed the field down to 5 contenders; Rockna, Spade, Manson and Mantus. I had some experience with each of these from deliveries or friends’ boats and all had worked faultlessly in my limited use. Each had “independent” testing to prove their supremacy and each had design differences to point to as their secret to success. The next 8 moths would determine which one was right for us.
Manson was the first to fall under scrutiny. The slotted shank may have some benefit in retrieval but my fear is that it could also dislodge the anchor in a reversing tidal current and weaken the shank in lateral forces when anchored in rock.
The Spade was next to fall because it lacked a roll bar to get it upright in all conditions especially soupy mud. It’s shape was great for biting into all surfaces but I feared that the lack of “righting ability” could be a problem in reversing current when a scoop full of goo could just ride along on top of the shank as we’d witnessed with Deltas. Lack of a retrieval mechanism in the event of fouling on cables, chains etc was also a concern.
Rockna had been my early favorite; used by such notables as Nigel Calder and the first to introduce the “roll bar” to orient the base quickly and effectively, I still believe it a great anchor and would recommend it heartily. It sets quickly, holds well and re-sets quickly too. It would be my choice except for the ultimate selection that we discovered thanks to two new cruisers from Texas on our old “buddy-boat” Our Way.
Mantus was developed not by an engineer but a doctor who was also a boater who borrowed from existing technology to produce the anchor of our dreams.  It too has a roll bar to orient the anchor as soon as it hits bottom then the blade shape takes over. Unlike the Rockna, the Mantus has extensions or ears that stick out to hold the roll bar. These ears apply further force on the blade tip to get it to dig-in instantly. This and the ability to retrieve a fouled anchor with a grappling hook , price and warranty made it our choice for purchase and evaluation. The Mantus comes with “some assembly required”  but it is so straightforward that instructions are not necessary and all parts are supplied. It takes all of 15 minutes to bolt it all together. While this had initially been a concern, the bolts are massive. We also opted for a slightly over-sized 65 lb model although we could have gone with a 45. We chose the larger size as it enabled us elite place the existing secondary 45 Danforth with chain by a Fortress stowed in a cockpit locker thus saving a net wight of 150lbs from the bow. The 65 is a tight fit (see photo) and may be over-kill, but this whole exercise is about total confidence and sound sleeping at anchor.
To test this, when anchoring, we zoom-in the chart plotter and drop a waypoint exactly where we drop the anchor. If we approach it from the same direction on departure the point should be the same. (The GPS antenna is 40 feet behind the bow so that has to be considered each time when we retrieve it.)
Day 1: Lake Sylvia, Florida -soft mud, little wind, no wave action
Set instantly, held fast absolutely no drag.
Day 2: Dinner  Key, Florida – sand, 10 kt wind, lots of powerboat wake
Set instantly, held fast, no movement
Day 3: Channel Five, Florida Keys – sand, 1 kt current (reversing) 10 kt wind
1 -2 ft seas occasional wake.
Set instantly, held fast, less than 10 ft movement
Day 4: West of Boot Key, Florida- sand, 1kt current, 10 kt wind, 2ft seas but
lots of powerboat wake
Set instantly, held fast, absolutely no movement
Day 6: Key West Channel, hard bottom, 2kt current (reversing) 15-20 kt
wind, 2-3 ft seas and lots of sport fisherman wake. THE BIG TEST;
With wind and tide opposing, this and seas rolling through unabated
from the north; this would be a real trial.
Anchored in 24 feet, we laid 80 feet of 3/8″ chain and another
40ft of 1″ nylon rode (total 130 ft) and greatfully had lots of swing-
room as the fluky tide and assortment of boats in this Harbour creates
mayhem as each one react differently to the high wind and strong
current . Set first time and held fast.
Day 7: Lake Sylvia, Ft Lauderdale hiding from a Cold Front. Mud bottom 10 feet deep crowded anchorage. 15 kts SW wind little current. Set instantly.
As wind swung around to NW then NE it picked up to 18-20. We held fast but the 50ft Hatteras beside us dragged slowly into the pilings of a private residence. Just as it reached the piling, we got a line on the bow and hauled her back into the anchorage but now the Mantus would need to hold our 44 ft sailboat and a 50 ft Hatteras with lots of windage AND tonnage. We called TowBoat US in case we couldn’t save her but there was no need! The Mantus held us both without dragging at all in the soupy bottom! We’ll be talking to the owner about upgrading to an anchor that HOLDS. The damage avoided today will easily pay for a stainless steel model. Well done Mantus!
Captain Bradd Wilson
S/V Sampatecho II
Beneteau 440

Hello, Meant to email you sooner, but just haven’t taken the time. We bought our Mantus anchor 35# late last summer, but didn’t get to use it till November. The anchor has been wonderful and definitely the right replacement from our plow. Maybe we’re not anchoring out enough, but our Mantus has set the first time every time we’ve used it and held all night long. You have a great product and the anchor combined with your hook and bridle system is the perfect system for us. Good luck in the years ahead.

Bob Schlobohm
9 Lives