Anchors: Myths and reality:

Myth: It’s the weight that provides holding!

Reality: If this assertion was true when man used a heavy stone attached to a vine to moor his boat, it is no longer true at all.

The holding of an anchor is proportional to its surface area hidden in seabeds, hence the importance of an effective penetration and of the largest possible ratio "surface area / weight ». Compared to traditional anchors and at equal weight, the RAYA anchor has more than double the surface area.

The shape of the fluke of the anchor is also important: At equal surface, a conical-shaped fluke will be more effective than other profiles.

 Lastly, an anchor must allow the backward evacuation of sea-bed materials, which enables it to penetrate more deeply and prevents the anchor to break free by shearing effect of the ground.

The shape in portion of cone (patented) of the RAYA anchor perfectly fulfill these requirements.

Myth: It is the chain and not the anchor that holds the boat!

Reality: If it is the case of your ground tackle, it is high time that you plan to change your anchor!..

Measurement is easy to realize: the holding of a chain alone, on grounds of sand or mud, is roughly equal to the double the weight of the part of chain resting on the bottom.

By light wind, it is indeed often the weight alone of the chain resting on the bottom that will hold the boat; but as soon as the wind increases, the chain tightens and the portion resting on the bottom decreases considerably. It is then the anchor and the anchor only, that will ensure the holding of the boat. The only role of the chain is to avoid wearing of the mooring line on the bottoms, sometimes aggressive.

Myth: The technique of anchoring is more important than the model of anchor:

Reality:- If certain characteristics of mooring are imperative, - for example a sufficient scope (at least twice the height of water at the time of the penetration of the anchor and at least 5 times the height of water for a safe mooring), the anchor must be designed to drop automatically in a penetrating position, without the need for complex maneuvering techniques. A simple reverse gear must be enough to dig the anchor deeply, and the anchor must resist to an important reverse traction of the engine.

Myth: All the anchors are identical!

 Reality: - During more than 2000 years man practically used a single model of anchor: the “fisherman” anchor, emblem of the marine. During the 19th century, new shapes of anchors were born. In the field of yachting, the traditional anchors were invented around 1930.

As in all the other fields, the last ten years have seen the advent of new models of various shape and materials. Almost all these new models have much better holding characteristics than  traditional anchors.

Myth: One needs at least two anchors of the different type on board:

Reality: - It is tempting to think that if a type of anchor does not function on a given ground, a different model might be better suited to a specific condition. If the theory is attractive, in practice one realizes quickly that the two different types both function well under identical easy mooring conditions, (sand and mud), but do not function under identical difficult conditions: (seaweed, hard sand, rocks).

The RAYA anchor showed its perfect operation under the extreme mooring conditions present off of Tierra del Fuego and in the Argentinian and Chilean channels of Patagonia (Seaweed, kelp, moraine etc), as well as in violent winds. The RAYA anchor will thus be also perfectly adapted to the standard mooring conditions.

Myth: There is no universal anchor.

Reality: - this time, this assertion is exact. But if there are anchors better adapted to a specific ground than to another, the versatility of the RAYA anchor gives excellent results on various types of sea-beds. A second opening at the end of the shank is designed to receive a bow shackle in order to thread the chain and thus, easily and without dismounting the chain, change the towing angle from 32° for the standard conditions, to  40° for soft mud.