Steve, We’ve been anchored these last two nights in strong winds. 25kg Vulcan (60lbs?) on G70 8mm chain, 5x depth, 14ton monohull sailing yacht. Mud over rock seabed in Scotland. Very impressive performance indeed. Sustained wind speed > 35kts, gusting > 45kts. No dragging, not an inch. Impressed. Robert

This video settled me on the Vulcan 15kg some months ago. Has'nt let me down yet. Thanks

I just brought a vulcan 20 based on your testing. Good to have unbiased review rather than listening to the manufacturer pat themselves on the back. By far the best anchorman out there.

Thanks for testing and sharing all your knowledge!

I love you videos about the anchors, great stuff, thanks for your work!

nice video! we just got a 55lb Vulcan for our Shannon 43, 13 ton sailboat. We're using it as the primary anchor from the bowsprit along with a back-up danforth up there as well. Can't wait to test it out. We found the same issue with the anchor moving around too much hanging from the bow roller so we're welding a short steel tube through the shank so we can insert a quick-release 1/2" diameter pin through the tube and holes on the side of the stainless bow roller to keep it from shaking. Hopefully that'll work! thx

Best anchor I ever had. Has never let me down not even once.

Adding another "anchor" test video to your channel will increase the value of your channel by, say, maybe 3%, I'm guessing.....but adding another video that you do entitled "Everything I know about proper ANCHORING", would increase the value of your channel way more than that! You have the ability to make one of the most viewed "anchoring" (vs. "anchors") videos on all of youtube - because you are seen as the #1 expert on "anchors" themselves. See what I mean? I'd watch it!!!! A 55-minute video by you on "proper anchoring techniques", because of your ultra-thorough/in-depth/scientific approach, could be the gold-standard on "how to anchor" on KZfaq. You deserve a million-hit video, and THAT could be it. No one is even CLOSE to you in "anchor" testing.

The comparative charts are the best part of your videos. Good work.

Excellent reviews mate

Been looking at the moment for my 40 ft cat, I was going to get a rocna but opted for the vulcan as it can be used with boats where the ancor roller is positioned under the bow . The rocknas bar over the top does not fit under my bow. now after watching this i am definatly choosing iy . thank you for all the work you put in so we can sit here and make informed desissions . Cheers Kai

I have a Vulcan 73 lb anchor on a Baltic 51. Very solid performance. It does like to swing in the roller and needs securing. It will self launch to an almost dangerous degree.

It is indeed impressive, the Vulcan!

Great job as usual Steve and you Have the volcan ranked in its proper place. I have bowsprit On my boat and add a hard rubber under the sprit and on the Side with a safety line attached It holds the volcan snug. But with any anchor I would remove it On any long ocean passage

Thanks for all your helpful anchor work, Steve! And I just made a donation, too :) Ref the Vulcan: seems to me Peter Smith's video on the Rocna site suggests the shank buries itself just under the surface... and then the Vulcan drags along at that depth ever after. Apparently the tip is not ballasted, like a SPADE? If true, I'd have thought a ballasted tip would have been better, but Smith says he wanted to "avoid the blunt instrument of huge amounts of (dedicated) tip weight." Can't imagine why, unless there are fabrication issues... OTOH, if the fluke is a casting, I'd have guessed it'd be more work to create a hollow tip than it would have been to cast it solid. Also, I'd have thought a "droop snoot cutting toe" (Morgan Cloud's term for the Excel fluke tip) could have turned the Vulcan into more of a diving anchor. I guess I'm imagining a one-piece SPADE with fully encapsulated tip ballast and a diving tip... BTW, from comments I've read elsewhere, I', beginning to suspect your "soft mud" test area maybe isn't the same as the soup/slime/ooze we have in some places here on the Chesapeake Bay. Imagine being waist deep in mud, can't touch "bottom," and you have to "swim" to get out of it.

It might be useful to show the 20kg vs 25kg test results to show how size & weight impact holding for one anchor type. I use a 25kg Vulcan on my 44 foot catamaran

Steve you may have covered this in previous videos, but 5 to 1 scope isn't what i normally run. I usually go right out to 7 to 1, and if the wind is really strong 25+ knots i let out ten to one. Secondly, the weight of your chain is very important in keeping you in one place, I found three eights chain to be the best for my 32 foot Nicholson.

Have 45lbs Vulcan. No complaints

Your, “gun to head” comment is not insignificant in a rough sea state. I’ve been aboard a boat in 40 knot winds and 3.4 meter seas and the anchor literally launched itself from the roller back onto the deck and right through it lodging itself firm. The line that secured it had chafed right through. This was a 20kg delta. The good news it that it landed securely and not continuing to flail holing the hull at the waterline. I would think that a double roller would control that with the Vulcan…thoughts? Love your reviews. I have a Rocna 25 and love it, despite your relatively low scores for the 20. I had a severely under weight delta previously provided as “adequate” from the dealer that couldn’t hold the boat in knots. Very happy with the Rocna.

Steve There is nobody out there Who does What you do,superb job. If you dig in to your memory, did the 55 vulcan had the same behavoir as the 44. Difference max holding in soft mud? Lots of sticky mud in Holland. They both fit ,44 a bit better. Vulcans are also very smooth, no injuries when on the roller. I own a Kobra 2 (new test?)55 pound and is razor sharp. Contest 36s high freeboard and approx 22.000 pounds Safe seas... Frank

Excellent review. I love your thorough tests and the objectiveness of your statements. My sailboat is a Bavaria 320 from '92 (32 ft and 5 t) Which anchor would you recommend for that boat? I was thinking of a Rocna Vulcan 12 kg. Thanks for your help. And please do keep on sharing that fantastic info

Hey mate, love your videos and the time you put into good honest helpful reviews and advise. Have you made a video about pros and con’s of using swivels or even reviews on them? What would you recommend for the Vulcan if any, we are looking at the 40kg model. Thanks in advance

Good stuff. One point. The price/weight comparison looks to be very dodgy, at least for some markets. In the UK an Epsilon (scored 2) is just a little over half the price of a Vulcan (scored at 4). You could almost buy three Delta anchors (5) for the price of one Vulcan (4) - See Jimmy Green Marine.

Hello, I will be anchoring in the Channel Islands (mostly Catalina) and people mention its “hard sand” does this change your opinion on the Vulcan? Many sailing forums in the SoCal area recommend Danforth style anchors. Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks for great videos. Maybe my question is already answered somewhere else. When the anchor has a short shank, like the Vulcan, will this be harder to retrieve than the ones with the longer shank?

keep coing steeve. than u happy new year

Do you have a recommendation or opinion about swivels? With an all-chain rode, is a swivel necessary?

Your Vulcan looks like a modified ( welded) Spade anchor?

I can’t make head nor tail out of the Rocna sizing chart!! My yacht is 35ft and 11 tons, what size anchor would you recommend????

Makes me laugh how Peter Smith vilified Manson for copying Rocna, but happily copies Spade.

Very good work . but is the weight 44 or 47 ??

Have you heard or read anything on the Lone-Star Mud Magnet MMX anchor?

I have a 57' boat that weighs 50,000 lbs. The Rocna Vulcan chart recommends a 55lb anchor. Seems a little light to me.

Amazing work Steve! You are the absolute king of anchors. Really helpful information. With regards to the Vulcan I’m a bit confused how the 44lb Vulcan has scored so much higher than the previous 55lb did. I guess the scores are adjusted to reflect weight but does this suggest some weights perform better than others, relatively? Also do you think drilling a 12mm hole in the shank to push a drop nose pin through to secure the anchor to the cheeks of the roller would be ok?

Hi Steve, Might you have added to your data the surface area of the blade? It appears (without measuring, just looking) that the anchors that hold heavier straight pulls are of possible lighter construction. Thus a larger blade area can be manufactured for the same mass. There seems to be a lot of comparison based on anchor mass, however I can not see any comparison on substrate displaced mass which I'd estimated be mostly proportional to surface area of blade. The Mantus seems to have awesome performance, but seems weak in construction compared to say the Vulcan. However the Mantus appears to have more surface area per kg. Is this true? It seems the more solidly constructed anchors have smaller surface areas. I do not have the range of anchors in front of me as you do and thus can not measure anything. The manufacturers do not appear to give this specification. As a separate question, could you please test a Manson Boss as it appears to be Mansons equivalent to the Vulcan?

Which chain size is best for Vulcan 20 ?

Question for you. Lets say I have a 13 lb Mantus M1 with all chain rode, then a 17 lb with all rope rode. Which one will set and hold better?