You should get a new anchor. Once bent they lose a lot of their strength. Odds are it would be still be strong enough but no one wants to find out it isn’t ok when you really need it. The boat I just bought had the same issue, PO h it a piling with it and bent it. I bought a new one and sold the old one to a guy that is going to use it as a second anchor.

 

Your anchor is galvanized. You probably have a crack in the coating. Get a new one.

 

So do I just get another galvanized one? They are A LOT less expensive than SS anchors! This one is 16 years old so I would think that’s fine for the next one!

 

Stay with galvanized. Galvanized steel is stronger than SS also just not as pretty.

 

But stainless steel would look really good on the front of that 400...

 

I guess replacing is on my "to-do" list as well.

 

I guess replacing is on my "to-do" list as well. View attachment 69253

A bend like that I'd just straighten. That anchor isn't junk.

 

You guys need to check out the Lewmar DTX SS line if SS is what you are looking for. I was very pleased with the look for the price.

MM

 

If you have access to a good sized vice and a sledge hammer you can probably work out that bend yourself.
I was able to work out a similar bend in a danforth style anchor for a friend a few years back that way.
If you’re at all concerned about the galvanizing (which is probably okay) you can spend about 5 bucks on a can of Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing Compound at Home Depot and spray the anchor once it’s straightened out. It will look brand new and you’ll have enough left in the can to do it a bunch more times in years to come if you want.

 

I guess I'd offer up that I ran 3 seasons on a bent anchor on my 340. Not quite as bad as the OP's but it definitely had a custom "piling induced" bend to it, a nice dogleg to the left if I recall correctly. I had plenty of nights on the hook and never had a problem holding. She held like a champ.

Other than aesthetics I think I'd just run it. And since we're talking aesthetics...if I were going to spend the long dollar and replace the anchor I'd definitely go stainless. Perhaps they aren't as strong but they look sooooo slick

 

I took mine to a welding shop. The put it in a vice and bingo, it came back straightened. I'm not sure how they did it, but it worked.

 

Last season I tried pulling (not gas docks. The current caught me and just barely caught a cement piling. It bent my anchor and windlass. A mechanic friend used his shop press and straightened it right out. I com-along straightened the windlass. My anchor looked almost exactly like yours. It’s straight as an arrow now

 

How much do you plan to anchor, in what conditions, and for how long? If yours is minimal use, let it be. If you anchor a lot, etc., get a new modern anchor. Rocna, Manson, etc.

 

I’d straighten it too.

The force that bent it is different than that which it will be exposed to in use. Totally opposite in fact.

If it were to show signs of developing a bend in the future you can say that you tried and relegate it to second anchor duty.

The impulse to just throw things away for no good reason is a big contributor to the hole in the water theory.

 

I'm just curious if anyone has had an anchor of that style "break" on them?

This is a minor bend on the shank (as another posted suggest....probably from a piling). Just about anyone with a hydraulic press could straighten it in 10 minutes without compromising it. That shank is 1/2" thick steel plate. You don't want to heat it just press it. Most decent auto repair shops, welding shops and machine shops have a 20 ton press laying around for axle bearing work.

If you want to spend the money on a new one....it's your money.

 

I just upgraded to a SS Anchor, my 35lb galvanized plow anchor is up for sale.
PM me if interested

 

Thanks. The stock anchor is a 45lb for my boat, so I’ll get one of those if I replace.

 

I would definitely straighten it out, I have a 40 ton press in my machine shop and that would be about a 10 minute job. Properly set up, I'm confident no damage would be done to the galvanized coating, Even if there was a little scuffing on the galvanized, I would just spray it with the cold galvanized mentioned above. IMHO, its an easy fix.

 

I am curious now after following this thread if I should have tried to have mine straightened because all the local opinions I got including the surveyor I used said I should replace the anchor. If you said the OP should straighten his, would you have recommended the same for mine? It is a 60lb stainless kodiak. The shank was bent as well as the right plow ear. The new one was $2100 so that hurt a bit to buy.

 

I am curious now after following this thread if I should have tried to have mine straightened because all the local opinions I got including the surveyor I used said I should replace the anchor. If you said the OP should straighten his, would you have recommended the same for mine? It is a 60lb stainless kodiak. The shank was bent as well as the right plow ear. The new one was $2100 so that hurt a bit to buy.

View attachment 69594 View attachment 69595 View attachment 69596

Jeremy - SST is a malleable material and can be yielded (bent) multiple times without loss of mechanical properties. Bend it back and make it look good; you'll be OK.

 

I would buy a new one and use this as a spare. I just bought this delta style anchor on amazon. $139 for the 44lb, made in the USA, great reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/MarineNow-Ga...f=mp_s_a_1_14?keywords=delta+anchor&qid=1557497052&s=gateway&sr=8-14&th=1&psc=1

 

I would buy a new one and use this as a spare. I just bought this delta style anchor on amazon. $139 for the 44lb, made in the USA, great reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/MarineNow-Galvanized-Delta-Style-Anchor/dp/B00X69UCBO/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?keywords=delta+anchor&qid=1557497052&s=gateway&sr=8-14&th=1&psc=1

hi M Prod, how is that anchor working for you? i bent my 25lbs plow anchor and looking to get a new one.

 

I'm still waiting to hear from any member where their plow anchor broke.

 

Not that it has never happened, but in a lot of years of boating I have never heard of an anchor breaking. Rode, schackle, bridal, snubber, even cleats, but never the anchor itself. If it doesn't break while you are bending it back into shape then it probably isn't. If any of you guys are anchoring in conditions that come even close to breaking anything, I don't want to be with you!

 

That Kodiak is a piece of crap, has absolutely no lateral strength. Bending and straightening was a yearly thing for me.

It bends when the anchor sets, then wind or current shifts and pulls on it sideways.

 

W

What, were you anchoring in a CAT-5 Hurricane??

 

Some anchor test/comparisons https://www.boatus.org/findings/05/

 

For those that do not know, a group I would have been in a year ago, Simpson/Lawrence was bought by Lewmar and is the Delta Plow anchor on the list Woody posted.

The Bruce, CQR and Delta Plow are all very strong.

MM

 

Conditions that can bend the shank of our anchors might also just roll them out. Maybe different anchoring techniques should be used. More scope, more chain, more anchors?

 

Conditions that can bend the shank of our anchors might also just roll them out.

Agreed. I’ve never been interested in this style of anchor for that very reason.

Big or small, I’ve always used cast iron fluke style anchors. Try to roll one of them out of place.

 

To op, that bend isn’t a big deal, use it the way it is or straighten it out if you don’t like the way it looks. It will be fine.
If you’re serious about your ground tackle, get a new generation anchor and never look back. Replacing that with another plow is like replacing a BW tv with another one. Save your money in my opinion. Anybody here that knows me knows I don’t upgrade or replace anything that isn’t broke that isn’t safety critical, But those anchors just don’t cut the mustard for being a serious anchor for spending days at anchor and not worrying about how hard the winds going to blow tomorrow. It all depends on how you’re going to use the boat. Lunch hooking and sleeping like a baby in nasty wind are two different things. Before you do anything, maybe you should check out “ Anchoring, a ground tacklers apprentice” by Rudy and Jill Sanchez, it’s simple and straight forward. Maybe you will decide to just replace it, or straighten it as is, but you will know a lot more about anchoring afterwards. There are also many other really good reads on the subject.

 

Before you do anything, maybe you should check out “ Anchoring, a ground tacklers apprentice” by Rudy and Jill Sanchez, it’s simple and straight forward. Maybe you will decide to just replace it, or straighten it as is, but you will know a lot more about anchoring afterwards.

CSR never fails to surprise me. I just wanted a simple answer about my anchor! And while I got that, we got into a nice discussion about anchors, anchor repair, etc. Thank you to all! For the time being, I'm probably going to use the anchor as is and see how it performs. My near term anchoring needs are low stress (pun intended), so I'm sure it will perform fine. But it is on the "To Do" list to either straighten or replace. In the mean time, with Fathers' Day coming, I'm going to drop hints for that book Mark recommended. Looks like an informative read. I'll admit I don't keep "which anchor is best for what conditions" info floating around in my head...

 

The earlier posted anchor test was from 1989. Here is one testing the modern crop of anchors. From 2015:

https://www.boatingmag.com/top-anchors-tested

 

Interesting, but to all those just starting to research anchors, beware of anchor tests that are sponsored by anchor manufacturers.
This isn’t the first rodeo for those boys from Fortress. They know that their anchors are hands down the best for mud, especially soft mud, so where else to have a little friendly competition than in the Chesapeake.
Note how well the plain Jane danforth did, that’s just where those styles shine. What they don’t tell you is they are the worst choice for weedy bottoms or that they are near worthless in hard sand because their light weight doesn’t allow for enough weight on the fluke tips to start bottom penetration. They also do not do well when turned out, they have a problem resetting, and Fortress' are more likely to turn out because Fortress actually recommends a relatively short piece of chain on a combination rode. My anchor drag apps have always shown me that my all chain rode has never allowed my anchor to be turned out, even when anchoring in narrow tidal creeks, just too much weight laying on the bottom.
That said they are great for storage as they can be stored disassembled and put together in 10 minutes or less. And their light weight makes them tops as a stern anchor that I can easily carry out in my dinghy and drop. I have two of the fortress, a big one as a back up bower and a smaller one that I use for the stern. While cruising the Bahamas, I hung the fortress on the bow rail along with 250' of line ready at a moments notice. The wind blows what seems like all the time there in the winter.
For all and various conditions, it’s just my opinion that the new generation anchors are hard to beat, but everyone has to make their own determination based on fit to the bow roller, whether there will be interference with the tip and fiberglass when at rest or hauling it over the roller, bottom types most encountered etc.