Ultra Marine Anchors: excellent grip and holding power

I had alrwady tested the Ultra Marine anchors in the past, but never during such a long period as during the “1,000-mile cruise in the Tyrrhenian Sea” that saw our staff sailing in the most beautiful islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, which has ended these days.

The Ultra Marine anchor has quite unusual characteristics: its shape is reminiscent of the so-called “ploughshare” shape, with wide wings and an extremely sharp nail curved downwards, to grip the first time it comes into contact with the seabed. But let’s see how we found it while cruising.

Ultra Marine Anchor on test

We fitted the anchor last July, a few days before setting sail; between the anchor and the chain we fixed the so-called Flip Swivel, a stainless steel device that ensures that the anchor, once on the bow, always turns in the right direction without damaging or endangering the owner. The Ultra Marine anchor, mounted on the Daydreamer of The International Yachting Media‘s editorial staff, is 27 kg, the chain is 10 mm, 80 meters long, with a 1,400W Quick Rider R3 winch: a very important anchor line.

37 days of cruising, only 4 in port due to bad weather, a rather adventurous experience made up of marvellous bays and coves, ideal anchorages on sandy seabeds, a little less on hard mud or rock, weather conditions that were sometimes perfect and calm, others characterized by very strong winds, shallow waters of 3 metres and thrilling anchorages on more than 20 metres of bottom, like those in the Aeolian Islands. Not only that. During the day, we often dropped the anchor in various bays for a swim or to go ashore: the result was a heavy test that perfectly simulated a life of 2 or 3 years for the average use of boats in Italy.

During our test, we saw that the Ultra Marine anchor generally grabbed immediately and settled in correctly; on very hard and smooth seabed it happened that it slipped for a few metres before biting the bottom. What is certain is that, once the Ultra Marine has taken hold, it will never let go. The more you pull on it, the more it sinks and the more it takes hold in an incredible way; when hauling in, due to its particular inclined shape, the anchor comes out with little effort and sends out with average traction. In order to guarantee an immediate grip, it would be advisable to anchor in free fall: the anchor plants itself straight on the bottom and, as soon as it is dragged to extend the chain, it enters the seabed with an immediate grip.

Moreover, when the anchor lies on a hard surface, its fins have the function of preventing it from tipping over and facilitating its correct positioning, so that the rostrum begins to descend into the substrate. Anchoring on a rocky seabed is of course one of the stingiest, no anchor can guarantee a secure hold, this one is no exception, but the sharp rostrum has managed to find the right spot on which to fix itself.

Construction details

Two types of stainless steel are used in the construction of the Ultra Marine anchor; the fluke is made from AISI 318 steel and is hollow, filled with lead; the shaft, on the other hadn, is left hollow and forged from AISI 316 steel. This type of construction has been designed to lower the centre of gravity and ensure that the anchor always falls straight to the bottom.

Polished to a mirror finish, not only for aesthetic reasons, but also for the greater ease of cleaning that polished steel guarantees, it displays a truly refined workmanship. It is often the case that, when anchoring in deep waters, one wants to check the anchorage for oneself: the glow that polished steel reflects in the light from the surface helps to identify it better.

The fixing point on the shaft is made of solid stainless steel, with internal reinforcements for maximum structural strength.

Moreover, the Ultra Marine’s anti-pinch ring prevents the chain from twisting as it turns. It also acts as a fastener for a safety catch.

The size and dimensions of this anchor make it compatible with almost all housings but, for special cases, it is possible to request calibrated cardboard templates, dedicated to each size.

Ultra Marine anchors are available in sizes from 5 kg to 200 kg, and can be manufactured up to 450 kg on request.

At https://www.ultramarine-anchors.com/it/anchor you can discover the whole range of anchors and swivels and their prices. A configurator will tell you which anchor is the most suitable for a given size, weight and type of boat.