Hi EBB
the material used in SARCA anchors may surprise you as they are all mild steel construction. I come back to our research and development, I started designing this anchor back in 1991 and didn't get any exciting results for two years, one has to be mindfull of the passion you get for a product that you truly invent, so as to determine my passion and step back I visited many charter operators and common fisherman with my invention.
Yes I gave them proto types to try out, designing an anchor may not be rocket sience but when you learn your patent is going to cost you around $100,000.00 you have to justisfy this cost. The feed back from these guys no different to your self was absolutely instrumental and encouraging, feed back helped me in developing the SARCA to what it is today.
Why mild steel? Many of our charter operators anchor in rocky out crops or reef as we call it here, this is down south, and large commercial boats up north anchor in ocean floors thats laden with large bolders of limestone, the rate of anchors being destroyed once locked under a bolder was suprising. They would regulary bring up just the stock and leave the crown behind, most of these anchors were manufctured in bisaloy or high carbonet steel, they would simply snap them of,that feed back we discussed with the Marine board here in Victoria Australia when we approached them over our anchors being tested for survey, they certainly had a lot more knowledge and reports of anchors snapping, not from retreiving but side pull when the anchor was wedged and made the comment that had they been mild steel, { bend it may} but in the worse cenario could be straightend and redeployed.
I should mention that when we approached the marine athorities we were soon to learn that the SARCA would be the first Australian anchor design to receive a high holding power accreditation providing we fill the criterea needed for this accreditation.
Based on the feed back we decided to experiment with the mild steel, we increased the thickness of the matrial to obtain similar strength to that of bisaloy and then fed them back to the Marine testing Authorities for approval for survey. All of our tests proved to well exceed there test requirements.
I should also mention another fact as to why high tensile steels are used,a thinner stock or shank creates less resistance for the fluke area to pull the shank down for maximum depth.
We found the design and perfomance of the SARCA fluke over rides the thicker stock or shank and has much less bearing on its performance.
Incidently we found that severley bent anchors still perfomed extremely well, but these tests were only on the Sarca.{How are anchors tested?}
A load proof test for strength, the fluke area is bridled approx 100 mil from the tip of the fluke a measurement is taken from the tip of the fluke and the end of the shank, then the stock or shank is hydraulically pulled upward to try and separate the two, they do have to withstand farley severe loads one of the SARCA's had over fives ton of upward pressure, they measure again under load for distorsion and when released must settle back to its origional measurments.
The anchor is then dropped from various heights and inspected for any sort of deformation.They deploy the anchors in shallow sandy and mud bottoms, it is placed in its worst possible position to determine the distance it takes to set.
High holding power has to withstand higher proof loads and has to have a resistance to drag times it's mass weight in sand and mud, super high holding power anchors go through the same procedure at around three times more the load requirments of high holding power, you can find these test loads in USL Code hand book table four on testing anchors and ropes, but this tell,s you Jack sh---t as to how your anchor will perform in anything other than sand or mud.
Unfortunately there is no way anyone can make the statement that an anchor regardless of design will dig in, in all ocean floor terain. We don't flog the holding power features of SARCA.
As we know if your anchor can dig in any well designed cqr or sand type anchor has proved it's worth, but struggle in any thing other than what it was designed for, what we are simply saying about the SARCA is the consistancey factor{ no more or less than a good women would expect from her husband} holding power is almost impossible to measure in gravel weed clay, rubble excetra.
Sarca's performance in these types of sustrate is what took the sales away from the boy's in NZ and Aussie, I might add that our larger anchors go through quite severe heat treatment, a stress relieving process. You will notice the laminated plates in our competitors product, this is not new we use this method on all anchors from nine kg up and it can clearly be seen bridging the apex under the sarca and forming the toe.
We give a five year garauntee against ware and tear faulty manufacturing, damaged, or bent providing the right size anchor is deployed for the boat in use. Before anyone makes a statment about the Sarca take a look at the web site, customers in real life situations, The statment made by our opposition as to we only cater for small boats is a myth, We are currently anchoring vessels up to 280 ton and a two hundred kilo SARCA anchor will be slotted into our range shortly.
To all reading this thread we make no guarantee you will always stop where you drop, what we promise you is a performance second to none that you will come to respect or your money back.Before I close of we have been at this new anchor development now for some 15 years and have had first hand experience trying and testing and sharing the testing for unbiased opinions of the SARCA in many forms and configarations, { New generation anchors A'' ]
Ebb I could have done with your observation on our opps design it would have saved me a lot of time, you are spot on with your theories. Example of design. {Scoop, sugar spoon} try turning a full 360 degress in sand, this design originated in the bruce, more recently in the spade and then new generation all designed to work better and do, but in no other than there testing ground substance shown. Fortunatley we are now having the Sarca approved as SHHP Anchor, simply for the sake of how some customers evaluate the product, again its something thats not new, I kid you not there are quite a few anchors on large vessels that have had this accreditation for a number of years. Check it out.
As far as retrieval, our automic reset trip release is tried and proven, if it hamperd the perfomance of the anchor in anyway it would not get the USL Code approval, it's not ment to be the be all and end all, but certainly gives you the best chance of retrieving your anchor.
Regards Rex.
the material used in SARCA anchors may surprise you as they are all mild steel construction. I come back to our research and development, I started designing this anchor back in 1991 and didn't get any exciting results for two years, one has to be mindfull of the passion you get for a product that you truly invent, so as to determine my passion and step back I visited many charter operators and common fisherman with my invention.
Yes I gave them proto types to try out, designing an anchor may not be rocket sience but when you learn your patent is going to cost you around $100,000.00 you have to justisfy this cost. The feed back from these guys no different to your self was absolutely instrumental and encouraging, feed back helped me in developing the SARCA to what it is today.
Why mild steel? Many of our charter operators anchor in rocky out crops or reef as we call it here, this is down south, and large commercial boats up north anchor in ocean floors thats laden with large bolders of limestone, the rate of anchors being destroyed once locked under a bolder was suprising. They would regulary bring up just the stock and leave the crown behind, most of these anchors were manufctured in bisaloy or high carbonet steel, they would simply snap them of,that feed back we discussed with the Marine board here in Victoria Australia when we approached them over our anchors being tested for survey, they certainly had a lot more knowledge and reports of anchors snapping, not from retreiving but side pull when the anchor was wedged and made the comment that had they been mild steel, { bend it may} but in the worse cenario could be straightend and redeployed.
I should mention that when we approached the marine athorities we were soon to learn that the SARCA would be the first Australian anchor design to receive a high holding power accreditation providing we fill the criterea needed for this accreditation.
Based on the feed back we decided to experiment with the mild steel, we increased the thickness of the matrial to obtain similar strength to that of bisaloy and then fed them back to the Marine testing Authorities for approval for survey. All of our tests proved to well exceed there test requirements.
I should also mention another fact as to why high tensile steels are used,a thinner stock or shank creates less resistance for the fluke area to pull the shank down for maximum depth.
We found the design and perfomance of the SARCA fluke over rides the thicker stock or shank and has much less bearing on its performance.
Incidently we found that severley bent anchors still perfomed extremely well, but these tests were only on the Sarca.{How are anchors tested?}
A load proof test for strength, the fluke area is bridled approx 100 mil from the tip of the fluke a measurement is taken from the tip of the fluke and the end of the shank, then the stock or shank is hydraulically pulled upward to try and separate the two, they do have to withstand farley severe loads one of the SARCA's had over fives ton of upward pressure, they measure again under load for distorsion and when released must settle back to its origional measurments.
The anchor is then dropped from various heights and inspected for any sort of deformation.They deploy the anchors in shallow sandy and mud bottoms, it is placed in its worst possible position to determine the distance it takes to set.
High holding power has to withstand higher proof loads and has to have a resistance to drag times it's mass weight in sand and mud, super high holding power anchors go through the same procedure at around three times more the load requirments of high holding power, you can find these test loads in USL Code hand book table four on testing anchors and ropes, but this tell,s you Jack sh---t as to how your anchor will perform in anything other than sand or mud.
Unfortunately there is no way anyone can make the statement that an anchor regardless of design will dig in, in all ocean floor terain. We don't flog the holding power features of SARCA.
As we know if your anchor can dig in any well designed cqr or sand type anchor has proved it's worth, but struggle in any thing other than what it was designed for, what we are simply saying about the SARCA is the consistancey factor{ no more or less than a good women would expect from her husband} holding power is almost impossible to measure in gravel weed clay, rubble excetra.
Sarca's performance in these types of sustrate is what took the sales away from the boy's in NZ and Aussie, I might add that our larger anchors go through quite severe heat treatment, a stress relieving process. You will notice the laminated plates in our competitors product, this is not new we use this method on all anchors from nine kg up and it can clearly be seen bridging the apex under the sarca and forming the toe.
We give a five year garauntee against ware and tear faulty manufacturing, damaged, or bent providing the right size anchor is deployed for the boat in use. Before anyone makes a statment about the Sarca take a look at the web site, customers in real life situations, The statment made by our opposition as to we only cater for small boats is a myth, We are currently anchoring vessels up to 280 ton and a two hundred kilo SARCA anchor will be slotted into our range shortly.
To all reading this thread we make no guarantee you will always stop where you drop, what we promise you is a performance second to none that you will come to respect or your money back.Before I close of we have been at this new anchor development now for some 15 years and have had first hand experience trying and testing and sharing the testing for unbiased opinions of the SARCA in many forms and configarations, { New generation anchors A'' ]
Ebb I could have done with your observation on our opps design it would have saved me a lot of time, you are spot on with your theories. Example of design. {Scoop, sugar spoon} try turning a full 360 degress in sand, this design originated in the bruce, more recently in the spade and then new generation all designed to work better and do, but in no other than there testing ground substance shown. Fortunatley we are now having the Sarca approved as SHHP Anchor, simply for the sake of how some customers evaluate the product, again its something thats not new, I kid you not there are quite a few anchors on large vessels that have had this accreditation for a number of years. Check it out.
As far as retrieval, our automic reset trip release is tried and proven, if it hamperd the perfomance of the anchor in anyway it would not get the USL Code approval, it's not ment to be the be all and end all, but certainly gives you the best chance of retrieving your anchor.
Regards Rex.