EBAY,

$449 today.

Sorry you are correct, the Ebay listing states "Bruce Style".

David, pardon my opinion inserted here...but the Bruce is NOT the anchor for Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Personal experience(s).

It is probably a fine anchor for the Columbia River and Florida, a sand bottom, but IMHO it doesn't have the 'bite' - the point weight - to dig through kelp and into the bottoms we have in the San Juans. During the time I was instructing in the San Juans I had the opportunity to sail a number of boats with Bruce anchors, and I have drug more times on a Bruce than on all other types combined. Mind you, I was never on a 36 ft boat with a 44 lb one, but still...

I had one other interesting experience with a Bruce, on a Catalina 320. The final night of our 6-day course we anchored in Inati Bay on Lummi Island. We anchored just fine with a stern tie to shore. Waking up the next morning we found the winds outside our bay were about 20 knots from the south making Bellingham Bay choppy as hell. Up comes the anchor and - SURPRISE - there was a boulder entirely filling the claw of the Bruce. We had lain to a ROCK all night long. Very confidence building. It took two guys lying on the bow and 15 minutes wrestling with that damn heavy rock to *lift* it out of the Bruce so we could get underway.

Just sayin'.

(PS...I just purchased a Rocna 44lb (20kg) from Fisheries in Seattle. Think about it.)

(PPS...the main reason a lot of boats use a Bruce is because it is cheap.)

PARALLEL UNIVERSE AGAIN:eek:

[url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7453.0.html[/url]

check out the research that maine sail did on the rocna 33 lb that convinced me also my brother bought a new 43 Selean ocean trawler and cruises the Northwest and he loves his Rocna

Ahhh; ye olde anchor debate. Yikes!

I'll weigh in here with my opinions too (what the heck I need a little excitement!)

When I started sailing in 1986 I delivered a Columbia 26 from Vancouver to Prince Rupert (just south of Alaska). I believe I had a 12 lb Danforth with a whopping 15 feet of chain and 120 feet of 1/2 rode. I sailed that boat up there for 3 years, (Alaska, Queen Charlotte Islands) and even dragged in 45 knots one night, but most of the time the Danforth was just fine if set properly and in a sensible anchorage... (not always the case though, heheh)
After that I got a Spencer 31 which had an ugly North-hill anchor, (35 ft of chain and 200 ft. 1/2 rode) which all the local fishboats up there used and that anchor was actually very good, but hard to stow. At that time the "best" anchor was considered to be a CQR, but I certainly couldn't afford one of those and most of the consensus on "best" were made by offshore cruisers anchoring in coral reefs - not much of that around the PNW.
Since then I've had 3 boats prior to my C36 and they all had Bruce anchors and I actually think it is a very good anchor, if sized correctly and set properly. It may not set best in rock or kelp beds, but I try to avoid anchoring in those conditions if possible and if/when I do I crank hard on the anchor when set to insure it holds... If it's forecast to blow a gale I'll seek out a better anchorage or holding area.
Now I've finally got my 'dream-boat' C-36 and plan to cruise back up to Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands, now known as Haida Gwaii (my "old haunts") and I'm circumnavigating Vancouver Island this summer. My C-36 came with a CQR - but now it's no longer the anchor of choice! I admit that it doesn't set as well as the Bruce; I had to modify my techniques to ensure it set properly, (since the way I anchored the Bruce did not quite work for the CQR) but I can't afford to purchase and ship a Manson Supreme at this time (that would be my choice).
I've added chain (now up to 200 feet) backed by 150 feet of 5/8 rode and think I'll probably survive with that.

So, my point in all this is that you can argue which is the best anchor by all the static and dynamic tests that are made and the advertisers claims; and many of them are even true; but there will never be a definitive answer and ultimately you can have the 'best anchor' and still; if you don't anchor correctly and in a good area you will still possibly drag; or maybe you won't; like the guy I saw last year that pulled up near a reef, dropped his anchor and about 75 feet of chain on top of it and shut off the engine. Didn't back down on the anchor, didn't check where he was in relation to the surroundings, etc.
Went to bed after several drinks with the crew and woke up the next morning (after 15 - 20 kts of wind overnight) just as happy as a clam and none the wiser.

Practice and read about anchoring, buy the anchor you think is best and be vigilant.
Then go cruising! :D