Tell me again why idiots are driving the bus, some interesting notes on weather, and a rising tide is no bad thing...
I noticed the other day that "Claw" anchors seem to be out there for seriously cheap money these days...
The "Claw" anchor, as you all know, is a much maligned anchor and happens to be a dead on copy of the "Bruce"... The Bruce is also a much maligned anchor but used to be the Next-Gen flavor of the month and was considered by most to be the best anchor around for a couple of decades or so.
For those who need visual aids the Bruce looked like this...
Hmmm... Kinda looks the same! The SL Claw was a nearly exact copy with the only difference being it was cast in China using actual Bruce anchors as the pattern.
There is a very large mythology concerning "Claw" anchors where accounts of breakages and suchlike are concerned. It seems just about every cruiser you run across has a great story about a Claw breaking/failing which he heard from a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy who had one. I use the word mythology as I have endeavored to find actual first person accounts of failures of the Simpson Lawrence (now Lewmar) Claws and have yet to find one.
For what it's worth, my experience with the SL Claw is that I used to work with a marine store and we sold hundreds of Claws and never had a single one return. A slightly related fact was at the same time we also sold lots of the Fortress anchors which came back on a regular basis due to breakage reasons to the tune of about 25%. So, I have to ask the question why is the Fortress respected while the Claw is a pariah?
Right now I see SL/Lewmar Claws in the 33 and 44 pound size selling for right around $100 which, in a world where the current 44 pound flavor of the month anchor costs around $700 or more, it certainly makes the Claw something very much worth researching and considering...
Anyway, the point is, when making a decision on which anchor to buy, keep in mind that there is a lot of misinformation, rumors, and just plain lies floating about where ground tackle is concerned. If you want information on an anchor, the best way to research it is simply to find someone actually using the anchor in question and ask them.
Listening to Distorted Penguins
So it goes...
