Just recieved a sample of Spade's new Oceane anchor. It is considerably
less expensive than the original Spade but it is also not as sexy
looking. Definitely not as much hand labor to make them as the original
Spades. Looks like it was laser cut, welded and heavily galvanized.

Spade claims the set and hold are equal to the original spades and the
geometry looks somewhat similar but it has a completely different
balance. The nose is not weighted and it has a considerable amount of
fluke behind the shank. I am going to take it down to the pond this
evening and see how well it sets.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Glenn,
I had a long email conversation with Alain about this new anchor. It
appears to be a response to price point pressure. I hope he is not
undermining the great reputation the brand has in order to compete with the
bargain anchors.

--
Dennis Gibbons
S/V Dark Lady
CN35-207
email: dennis dash gibbons at worldnet dot att dot net
"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...
Just recieved a sample of Spade's new Oceane anchor. It is considerably
less expensive than the original Spade but it is also not as sexy
looking. Definitely not as much hand labor to make them as the original
Spades. Looks like it was laser cut, welded and heavily galvanized.

Spade claims the set and hold are equal to the original spades and the
geometry looks somewhat similar but it has a completely different
balance. The nose is not weighted and it has a considerable amount of
fluke behind the shank. I am going to take it down to the pond this
evening and see how well it sets.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

The Oceane is definitely a compromise but it does seem to perform pretty
well. Considering the price, the only real objection I have right now
is the styling. One concern that several of my customers had about the
Spade was that the smooth arching shank makes it to eager to self
launch. Alain added a little stub on the shank to provide a resting
point for the roller. While it does allow the rode to be eased a bit
more before the Oceane will drop, it gives the anchor a sort of Bruce
Wayne "Bat-Anchor" look that takes some getting used to.

I took this little 8 lb Oceane, an 11 lb Bruce, an 8.5 lb Danforth and a
13 lb Spade S40 down to the pond last night. My "test bottom" is about
12" of soft mud over clay that I keep clear of trash that might foul.
We dropped the anchors about 20' from shore in 3' of water. Allowing
for the 1' height of the winch stand it works out to a 5:1 scope. My
son has my 1000 lb dynamometer up in Athens and the 15,000 lb one is not
sensitive enough to give meaningful readings so all I can talk about is
setting and be very subjective about hold.

You really need 10 or 15 sets in different bottoms to test but I only
had time to make two sets on each anchor so these results are only an
indication.

As expected, the Bruce set the fastest (about 12") but crept steadily
under moderate pressure. The Danforth took the longest to set and did
not hold all that well. The Spade set in about the same distance but
went deeper faster and did not creep. The Oceane took a couple of feet
more to reach the clay but did not creep once set and judging from the
muck we had to clean off, dug deeper into the clay.

The next step is to try them in the sand beach out at lake Tobesofkee
but it will be a few days before I can haul all this stuff out there.

Dennis Gibbons wrote:
Glenn,
I had a long email conversation with Alain about this new anchor. It
appears to be a response to price point pressure. I hope he is not
undermining the great reputation the brand has in order to compete with the
bargain anchors.



--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

The global economic down turn is putting pressure on a great many high end
products to find a way to lower their prices...

Denny

"Dennis Gibbons" wrote in message
...
Glenn,
I had a long email conversation with Alain about this new anchor. It
appears to be a response to price point pressure. I hope he is not
undermining the great reputation the brand has in order to compete with
the
bargain anchors.

--
Dennis Gibbons
S/V Dark Lady
CN35-207
email: dennis dash gibbons at worldnet dot att dot net
"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...
Just recieved a sample of Spade's new Oceane anchor. It is considerably
less expensive than the original Spade but it is also not as sexy
looking. Definitely not as much hand labor to make them as the original
Spades. Looks like it was laser cut, welded and heavily galvanized.

Spade claims the set and hold are equal to the original spades and the
geometry looks somewhat similar but it has a completely different
balance. The nose is not weighted and it has a considerable amount of
fluke behind the shank. I am going to take it down to the pond this
evening and see how well it sets.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

This looks like the beginnings of a great Practical Sailor article.

Yesterday morning off Gibson Island a 31 or so foot something or other
broke free and was drifting down on an S2. They were within 5 feet of
the S2 when they got their engine running and moved away. Wife at the
helm in her nightshirt and hubby up front fussing with the anchor which
turned out to be a very light weight Danforth. A picnic anchor. We'd
had some pretty good gusts when a thunderstorm moved through the area,
but my 35 lb. CQR holding my 21,000 lb. boat didn't budge in the
Chesapeake mud.

Joe Wood

Glenn Ashmore wrote:
The Oceane is definitely a compromise but it does seem to perform pretty
well. Considering the price, the only real objection I have right now
is the styling. One concern that several of my customers had about the
Spade was that the smooth arching shank makes it to eager to self
launch. Alain added a little stub on the shank to provide a resting
point for the roller. While it does allow the rode to be eased a bit
more before the Oceane will drop, it gives the anchor a sort of Bruce
Wayne "Bat-Anchor" look that takes some getting used to.

I took this little 8 lb Oceane, an 11 lb Bruce, an 8.5 lb Danforth and a
13 lb Spade S40 down to the pond last night. My "test bottom" is about
12" of soft mud over clay that I keep clear of trash that might foul.
We dropped the anchors about 20' from shore in 3' of water. Allowing
for the 1' height of the winch stand it works out to a 5:1 scope. My
son has my 1000 lb dynamometer up in Athens and the 15,000 lb one is not
sensitive enough to give meaningful readings so all I can talk about is
setting and be very subjective about hold.

You really need 10 or 15 sets in different bottoms to test but I only
had time to make two sets on each anchor so these results are only an
indication.

As expected, the Bruce set the fastest (about 12") but crept steadily
under moderate pressure. The Danforth took the longest to set and did
not hold all that well. The Spade set in about the same distance but
went deeper faster and did not creep. The Oceane took a couple of feet
more to reach the clay but did not creep once set and judging from the
muck we had to clean off, dug deeper into the clay.

The next step is to try them in the sand beach out at lake Tobesofkee
but it will be a few days before I can haul all this stuff out there.

Dennis Gibbons wrote:

Glenn,
I had a long email conversation with Alain about this new anchor. It
appears to be a response to price point pressure. I hope he is not
undermining the great reputation the brand has in order to compete
with the
bargain anchors.