Lot of good info here. The rode chain really does make a Huge difference. Also the anchor weight and design. Personally I absolutely love my mantus 13lb anchor. I got it after extensive research and watching loads of actual underwater videos of anchor performance in different conditions. What triggered this priority being suddenly so much higher was bc I had a little anchor drag incident with a danforth resulting in my boat getting beached as the tide went out while I was away hacking through brush on an island. Bad surprise as the bad weather is rolling in and your stuck waiting for hours! lol The mantus, which is a plow type very similar to the more common Rocna, is really easy to handle with the big roll bar on it and it sets and re-sets faster than you'd believe in all kinds of bottom substrates. Even with very little scope/line let out. A little overkill with anchor setup is ok. I'd grab one of those along with a lewmar anchor rode that has 15' - 20' of galvanized G4 chain braided into the end of 200' of quality nylon rope. That way if you get sick of the rope trick (which works great- don't get me wrong) like I did and install a future windlass- you already have the correct rode for the windlass to use! Windlass' require specific rope and chain so if you buy one you often have to get a new rode too. Even the smallest lewmar model (Prosport 550) handles that anchor and rode perfectly and it is So nice to push button anchor. Best upgrade I did on that boat. Once you have a windlass- its tough to go back.
