The Blue View - A Review of the Boss

No, this isn’t a review of Marcie... this is an update on our Manson Boss anchor. We purchased our Boss anchor a few years ago when we were cruising the south coast of Australia. Until then, we had been using a 110# (50kg) Bruce anchor, and although it had a few shortcomings, we had been reasonably happy with it. The south Australian coast is known for its hard sand bottoms with very thick, dense grass, however, and our Bruce claw was having difficulty digging in. I went in search of the perfect anchor – one that would serve us well there and also perform well in most other bottom types. I wrote a blog on the topic, and ended up choosing a Manson Boss anchor.

I was recently asked to do a talk on anchors and anchoring techniques at the SSCA Gam in Melbourne, FL in November. As I started preparing for it, I thought this would be a good opportunity to update my thoughts on our Boss, now that we’ve used it for a few years in a variety of bottoms. So, here’s my review of our Boss anchor:

• General. The Manson Boss is a scoop type anchor like a Bruce, except it has a very sharp, reinforced point, giving it the ability to dig into the bottom. It also has huge, up-turned flukes that ensure it is self-righting and which give it tremendous holding power once it digs in. It comes in a range of sizes from 5 lb. (2kg) to 400 lb. (182kg). We bought the biggest size that would fit our bow roller, the 80 lb. model, which was a size or two larger than the recommended size for Nine of Cups. We’ve used it in a variety of bottoms, from the hard, grassy bottoms of southern Australia, to soft sand, hard and soft mud, rocky bottoms and shell beds.

• Strength. The Boss is made of a high tensile steel. The only issue we had with the strength and construction was the upper part of the shank. The anchor has a slot along the shank that allows the anchor shackle to slide up the shank, making it easier to free the anchor if it becomes wedged in place in a rocky bottom. Manson includes a “shackle preventer”, essentially a nut and bolt that will prevent the shackle from sliding along the slot if the owner feels uncomfortable with the feature or won’t be anchoring in a rocky bottom. Our “shackle preventer” didn’t last long, and we bent the upper part of the shank trying to get it loose from one particularly rocky seabed. We removed the preventer, straightened the shank, and have had no further problems.

• Mud Bottoms. This anchor grabs and holds extremely well in the muddy bottoms we’ve encountered. Only once did we drag. This was in the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina a few months ago. We backed down hard on the anchor and thought we were stuck well on one windy night, but woke up a few hours later and found we had dragged a significant distance. My feeling is that we had fouled the anchor somehow when setting it, because it seems to have been an isolated incident - it is usually stuck so well we have to work it free from the bottom.,
• Hard Grassy Bottoms. This is the type bottom we bought it for, as our venerable Bruce was having difficulty holding in those thick, grassy, hard sand bottoms, and were happy with it for the most part. We had a few occasions when it took several attempts to get it to dig in, but we eventually got it to hold. On one occasion, we tried unsuccessfully for more than an hour to get it to set, and had resigned ourselves to leaving the anchorage and heaving-to for the night when it finally grabbed and held. We did drag a couple of times, but both times, the anchor reset and held after only dragging a boat length or so. In all honesty, we never slept all that well when the wind picked up in southern Australia. On the other hand, many of the Aussies we spoke to didn’t fare any better.
• Sand Bottoms. The Boss grabbed quickly and held well in other sand bottoms.
• Rocky bottoms. Our experience in rocky bottoms isn’t getting the anchor to set, but getting it free once it gets wedged in place. Except as noted above in the “Strength” paragraph, the Boss did well.
• Stowage and Deployment. The shank of the Boss is curved, making it fit well in our bow roller. It deploys well and we rarely have problems bringing it back into the bow roller (unlike our big Bruce, which had to be coaxed out of the bow roller and usually smacked the bottom of the roller furler on its way out). The only issue with stowage has to do with the large flukes. When we are in heavy seas, the waves hitting the flukes cause the anchor to bang into the bow roller and roller furler, and I had to go to great lengths to secure it well enough to prevent the anchor causing damage. In storm conditions, I would want to stow it on deck – somewhat of a hassle given its size and weight.

Overall, I would rate the Manson Boss as a B+ to A-. It set and held quite well in most of the bottoms we encountered, especially in mud and sand. In southern Australia, it was better than our Bruce, but was less than perfect. The anchor, as well as the bow roller and roller furler take a beating in heavy seas. It is a good all-around anchor and I don’t regret buying it. On the other hand, I don’t consider it the perfect anchor - if there is such a thing.

If only I had unlimited time and money, I’d make a short list of half a dozen or so anchors and try them out in the worst anchorages we’ve encountered around the world - to see whether the perfect anchor really does exist.

The Blue View - Our First Coast Guard Visit

Since we were planning to spend a few days moored in Washington D.C., I thought it might be possible to schedule a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary inspection. According to their website, the Coast Guard Auxiliary will do a free, no-strings-attached inspection of a recreational vessel on request. If we pass the inspection, we get a signed form to that effect, as well as a decal to apply to the hull which shows that we not only requested an inspection, but that we passed. If we don’t pass, there is no fine or citation issued, nor are we reported to anyone. Any deficiencies are pointed out and the appropriate corrective measures discussed. It seemed like a no-brainer.

A couple of days prior to our arrival in D.C., I got onto the Coast Guard Website. It has a nifty link to the C.G. Auxiliary website, which put me in touch with the closest inspectors. There were two who lived within a few of miles of our anchorage, and after a couple of emails back and forth with one of them, we figured out a mutually acceptable date and time, and our inspection was scheduled. The process was much faster than I anticipated and quite painless.

At the appointed time, we got a call from Patt Meyer, our inspector, and we hopped into the dinghy and went ashore to pick her up. Patt retired from the U.S. Navy a number of years ago, and has been a volunteer with both the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for several years now. She was pleasant, quite professional and knew her stuff.

Once aboard, she started through her checklist. Patt checked our flares, fire extinguishers, oil discharge and garbage placards, PFDs, documentation, life rings, bilge pumps, and holding tank, as well as a host of other things. She asked dozens of questions.

When all was done, we passed without a hitch. She completed and signed the checklist, and I happily signed as well. She issued our decal, which we stuck to the side of the coach-roof, plainly visible on the port side of Nine of Cups. After handshakes all around, we all climbed back into the dinghy and headed back to the marina.

The whole inspection process took just over an hour, time well spent in my opinion. It was a good confirmation that the time we invested in checking the federal requirements was worthwhile. And while there is no guarantee, our understanding is that the Coast Guard may give us a pass if we are stopped for a routine safety check if we point out our inspection decal. Worth the cost of admission right there!

The Blue View - Coast Guard Checklist

Since it’s been quite a while since we sailed in U.S. waters, we thought it would be a good idea to review the US Coast Guard documentation and make sure we were in compliance with all the regulations. I suspect that if we were boarded for a routine safety inspection, they might want to check a few other things besides the expiration dates on our flares.

It took only a few minutes of online searching to find a host of documents describing the various guidelines and requirements for pleasure vessels. One particularly helpful document is A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats. I found this 45-page pdf document to be quite informative and easy to read. The government writers did a good job of translating the federal code into something that was understandable and almost interesting. I read the entire booklet and found several requirements that were new since we left the U.S. all those years ago – not to mention a number of requirements I had forgotten. It also included a checklist which I found quite useful.

So, how did we stack up? We met nearly all of the safety requirements – life jackets, fire extinguishers, horns, bells, navigation lights, bilge pumps, etc. One safety issue I had missed was the requirement to cover all battery terminals to prevent a problem should a tool be dropped across them. I fabricated terminal covers from heavy plastic and, using cable ties, attached one to each battery terminal.

We also met most of the other requirements, such as a marine sanitation device (a holding tank in our case), and an on-board copy of the navigation rules. (The nav rules are also available digitally on line, in case you need to print them out.) We did, however, find a number of issues that might have been grounds for a citation had we been inspected.) To make sure we were in compliance with everything on the list, we spent the last two days before departing Chesapeake, VA, scurrying around making sure we found everything we needed.

For example, we didn’t have Cup’s documentation number permanently affixed in a conspicuous location inside the boat, with numbers that are at least 3” in height. We do have our doc number painted onto the interior of the hull under the aft bunk, but this is hardly a conspicuous location. We found stick-on letters at the local hardware store and stuck-em on, so we should now meet this requirement.

We also did not have a copy of the MARPOL regulations regarding the disposal of garbage and waste overboard. This should be in the form of a permanent placard, affixed in a conspicuous location, so that everybody on board will be aware that it is illegal to dispose of plastics, oil and garbage in U.S. waters. We found these, free of charge by the way, at the local West Marine. While we were there, we picked up a very nice placard with a written trash disposal plan to replace our rather old, weathered version – also free of charge.

Finally, we did not have an anchor ball. When we are anchored at night, we are required to have a white anchor light, visible from all directions. This is not only a requirement, it’s also common sense – we want to make sure other vessels see us at night. More than once, we’ve been run into by fishing boats while anchored, even while our anchor light was shining brightly. Thus, we usually augment our anchor light with our spreader lights, just to make sure we can be seen. When anchored during the day, we are required to display forward, where it can best be seen from all directions, a black ball. In our 16 years of cruising, I doubt I have seen more than half a dozen sailboats that actually do this, but it is a federal (and international) navigation requirement, and we should make an effort to comply. None of the local chandleries had a black ball in stock, so we decided to make our own, and went on a search for something that would work. We eventually found two large plastic, round black bowls for 97-cents each in the Halloween section of a local Walmart. We drilled holes in the top and bottom and attached a small line, then taped them together - using black duct tape, of course. It works quite nicely and should last until, if and when we decide we need a more permanent solution.

BTW, the volunteers with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will, at no charge, perform a courtesy safety and compliance check on your vessel. It is informational only - they do not issue citations nor report you for safety violations. If you pass their inspection, the vessel will be issued a signed statement to that effect, as well as a decal that can be affixed to the boat. If we stop anywhere long enough to schedule an inspection, we plan to have it done.