I'm not sure of the etiquette on resurrecting old threads, but I thought it better than creating a duplicate thread. I've been anchoring for about twenty years now with a wide variety of anchors on several different boats. Last summer and fall I did a considerable amount of research on anchors in preparation of an upgrade. I'm a thrifty person (cheap) who likes to get the most bang for my buck. I was leaning towards one of the new generation anchors, either a Spade or Rocna. I settled on the Rocna design and bought a knock off called the Manson Supreme. I bought it last fall and when I put it on the bow roller next the the 35 lb CQR it was immediately apparent that the Manson had more surface area that gets buried in the mud.
Winter finally broke hear in February, so we've been out a few times and I just wanted to share our experiences with this new anchor. WOW!!! I used to worry whether our anchor would set on the first try or not. Now I worry whether we'll be able to get the anchor back up after setting because it sets so firmly. My previous anchor experiences have been with Danforths, a Bruce, a CQR, and a Navy type anchor. This Rocna copy sets fast and deep. Last weekend when we pulled it back up, there was evidence that the anchor buried all the way over the shank and a couple of links of chain. When I set it, I applied full reverse to dig her in, something that used to cause our Bruce to drag.
Anyway, I can't say that this new anchor is a pretty anchor but it's a darn good one. I think the Rocna website has some video of their anchors being set on the beach next to a Bruce and CQR. Up here in the PNW, Bruces, Danforths and CQR's appear to be the old standbys. Deltas are starting to show up on the docks and I think we'll be seeing a lot more of these Manson Supremes/Rocnas in the future.
Regarding the use of a sentinel. We used one quite a bit in crowded anchorages with our mixed chain and rope rode. It worked well for us, especially when the wind was calm. It's my understanding that their influence is negligible when the wind really picks up though at which time you really need to rely on a well set anchor.