Just another bit of experience.
The shaft on my Spade anchor bent. It is easily replaceable, but it is hollow ( part of the design to keep lots of weight in the lead filled tip). I’m using a Rocna now - I’d put them pretty equal on setting and holding.
But this season I changed my chain over end to end. As I started to undo the hex bolt the whole thing fell apart. The top of s/s hex bolt head had turned to a black carbon looking substance and could have fallen apart anytime (photo attached). Don’t know what caused this, but I’ve removed the swivel now and returned to a seized shackle that I can keep an eye on.

It is a Kong swivel. If you are still using one I suggest a new hex bolt once a year.

Ian
Ocean Hobo SN96

<image1.jpeg>

Just for fun, try NO swivel. 

We did as an experiment, finding it unnecessary

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Aug 9, 2019, at 3:38 PM, Arno Luijten <arno.luijten@...> wrote:

Dear Forum,

I am aware this is a never ending discussion but is it just me or is the standard anchor arrangement on an Amel 54 (Delta on port side, Buegel on starbord side) not the greatest?
Specifically the Buegel anchor sits quite poorly on the bow, I think. Just to entertain myself I decided to swap the two anchors over to see how that would fit. I noticed the Delta sat much better on the starboard side and the Buegel still sat poorly on the port side. I still need to swap the rollers to see if that makes a difference.
I accept the argument dat the Buegel is a better anchor then the Delta, although many boats carry a Delta anchor.
So my question is what did my fellow A54 owners do to improve the situation at the bow, if anything.
I'm considering to buy a Spade anchor to replace the Buegel anchor.

The other thing I noticed is that this fancy swivel is a pain to remove. In my case all the locking screws are impossible to remove, even after heating the thing. These screws are so small that you will wreck an allen-key if you put some force to it (and yes I do use proper allen-keys). In the end I also had to drill out the chain-locking pin as it also was completely seized and would not budge. Very disappointing. I'm going to replace this with a more rugged model (Kong or Mantus).

Regards,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

We are fans of Delos.

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Craig Briggs via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 5:16 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] “Default” anchor arrangement on an Amel 54

Hey Joel,
Since you asked, we bent the shank on our Mantus about 20° lifting it out of the muck in Lake Worth after a night of big winds and a 180° current shift. We had just bought it and with no questions asked they immediately sent us a new shank at, of course, no cost. (Some cool Mantus T-shirts, too!) That being said, I would definitely buy another one - never had a better anchor for virtually all conditions.
Beers, Craig SN68

Hello Arno and any discussion of anchors is highly subjective. Rather like discussing the best hunting dogs, sports cars or

( you name it ). I always like to listen carefully to my Amel clients who are selling and not buying another serious cruising boats when they rate and contrast specific equipment they have used. WHY? All the ego is gone, they have no need to rationalize or justify any past decision and what they do provide is, generally, just pure factual data, albeit filtered through their particular experiences.

 

That said, I have never had anyone, ever, say anything negative about a Mantus anchor. I have resold hundreds of Amel boats and the Mantus anchor is the only individual item that has never received a thumbs down. I am sure that this too will eventually change. Has anyone had experiences with a Mantus that would keep them from buying another?

 

On my own Amel 54 that I owned years ago, the Delta was pretty useless and the Buegel was better but not by a great margin. For any of you that get the BOAT U.S. magazine, my previous Amel 54 HOLLIS is on the cover this month. That and $7 will get me a latte at Starbucks…

 

Have Fun With Your Amel! Joel

 

          JOEL F. POTTER-CRUISING YACHT SPECIALIST~L.L.C.

                                           THE  EXPERIENCED AMEL GUY

UNSURPASSED AMEL MARKETING EXPERIENCE AND PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE

                                   Office 954-462-5869  Cell 954-812-2485

 

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Arno Luijten
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 3:39 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] “Default” anchor arrangement on an Amel 54

 

Dear Forum,

I am aware this is a never ending discussion but is it just me or is the standard anchor arrangement on an Amel 54 (Delta on port side, Buegel on starbord side) not the greatest?
Specifically the Buegel anchor sits quite poorly on the bow, I think. Just to entertain myself I decided to swap the two anchors over to see how that would fit. I noticed the Delta sat much better on the starboard side and the Buegel still sat poorly on the port side. I still need to swap the rollers to see if that makes a difference.
I accept the argument dat the Buegel is a better anchor then the Delta, although many boats carry a Delta anchor.
So my question is what did my fellow A54 owners do to improve the situation at the bow, if anything.
I'm considering to buy a Spade anchor to replace the Buegel anchor.

The other thing I noticed is that this fancy swivel is a pain to remove. In my case all the locking screws are impossible to remove, even after heating the thing. These screws are so small that you will wreck an allen-key if you put some force to it (and yes I do use proper allen-keys). In the end I also had to drill out the chain-locking pin as it also was completely seized and would not budge. Very disappointing. I'm going to replace this with a more rugged model (Kong or Mantus).

Regards,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

Dear Forum,

I am aware this is a never ending discussion but is it just me or is the standard anchor arrangement on an Amel 54 (Delta on port side, Buegel on starbord side) not the greatest?
Specifically the Buegel anchor sits quite poorly on the bow, I think. Just to entertain myself I decided to swap the two anchors over to see how that would fit. I noticed the Delta sat much better on the starboard side and the Buegel still sat poorly on the port side. I still need to swap the rollers to see if that makes a difference.
I accept the argument dat the Buegel is a better anchor then the Delta, although many boats carry a Delta anchor.
So my question is what did my fellow A54 owners do to improve the situation at the bow, if anything.
I'm considering to buy a Spade anchor to replace the Buegel anchor.

The other thing I noticed is that this fancy swivel is a pain to remove. In my case all the locking screws are impossible to remove, even after heating the thing. These screws are so small that you will wreck an allen-key if you put some force to it (and yes I do use proper allen-keys). In the end I also had to drill out the chain-locking pin as it also was completely seized and would not budge. Very disappointing. I'm going to replace this with a more rugged model (Kong or Mantus).

Regards,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

On 10 Aug 2019, at 07:38, Arno Luijten <arno.luijten@...> wrote:

Dear Forum,

I am aware this is a never ending discussion but is it just me or is the standard anchor arrangement on an Amel 54 (Delta on port side, Buegel on starbord side) not the greatest?
Specifically the Buegel anchor sits quite poorly on the bow, I think. Just to entertain myself I decided to swap the two anchors over to see how that would fit. I noticed the Delta sat much better on the starboard side and the Buegel still sat poorly on the port side. I still need to swap the rollers to see if that makes a difference.
I accept the argument dat the Buegel is a better anchor then the Delta, although many boats carry a Delta anchor.
So my question is what did my fellow A54 owners do to improve the situation at the bow, if anything.
I'm considering to buy a Spade anchor to replace the Buegel anchor.

The other thing I noticed is that this fancy swivel is a pain to remove. In my case all the locking screws are impossible to remove, even after heating the thing. These screws are so small that you will wreck an allen-key if you put some force to it (and yes I do use proper allen-keys). In the end I also had to drill out the chain-locking pin as it also was completely seized and would not budge. Very disappointing. I'm going to replace this with a more rugged model (Kong or Mantus).

Regards,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Arno Luijten
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 3:39 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] “Default” anchor arrangement on an Amel 54

Dear Forum,

I am aware this is a never ending discussion but is it just me or is the standard anchor arrangement on an Amel 54 (Delta on port side, Buegel on starbord side) not the greatest?
Specifically the Buegel anchor sits quite poorly on the bow, I think. Just to entertain myself I decided to swap the two anchors over to see how that would fit. I noticed the Delta sat much better on the starboard side and the Buegel still sat poorly on the port side. I still need to swap the rollers to see if that makes a difference.
I accept the argument dat the Buegel is a better anchor then the Delta, although many boats carry a Delta anchor.
So my question is what did my fellow A54 owners do to improve the situation at the bow, if anything.
I'm considering to buy a Spade anchor to replace the Buegel anchor.

The other thing I noticed is that this fancy swivel is a pain to remove. In my case all the locking screws are impossible to remove, even after heating the thing. These screws are so small that you will wreck an allen-key if you put some force to it (and yes I do use proper allen-keys). In the end I also had to drill out the chain-locking pin as it also was completely seized and would not budge. Very disappointing. I'm going to replace this with a more rugged model (Kong or Mantus).

Regards,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

On 9 Aug 2019, at 20:15, Andrew & Kate Lamb <andrew.lamb@...> wrote:

Thought I would share a recent battery nightmare that we had.

We had a 30 hour passage from Canet-en-Roussillon to Mallorca earlier this week, this involved quite a few hours of motoring. We arrived and dropped anchor mid morning . That evening we had a discharge of the batteries to around 82% the genset was started as usual and the batteries brought up to 100% before bedtime.

The next morning the batteries were at 92% charge and I started the genset again over breakfast and went for a swim. After 30 mins I noticed that the charge was still 92% yet the Victron Color Control indicated that the charger was in bulk phase. I went to check the batteries only to find that the outside of the battery compartment was extremely hot. I immediately shutdown the genset and disconnected the batteries and opened all the ventilators and then opened the battery compartment. On inspection the battery boxes (Victron AGM x13) we’re melting, bulging and distorted. Some time ago I invested in a laser spot thermometer and used this to check the surface temperature of the batteries all except a few were greater than 50 degrees centigrade the rest being in the high 40s. I then proceeded to disconnect the interconnecting wire between each of the 6 pairs of house batteries, to effectively isolate all the batteries from each other. Fortunately we we able to keep the fridge and freezer running off the 450watt solar panels. After a few hours the temperatures had dropped to mid 40s. We were then in the predicament that we were at anchor with no way of starting the motor or lifting the anchor. It was clear that all the batteries were lost but we needed to try to salvage a few temporarily to allow us to get into port.  So I then decided to test each of the batteries using a load tester and marked each of the completely destroyed batteries with a red cross and marked the load amp result on the rest. This left 5 functional batteries- the motor (311 amps) , and 4 others - around 150 amps each. So I hooked these back up into the system and turned the battery switches on again. Interestingly our Victron panel reported a 100% charge with absorption phase. Over the next few hours the temperatures continued to drop, we managed to start the engine, lift the anchor and went into port. In port we disconnected all batteries except the best 2 house batteries as we were advised that it would not be safe to run the Victron Quattro without batteries attached (like a 24 volt supply as someone suggested) and we needed to keep fridges etc going. With the boat well ventilated the batteries continuing to cool and on the boat connected to shore power we then just had to source some replacement batteries . The following day kitted with locally sourced goggles etc, and the batteries down to sub 30 temperatures, I had to use a large screwdriver and hammer to gently separate the batteries and remove them one by one as they were stuck together. There was around 1cm of battery acid in the battery compartment after all the batteries had been removed. The Victron Quattro supplier suggested that one of the 3 year old Victron battery cells probably failed and caused this. We have decided to go back to sealed lead acid batteries this time around. I am interested in the lithium discussions as these batteries have such a high degree of self monitoring, because of their potential dangers, which more traditional batteries don’t have. Yet all batteries have there dangers. I was very glad to have the spot thermometer and battery tester at hand.

Andrew Lamb

SV Ronpische

SM 472

Currently puerto de Soller

What about Kalamata?
I'm here now for about a year.
--
Gerhard Mueller
Amel Sharki #60
Currently Kalamata, Greece