Rocna or similar anchor for 45 Viking

Just wondering what you found out or decided. Looked at an old brochure for my boat that had a Danforth on the bow. Pictures look about like the way my Rocna rides

If it's not too late to reply to this discussion I'd like to know if you went with Vulcan and how it's working out. I bought a 1988 44 Viking motoryacht in November that came with BBB chain and a very undersized danforth considering it's a 40,000 lb boat with considerable windage. I anchor out overnight often and my preference would be a 73 lb Rocna or a 55 lb Delta. The problem is that the anchor roller slot is too tight to allow most suitably sized anchors. I decided to go with a 55lb Vulcan and 5/16" G4 chain. The BBB gypsy on my Ideal windlass handles the G4 fine. The links are the same size as BBB. After trying the 55 lb Delta I decided it was just a a little too big for the roller slot. It didn't nest well on the pulpit using just the windlass. It needed to be hoisted up a little higher into the slot by hand. No big deal since I need to go forward to secure it anyway, but the size was still a little awkward and the pulpit bounced a little more than I'm comfortable with when when lowering anchor, at least until the anchor hit bottom and the bouncing would smooth out while paying out just the weight of the chain. Before someone asks, the pulpit is solid and core is good (core in pulpit and foredeck was replaced). It's just a heavy chain and anchor for a long pulpit with lots of leverage. I ended up returning the 55 lb Vulcan and ordered a 44 lb vulcan. the 44 is undersized for the boat according to the Rocna/Vulcan Chart but still way better that the danforth and at least equivalent to a 45 lb Delta (the size Delta recommends for the boat). I'm wonder if maybe a spade would fit in the slot better since the shank appears to be proportionally thinner than similarly sized rocnas and vulcans. It's still a mystery to me why a quality boat builder like Viking would not include a bow pulpit design that allows for an adequate sized/design anchor. No way I'd sleep well swinging on a danforth overnight. I have zero confidence in a danforth resetting when spinning with the tide. At least in Chesapeake bay bottoms.

I am on my 95 54 Viking MY as I type and just left after a couple of days at Galati Marine (a large Viking dealer on the west coast of FL). Galati had all types of large Vikings and all of these 70+ feet Viking SF had these smallish fortress anchors on them. I don’t know why Viking doesn’t pay more attention to the anchor sizing. Mine came with a 55lb fortress and I had a bad experience with a shift in a strong thunderstorm. I have since switched to a 150lb Bruce and have not had any issues since. But keep in mind I don’t anchor as often as I tie up.

I used a 55lb Delta with G4.
But I modified the shank to allow it to work in the roller, but unless you have access to a real machine shop it's not viable. Takes a good size mill to accommodate the Delta.

With all due respect , IMO you guys are using some big oversized anchors for your boats.
Rocna Vulcan 44lb rated for boats up to 52’.
The 55lb ; 59’ . On the chart I’m looking at Defender Marine.

The 44lb should do just fine for the 40+ footers .
I’m not a huge fan of all chain anchor rode.
I’ve had fine results with my danforth fluke anchor along with 15’ chain rode and standard three strand nylon anchor line on my 42’ Ocean Yachts.
I like to shock and stretch you get with line, I think it gives the anchor and boat a little more give before it rips out of the bottom.
I anchor over night often . In many types of situations, and have had good luck thus far.
This includes many spots on the Chesapeake Bay ,New Jersey Back Bay‘s and Delaware river. All with swift , changing tidal current.
Scope, scope and more scope sure is the key to a good set. No matter the anchor.

Not sure of the size of my anchor, it came with the boat…using same one for six years now …lol.
It is getting a bit rough.

But all of you bring up great points and sure are helping me consider what type of Anchor I should get next . It’s on my priority list.
Still staying with line , plus I like the light weight factor you get with line vs. chain in the boat.

Thanks , this post is quite interesting.
Then again bigger is always better…
Until you have to pull that SOB up one day.

Thank You, I see…and agree.
Lol, I’ve got to get through my messed up head what my boat weighs…
I recall on my documentation 26 ton = 52,000lbs?
Or is it 26,000 lbs …. I always forget.
Most of you know by now , I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer…
I will look at it this weekend.

Sheeeett…. man….my Ocean Pulpit is just a slab of teak that juts out about a mile…looks like the “ Orca” pulpit in Jaws. I don’t want to put much downward pressure on it . I could see it snapping off with to much anchor!

Just did a quick search and a review indicated the weight of a 42 Ocean to be 32,000 lbs. I guess that is dry weight but it did not say. It also indicated a Viking or Bertram might be 25% heavier. My 44 motor yacht has. 40,000 dry weight.

We changed from a 65# Bruce with 1" nylon to a 85# Bruce and 3/8" chain. When in a little blow, I wondered if my bow diving board would crunch when that chain snaped tight. That's when I built up a good 1" nylon snubber with Mantus hook. No more stress on the pulpit or the windlass.
Most windlass owners manual recommend not to let the windlass hold the load also (but who ever reads the manual anyway).

If your documentation is CG documentation the 26 tons could be displacement measurement. Not actual weight.

Yes…that’s where I get confused.
Just looked at my survey, he claims 28,000 lbs.
Mine is not the sport fish, but the aft cabin model. With twin 471’s not 671’s.
Not sure of the weight difference there.
Thanks for checking it out.
28,000-32,000 both heavy enough!

I tried to upload some photos of the 55lb Vulcan seated in my pulpit before I decided to swap it for the 44, but I got an error message saying the photo files are too big. I’m new to this forum. Is there a trick to uploading a standard photo taken with a phone?

Choose a smaller size instead of “Actual size.”
Try small or medium.

I chose the small size and now I’m getting an error the says “The contents of the file do not match the file extension”. I’m clicking “upload file” then selecting “photo library” then selecting a photo on an IPad. I assume my photos are jpegs so I’m not sure what’s going on.

Thanks for posting the photo. Now you have me considering a Rocna instead of a Vulcan. I had just assumed a Rocna would work due to the roll bar and the shank geometry. Does your windlass pull your Rocna fully into the position shown in the photo or do you need to seat it on the roller by hand? Also,do you have issues with the anchor sometime coming up in the wrong position and jamming in the slot? I had both problems with the 55 lb Vulcan I returned. My 44 lb Vulcan is waiting for me at west marine. Not looking forward to playing with chain and anchors on my bow in 20 degree windy weather, but no other option if I want my ground tackle sorted out by spring.

Sure. I’ll try sending it through a conversation. If that doesn’t work I’d need your email address.