doug748
regular
Reged: 01/10/2002
Posts: 999
Loc: Plymouth
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Curious to know why genuine Bruce anchors are no longer available? Their web site just makes a bald statement. Jimmy Green says "unavailable at present" Anyone know the story?
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markpageant
regular
Reged: 26/01/2007
Posts: 37
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I live nr Edinburgh and tried to buy one last summer. I was eventually directe dto the manufacturer in Livingston, not far away. They said they didn't supply for leisure market anymore but tehir was adistributor in Italy. I phone dthe Italian distributor who said they su contract to a firm in Brazil. I emailed Brazil who said they were waiting for a stainless steel shipment from god knows where and they thought they would begin production again early this year. Meanwhile due to global warming there is no sea left so I don't need an anchor... its all true, except the last bit !
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webcraft
regular
Reged: 08/07/2001
Posts: 4402
Loc: al shop for local people
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Why on earth do you want one anyway? Unweighted unpointy things that are scaled down versions of huge oil rig anchors and were never intended for yachts.
Bruce are still making the big ones and all the associated paraphernalia for deepwater mooring of very large things, and my guess would be that with all the new hhp designs now available the leisure market had become an insignificant part of their turnover.
- W
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Comprehensive UK sail cruising website
BlueMoment - blown away into the blue . . .
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dipper
regular
Reged: 30/05/2001
Posts: 1647
Loc: Dorset
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At one stage, Bruce leisure anchors were made in mainland Europe – I think it was the Netherlands but I may be wrong. They then transferred production to an identical manufacturing line in Brazil. Around this time, they carried out a determined campaign to ensure (quite rightly) that advertisers/retailers did not refer to claw anchors as Bruce anchors. This was perhaps most noticeable on internet web sites where many had to change the description of their Bruce copies.
If you ever get the chance to compare a genuine Bruce anchor with a cheaper claw anchor you will see the difference. Not only is the steel used in genuine anchors much stronger but size for size the genuine anchors are lighter and the flukes much sharper. For example, a 10kg copy has almost the same dimensions of a 7.5kg Bruce.
Ultimately, I think the dilution of their brand identity by inferior copies must have played its part. I’m sure that the presence of cheaper copies (wrongly described as Bruce anchors) has contributed to the perceived poorer performance of the genuine anchor.
This doesn’t really answer your question but may be of interest.
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And God said 'Let there be light'. And there was light. And God saw the light and said 'Good. Now I can see what I am doing'.
www.cobra-seawolf.com
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doug748
regular
Reged: 01/10/2002
Posts: 999
Loc: Plymouth
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Thanks. It did seem strange that CQR held on for 50 years (?), yet Bruce just came and went, after doing very well indeed. I assume they have the manufacturing rights, and these would have a value. Just wonder why they don't make the things, or flog it on.
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demonboy
regular
Reged: 11/10/2004
Posts: 782
Loc: Think bird eaten at Christmas
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Quote:
Ultimately, I think the dilution of their brand identity by inferior copies must have played its part. I’m sure that the presence of cheaper copies (wrongly described as Bruce anchors) has contributed to the perceived poorer performance of the genuine anchor.
But don't most anchor manufacturers suffer from this problem?
Would be interested to know if Bruces are actually rated as a good anchor cos there's a 20kg one for sale here. Useful secondary anchor?
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30boat
regular
Reged: 26/10/2001
Posts: 995
Loc: Portugal
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After seeing what a Rocna cand do I'm not surprised.
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Bilgediver
regular
Reged: 06/06/2001
Posts: 1468
Loc: Scotland
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Would be interested to know if Bruces are actually rated as a good anchor cos there's a 20kg one for sale here. Useful secondary anchor?
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Anchors vary in performance depending on what conditions they are in . Some deal better in mud, some in hard sand and some in stones and rock.
The Bruce was developed in the 70's for Oil rigs in the North sea and the 15 Tonne model was great in sand and even mud however when scaled down to the mini 35K and 15K models they don t always perform so well in hard sand as well as their big brothers but they still do great in mud and soft sand.
The Bruce has to be dug in to be effective as the design requires it to be pulled backwards in order that it rolls to the correct position and digs down. You know when you got it right as it doesn't let go without a fight .
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Eastern Scotland and beyond.
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Bilgediver
regular
Reged: 06/06/2001
Posts: 1468
Loc: Scotland
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I live nr Edinburgh and tried to buy one last summer.
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Always readily available at..
Port Edgar MArina
Kip MArina
LArgs MArina
And SeaSPan if you can cope with The Dragon....
They come in galv. steel for raggies and chrome plateded for Mobos.
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Eastern Scotland and beyond.
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Captainslarty
regular
Reged: 12/08/2007
Posts: 2012
Loc: Currently La Coruna Spain
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Bruce overall is a good anchor - Delta is better for us.
Dont know why you cant get them though, maybe it is dilution..
With anchoring 9 times out of 10 its the user who causes problems, not the anchor itself.
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PM me for info re SSB's etc. Bought, sold, repaired, fitted and optimised.
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Lemain
regular
Reged: 31/01/2004
Posts: 5957
Loc: Fiumicino canal (Rome, Italy)
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The following is from the wiki. Note the word 'claim'. I don't think that there is any evidence that the Peter Bruce who was responsible for the yachting Bruce anchor ever supplied anchors to the oil industry. This comes from:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor#Bruce.2FClaw
Bruce/Claw
This claw shaped anchor was designed by Peter Bruce from the Isle of Man in the 1970s [2]. Bruce claims the invention to be based on a design used for anchoring floating oil derricks in the North Sea. The Bruce and its copies, known generically as "claws", have become a popular option for smaller boaters. It was intended to address some of the problems of the only general-purpose option then available, the plough. Claw-types set quickly in most seabeds and although not an articulated design, they have the reputation of not breaking out with tide or wind changes, instead slowly turning in the bottom to align with the force.
Genuine Bruce anchorClaw types have difficulty penetrating weedy bottoms and grass. They offer a fairly low holding power to weight ratio and generally have to be over-sized to compete with other types. On the other hand they perform relatively well with low rode scopes and set fairly reliably. They cannot be used with hawse pipes.
Bruce Anchor Group no longer produce the genuine anchor although other companies make reproductions
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My daily blog on the current financial crisis is at:- http://davidscompass.blogspot.com No PMs for now ybw1.20.lemain@spamgourmet.com
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2nd_apprentice
regular
Reged: 18/03/2007
Posts: 356
Loc: Hull
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This is the one they use for oil rigs:
Obvious similarities I'd say
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