Hi Mark,

Yup, for a time I had a pair of aluminum Spades up there, one slightly smaller than the other... Primarily, in an effort to keep the weight down...

The Spade is a great anchor, but I found the aluminum versions sometimes simply didn't have the weight to penetrate a difficult bottom... Then, the Manson came along, and I decided to give it a try, and have never looked back. Sold the smaller Spade, kept the larger one as a backup, and my secondary anchor is now a Bruce, another anchor that I've always loved...

Also, that pair fits better together on my fairly fine bow, which is always a bit of a consideration...

The pic I posted of the Northill shows a Rocna on my bow, one thing I've never liked about the Manson is that stupid slot in the top of the shank... A few years ago, West Marine had a big sale on Rocnas w/free shipping, so I took the bait... Well, that was just a few months before the whole Rocna substandard Chinese steel issue arose, so I returned it to WM... Too bad, 'cause I liked the appearance of the Rocna better, and it made a slightly better fit on my bow... But, I did a rudimentary hardness test on the shanks of both anchors using a simple carpenters center punch, and the Rocna seemed to be noticeably softer...

I'm still a big fan of the Spade, but if I had one living on the bow permanently, I'd go with the heavier galvanized version...

best regards,

Jon