We tried the QuickSet with 6 feet of chain between anchor and rode. We anchored in 8-9 feet of water. The bottom was sandy mud (or muddy sand, if you prefer) with small bits of broken shell and pebbles. There were occasional clumps of mussels loose on the bottom, torn from distant rocks in a strong blow we'd had a few days before. We could actually see the bottom dimly-a rare occurrence in these parts. We set up a rope bridle from the midships cleats to a point on the centerline just forward of the engines, then shackled the dynamometer to the bridle, and went to work. The QuickSet dug in almost instantly. We let out a scope of 5:1, attached the rode to the Dillon, and slowly applied pressure from the twin Suzukis. The dynamometer climbed to 600 pounds, the anchor tripped and skidded for a few feet, then reset itself and shock-loaded the dynamometer up to 750 lbs. We built the pressure back up to a steady 780 lbs. for a few seconds without incident, then backed off for fear of pulling the cleats out of the boat. We'll look forward to comparing the QuickSet in the future to the many old acquaintances lurking metallically in the basement.

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