Mirabella V, the world's largest sloop at the time of launch

Challenge

Manson Anchors was approached by Ron Holland, a leading yacht designer, and Vosper Thornycroft, a British shipyard, to help with the anchoring solution for this iconic sloop. They were in the process of designing and building what would be the largest sloop in the world. At 248ft long and costing over £100 million, this was a very high-profile project to be a part of.

The designers selected a Manson Ray which, due to the unique shape of the bow, fitted perfectly. However, due to the large furling units inside the bow, the space for the deployment system was limited. The anchors would need to sit in specially designed deployment systems to fit the tight space.

Designer, Ron Holland, was confident the Manson Anchor team could find a solution that would work perfectly. He had experience with the reliable Manson Ray Anchor on existing sailing yachts he had designed, and this experience assured him that it was the right choice for Mirabella V.

Solution

The anchors for Mirabella V were constructed from 316 low carbon stainless steel plate. After extensive discussion on the dimension limitations, the Manson Anchors team offered digital drawings to check against the pre-designed anchor housing. Once it was confirmed they would fit beneath the furler bases, construction commenced.

Manson Anchor’s unique fabrication methods meant that millimeter accurate CAD drawings could be supplied to the builders and slight modifications could be made to ensure a perfect fit.

The anchors were not cast; they were fabricated from plates. When manufactured this way, an exact and easily manipulated set of dimensions can be achieved.

The Manson Ray Anchors were flared to the same specifications as the bow, enabling them to sit snuggly against the bow.

The Manson Ray Anchors were the world’s largest Stainless-Steel Ray-type anchors weighing 600kg (1300lbs) and 400kg (900lbs).

Being made for the largest sloop in the world created a lot of attention for Manson Anchors, particularly their ability to work to very tight dimensions.

Manson Anchor’s ability to manufacture the product achieving tight tolerance and a high level of mirror polish finish on the anchors, received high praise from all involved in the project.

As a result of this project, Manson Anchors were chosen as the winner of the New Zealand Trade & Enterprise Creative Design Award. In addition, Manson Anchors was chosen by the ISTIA (International Superyacht Technology Innovation Awards) as runner up in the hardware and deck gear section.

https://bowmaster.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Vosper-Thornycroft-Mirabella-V-1.pdf