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Why we choose the Mantus M1 Anchor as Full-Time Cruisers

Choosing the right anchor is one of the most important steps to leaving the dock and having a good night sleep while out on the water. It’s a valuable piece of equipment that will keep you safe when foul weather comes. We explain our experience as two young boaters with a CQR anchor in their first few months of boating and why purchasing a Mantus Anchor was one of the first upgrades we made to our boat. One year later, we are still happy with our new anchor and the decision we made to go Mantus!

Crisfield, MD | Our first night back on anchor with our new Mantus M1 and Mantus anchor bridal.

Table of Contents

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  • The Story of Why We Purchased the Mantus M1
  • Assembling the Mantus M1
  • Our First Night Trying the Mantus M1
  • Getting Used to the Mantus M1
  • The Mantus M1 Surviving our Biggest Storm Yet
  • Mantus M1 Installation Video and Review

The Story of Why We Purchased the Mantus M1

We entered into boating not knowing what we liked and didn’t like until we had the pleasure of gaining more boating experiences under our belt. We only knew what the previous owner told us about the boat, what other boaters told us from their experiences, and what we learned from online forums. Since our boat came with a CQR anchor and the previous owner as well as a few other boaters told us positive things about CQR’s we didn’t think otherwise about our anchor. So we left the marina and headed out on our maiden voyage to experience our CQR ourselves.

We anchored for the first time on our maiden voyage down the St. Johns River to Lake George. This was a learning experience for multiple reasons including our first time using this anchor, setting our anchor alarm, and setting our anchor. We were total newbies! Looking back we learned better methods for doing all three of these things, but we’ll never forget our first night on anchor. 

During our first night on anchor, we dropped our CQR and let out our chain without actually setting our anchor. We attached a hook to our Sampson post and thought we did a decent job. We were presented with 14 knots of winds that night in a decent sized lake in the middle of Florida. Not knowing what leeward and windward actually were or what side of the body of water we should anchor on given the wind direction. We anchored on the windward side, getting beaten down by the wind that gained strength as it blew over the lake to our anchorage spot. Our anchor proceeded to drag several times and subsequently our anchor alarm continued to go off. Thankfully our anchor “set” (unbeknownst to us) on an underwater crab pot line until we saw it the following morning when we pulled up our anchor. We left the anchorage and continued our journey south on the St. John’s River where we had zero wind, little to no current, and no tides to navigate so setting our anchor proceeded successfully without any major problems.

A few weeks later, we left on our biggest boating journey yet: 6,000 nm around America’s Great Loop! We left the safe marina in Palatka, FL and headed north on the St. John’s River for Green Cove Springs, FL. Our first night on anchor was during a bit of a blow, with winds of about 20 knots. We dropped our anchor and proceeded to work on our laptops in our salon. 30 minutes later, Elliot looked up and said “I think we’re a lot closer to this boat than before,” so we knew we were dragging the anchor, again. Due to the intense winds forecasted through the next few days, we pulled up the anchor and moved to a protected anchorage in a nearby creek and waited out the blow.

Cumberland Island, GA | PIVOT at an anchorage as we went through our first major storm.

Our Great Loop journey was filled with several more experiences of dragging anchor including our worst experience dragging anchor at Bull Island, SC. By this point we had learned to set our anchor by pulling back on it and giving it 1100 RPMs to dig it into the ground. Elliot didn’t feel it really set, so we decided to postpone leaving the boat for two hours so we could observe the surroundings and movements of the waterway. Two hours later we left for shore on our evening dog walk only to be there for 10 minutes before our future friends and boat buddy, Andy and Gwen from Abroad Reach Travel came to save us from PIVOT dragging further and further into the river we were anchored on. We returned back to PIVOT, pulled up our anchor and attempted to anchor 2 more times, albeit unsuccessfully. We ended up returning to the spot we ran aground on the ICW just hours earlier, thinking “at least we won’t be dragging anchor if we’re aground”. It was a scary experience to not feel safe and comfortable in our own home (watch the full experience here).

Jekyll Island, GA | PIVOT anchored on a calm night.

Not having a trustworthy anchor made leaving the boat unattended very difficult to the point where we would schedule our tasks around one person staying aboard PIVOT at all times. Just in case something did happen, one person would be able to attend to the anchor issue instead of coming back to a boat that had already dragged anchor and potentially hit another boat or run aground or run out to deeper waters. Having an unreliable anchor was exhausting. Any time we were anchored with strong weather or had a lot of boat traffic, we couldn’t trust we’d stay in the place we anchored in. It was really tough and tiring, mentally and physically.

Charleston, SC | PIVOT on a dock during a storm.

After 2 months, we knew we had to change our anchor. In our research process, we learned about a slew of various anchor types and the different scenarios that each type works best in (i.e. mud, sand, rock, etc.). Our decision to purchase a Mantus among many other anchor types was that it was suitable for a variety of bottoms, it digs in well and has a roll-bar to ensure it gets reset incase of moving 360 degrees. Mantus anchors were very highly regarded and so we invested in the Mantus M1.

Assembling the Mantus M1

We received our Mantus anchor in a flat box and had some simple installation instructions. We set up the anchor without any problems. Once we got to removing our old anchor, we encountered some problems. The bolts were stripped on our old anchor swivel so we were unable to reuse it. We bought the Mantus M1 as well as the Mantus Anchor Swivel to replace our old anchor swivel. We were thrilled by the ease of installation.

Crisfield, MD | Elliot installing our new Mantus M1 anchor.

Crisfield, MD | Elliot thinking “this 65 lb. of metal will definitely hold PIVOT in place!”
Crisfield, MD | Left: old CQR; Right: new Mantus M1.
Crisfield, MD | Goodbye CQR!

Our First Night Trying the Mantus M1

We spent our first night on anchor with our friends, Adam and Kathryn, in the Somers Cove Marina harbor in Crisfield, MD. We had light winds of 5-8 knots and enjoyed a very calm first night back on anchor after being at the docks of the marina for the past 2 months with boat projects. We knew 5-8 knots is not the conditions we chose to anchor in were not the conditions we bought our Mantus for, however, we wanted an easy first night on anchor with our friends. We used our new Mantus Anchor Bridal for the first time, not knowing how much we would come to love this piece of boating equipment in future foul weather experiences. Our first night on anchor was beautiful. We woke up the next morning to our GPS not showing any anchor dragging and all four people aboard PIVOT slept great! We were excited to put our Mantus to further testing in the very near future when we headed south from the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys for winter.

Crisfield, MD | Our first night on anchor testing out our new Mantus M1.

Getting Used to the Mantus M1

As we continued south for the winter, we gained more and more experience anchoring with our new Mantus anchor, bridal and swivel. We went through several days of foul weather including a few days in Portsmouth/Norfolk VA, Belhaven NC, Steamboat Creek SC, St. Mary’s GA, and in the Florida Keys, each with different weather patterns, environmental factors, waterways and bottom conditions to really put our anchor to test. We spent a total of 40 days (and counting) on our new Mantus M1 anchor slowly gaining our anchor faith back. We didn’t have any negative experiences that questioned our faith in our anchor, which was an incredible feeling. We’re happy to say we now trust our anchor and feel comfortable leaving our boat so we can both go ashore to take our dog Ollie out for a walk or go run errands. It’s an amazing feeling!

Norfolk, VA | PIVOT sitting in Hospital Point Anchorage before some nasty weather came in the following day.
Our new Mantus anchor hanging off our bow roller as we cruise south down the Great Dismal Swamp, VA.

After a year of boating under our belts, we now know windward, leeward, what to look for in a protected anchorage, how much chain to let out in varying situations, how to “set” our anchor, the value of a bridal as it relates to easing the yanking motion while in foul conditions and giving us a much more enjoyable boating experience and an easy nights sleep, and so much more.

Jacksonville, FL | PIVOT on a free dock.

The Mantus M1 Surviving our Biggest Storm Yet

As I write this blog post, we just survived our largest storm onboard PIVOT. It’s the following day after a storm that blew through South Florida and the Florida Keys. We’re located inside No Name Harbor situated in Biscayne Key along with about 15 other anchored boats, primarily monohull and catamaran sailboats, while the power boats are tied to the concrete wall in this protected harbor. We were happy to represent one of the few motor boats anchored in the harbor. As boats proceeded to enter into the harbor and anchor, we looked at the anchors hanging from the bows and took note of which boats were using CQRs. On the day of the storm, two boats dragged anchor (one catamaran and one monohull) giving them each a very scary day to add to their boating experience arsenal. While 45 knot winds blew through the harbor, we watched other boats drag anchor and felt the scary, uncertainty feelings that we imagined they were dealing with at the moment. It was tough to watch, but we’re glad we were safe, and everyone in the harbor also ended up safe in one way or another. 

Biscayne Key, FL | We watched boats in the anchorage we were in drag into other boats. It was a scary experience to watch and we could commiserate how they must have felt during this storm of 45 knots.

During this storm, I told Elliot just how much I love our Mantus anchor, Mantus bridal, and how proud I am of us for learning so much in the past year. Sometimes it’s through the challenging, difficult, and hard experiences that you learn the most and gain the most impactful learning lessons. We’ve been able to tweak our anchor technique and are still learning to this day. Thanks Mantus for keeping us safe!

Mantus M1 Installation Video and Review

The ups, downs, and everything in between, we share it all. If you like what you see, there are lots of ways to show your support and say thanks! The easiest way to support our work is by commenting on this post, liking and sharing our content on Facebook, and pinning our content on Pinterest. It’s a small way to say thank you that goes a long way!


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January 21, 2022

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About Us

We’re Jen and Elliot, aka Scho & Jo, a couple of high school sweethearts who fell in love with travel and decided to live life now. From international travel to boating around America’s Great Loop to converting a Sprinter Van into a campervan and now traveling to all 50 States and US National Parks, we’re here to help you plan for your dream trip! We share detailed guides and expense reports to help turn your dream trip into a reality! Read more about us here.

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  • How to Spend One Day in Zion National Park
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We’re a proud Contributing Editor to Waterway Guide.

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What part of Zion are you most interested in? Zi What part of Zion are you most interested in? 

Zion National Park is part of Utah’s Mighty Five and is the western most park. Zion is a sanctuary in the desert as its towering red rock cliffs, narrow slot canyons, and lush valleys amaze first time and long time visitors alike. 

The park was the second most visited National Park in the US in 2024. From short hikes, to best hikes, and things to to that aren’t hiking, we have guides on our website for it all.

👋 Hi, we’re Jen, Elliot, and Ollie - living in our self converted van as we travel to all 50 states and 63 National Parks. We share travel inspiration, actually helpful tips, and detailed itineraries, all to help get you outside! Follow @schoandjo for more 🌞

#zion #zionnationalpark #zionnps #utah #utahgram #utahrocks #roadtrip #roadtrippin #roadtripping #usa #roadtripusa #visitutah #ForeverMighty
This hike looks down on Angle’s Landing 🤯

👋 Hi, we’re Jen, Elliot, and Ollie 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🐶 living in our self converted van as we travel to all 50 states and 63 National Parks. We share travel inspiration, actually helpful tips, and detailed itineraries, all to help get you outside! Follow @schoandjo for more 🌞

⛔️ No permit to Angle’s Landing? No problem. 

⛔️ Not interested in hiking Angle’s Landing? No problem.

✅ THIS hike is the perfect hike for anyone who wants incredible views of Zion National Park. 

Here’s how to access this Observation Point:

🗺️ This route is now accessible by driving to the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort (a rockfall closed the original trail). The trail offers sweeping views over Zion Canyon, including a direct view of Angels Landing from above. Overall, it’s relatively flat, shaded in parts, and much less crowded than many others in the park. 

🚘 Park at the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. You can walk about a half mile from Zion Ponderosa or take their $7.50 shuttle (which we did, since the dirt road was muddy after recent rain). 

⌚️The hike is 7 miles round trip and is ranked as a moderate hike taking about 3-4 hours.

🙌🏼 With its minimal elevation gain and maximum reward, this is one of the best value hikes in the park.

💬 Do you think these views rival those at Angle’s Landing? Let us know in the comments below 👇🏼 

#angleslanding #zionnationalpark #zionnp #nationalparkadventures #bestutahhikes #hikeutah #visitutah #ForeverMighty
Here’s the deal and how to go on the best hike/t Here’s the deal and how to go on the best hike/tour in the park 👇

New here? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🐶 We’re Jen, Elliot, and Ollie on a journey to visit all 50 states and 63 National Parks. Follow @schoandjo for more inspiration, actually helpful tips, and detailed travel guides 🚐🗺️🧭

The best hike in Carlsbad Caverns is the King’s Palace Ranger-led tour! Here’s how to score it…

🕗 Arrive to the park early! We recommend getting to the Visitor Center by 8 am so you can ensure you get some of the limited tickets to the King’s Palace Ranger-led tour. There are limited amount of spots (usually 24) and they go quickly! 

🎟️ When the Visitor Center opens at 9 am, head to the counter to pay your $15 park entrance fee (or show your America the Beautiful Pass) and purchase your ranger tour ticket. 

ℹ️ Explore the Visitor Center while you wait for the tour to start. We recommend watching the park films and reading several of the information placards to learn about the park. 

🧥 Take the elevator down 750 feet into the cave system and head to the starting point of the King’s Palace tour. That being said, you’ll want to bring a jacket for the caves, even in summer, as they stay at a cool 56°F year-round. 

📬 Pro Tip: If you like sending postcards from the NP’s, there’s a mailbox in the cave. 

🗣️ Attend the King’s Palace Ranger-led tour, which lasts about an hour and a half.

🥪 Head back up to the surface for lunch. We had a picnic style lunch outside but there’s also a food court in the Gift Shop.

📸 After lunch, go back into the cave through the Natural Entrance. Make sure to visit the Big Room! It doesn’t disappoint. 

✌️ Plan to exit the caves by 4:30 PM as elevators stop running at 4:45 PM.

🍴 Enjoy dinner in Carlsbad, NM - we recommend stopping at Guadalupe Mountain Brewing Co. for pizza and beer with live music on the weekends.

💬 Comment CAVE and I’ll send you our FREE detailed travel itinerary complete with an estimated budget breakdown, packing list, and more! 

Disclaimer: The tours change daily based on Ranger staffing, so nothing is guaranteed. 

#carlsbadcaverns #carlsbadcavernsnp #nationalparkadventures #gocaving #cavetour #parkrangersrock
Come prepared with our White Sands NP Itinerary! Come prepared with our White Sands NP Itinerary!

📍Save this for later & tag your adventure buddy! 🫶

If we’re traveling to White Sands National Park for the first time and only have one day to spend exploring the park, the is how we would spend our time: 

1️⃣ Dive the Dunes Scenic Drive to the back of the park and enjoy the views along the way!

2️⃣ Hike the Alkali Flat Trail in the morning during the coolest part of the day. This is the longest in the park at 4.5 miles, so be sure to bring a lot of water and wear sun protective clothing. The only place water is available is at the visitors center, so be sure to fill up before driving out to this trailhead. 

3️⃣ Enjoy a picnic lunch at one of the many picnic areas under some shade. 

4️⃣ After lunch, head to the visitor center to get out of the sun and heat, watch the park film, and learn about the park. Head to the Gift Shop to rent a sled for $15-20 depending on the style. 

5️⃣ Go sledding on the Sand Dunes! The smooth gypsum sand makes for a surprisingly nice sledding surface, especially if you’ve applied wax to the bottom of your board. Make sure to return the sled by 4pm. 

6️⃣ Hike the Dune Life Nature Trail which is a marked short 1-miles loop that offers some of the best chances to spot wildlife in the park. Alternatively, you can hike the Playa Trail which is a short 15 minute hike.

7️⃣ Lastly, watching the sunset at Sand Dunes is a must! If you’re interested, check out the ranger-led sunset stroll. We love Ranger tours as they never disappoint. Check the visitor center for meet-up time and location. 

‼️ A few things to note ‼️

⛔️ The Dunes Scenic Drive can often be closed from 7-9am as they clear the road from any sand that was blown onto the road from the night before. 

⛔️ Certain areas of the park close temporarily for missile tests from the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. Check the parks website or call ahead for more info. 

⛔️ The park is super dog friendly! 🦮

Comment SEND and I’ll send you our FREE detailed travel itinerary with an estimated budget breakdown, packing list and more!

Follow @schoandjo for more NP itineraries!

#whitesands #nationalparkadventures  #travelguide
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