Editing Anchor (section)

=== CQR plough anchor ===
[[File:Genuine CQR.jpg|thumb|right|A CQR plough anchor]]
Many manufacturers produce a plough-type anchor, so-named after its resemblance to an agricultural [[plough]]. All such anchors are copied from the original CQR (''Coastal Quick Release'', or ''Clyde Quick Release'', later rebranded as 'secure' by Lewmar), a 1933 design patented in the UK by mathematician [[Geoffrey Ingram Taylor]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor, G. I. |author-link=Geoffrey Ingram Taylor |year=1974 |title=The history of an invention |journal=Bulletin of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications |volume=10 |pages=367–368}} Cited by {{cite journal|author=Batchelor, G. K.|title=Geoffrey Ingram Taylor, 7 March 1886 – 27 June 1975|year=1986|journal=Journal of Fluid Mechanics|volume=173|pages=1–14|doi=10.1017/S0022112086001040|bibcode=1986JFM...173....1B|s2cid=123337875 }}</ref><ref>A US patent followed in 1934 {{cite patent
 | country = US
 | number = 1974933
 | status = patent
 | title = Anchor
 | gdate = 1934-09-25
 | fdate = 1934-02-28
 | inventor = G. I. Taylor
 | invent1 = Taylor, Geoffrey Ingram
}}</ref>

Plough anchors stow conveniently in a roller at the bow, and have been popular with cruising sailors and private boaters. Ploughs can be moderately good in all types of seafloor, though not exceptional in any. Contrary to popular belief, the CQR's hinged shank is not to allow the anchor to turn with direction changes rather than breaking out, but actually to prevent the shank's weight from disrupting the fluke's orientation while setting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=cqr-plow-anchor-us-patent-1934 |url=http://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/docs/cqr-plow-anchor-us-patent-1934.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/docs/cqr-plow-anchor-us-patent-1934.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> The hinge can wear out and may trap a sailor's fingers. Some later plough anchors have a rigid shank, such as the Lewmar's "Delta".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lewmar.com/node/11594|title=Delta® Anchors – Stainless steel &#124; Lewmar|website=www.lewmar.com}}</ref>

A plough anchor has a fundamental flaw: like its namesake, the agricultural plough, it digs in but then tends to break out back to the surface. Plough anchors sometimes have difficulty setting at all, and instead skip across the seafloor. By contrast, modern efficient anchors tend to be "scoop" types that dig ever deeper.