They're designed to let you drift, just a little slower than you would otherwise, so you can go trolling for fish. They're almost like a rudder in that if you're not moving fast enough they do almost nothing. If you were on the coast and drifing into rocks good luck. I actually tried one. I used a medium sized on and maybe a really big one might have worked better but I doubt it. These are big PVC cones with a large hole at the end so they work kinda like a windsock in the water. The real sea anchors look like a full parachute (no hole, flatter like a disc rather than a cone, and a bunch of small lines at the perimeter, lighter material). A real sea anchor has MUCH more holding power than a fisherman's drogue and if you size it right your're close to dead in the water (with a very slow drift compared to a drift anchor). You feel like you're moored on a bouy (but you are drifting very slowly). It's too bad since the cone drogues are generally not only cheaper but also less tangle prone since it's easir to tangle a parachute rigged setup than the cone setup which typically only has 3 to 5 web straps from the cone to the anchor line. That said, tangling of the lines doesn't seem to be a problem with a real sea anchor unless you were really sloppy when stowing it.

If anyone else has any experience with these various options please share it.

Jerry