Regarding sea anchors and drogues, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject, but I do know they are not all cone shaped. Over the years many effective differently shaped sea anchors and drogues have been implemented and proven the test of time. Just as there's many different anchor designs. I bet each design has benefits and drawbacks just like anchors. As I mentioned in my earlier post, many sea anchors including the one I use are shaped just like parachutes. In fact, it is my understanding that some early sea anchors were surplus army parachutes.

Jerry