Yeah, I have a real CQR on my current boat. Never have dragged an anchor once it set, but at times it can be a pain to get to set. I am looking for something that sets quickly and reliably.
Dave, the time that decided me it had to go would have been hilarious - to any onlookers, that is - not to me. We had cruised into an anchorage on North Stradbroke Island here in Moreton Bay, called Myora, and it was about half tide, with light breeze and only a moderate tidal current. I dropped the CQR, backed up, it appeared to have set, so I put on a brew. We were sitting there enjoying, when I suddenly noticed that we were no longer opposite the same vessel we were when we first 'set' the anchor. Bugger, I said, mildly, we've dragged. Ok, no sweat, the anchorage is known to have a bit of weed on the bottom here and there, so I started the engine, up-anchored, motored slowly to the right place to drop to be clear of other boats once bedded in, but at a slightly different spot to try and avoid the weed. We had had the boat nearly 2 years at the time, and like you, by bitter experience, sort of expected to have to do the odd re-set.
Same thing happened..!
My bugger became, well, a bit stronger...especially as about 6 attempts later we had still not managed a set that stuck. That was it. We up-anchored, went elsewhere, not as nice, but a sticky mud bottom where anything sticks, just by its own weight really, and I decided we didn't need a bigger boat, but we sure as hell needed a better anchor.
A few weeks later happened to be the Sanctuary Cove Boat show. I saw Rex demonstrating the Sarca, aided by a really interesting video, decided that's the anchor for me, and the rest, as they say, was history,. That was 12 years ago.