Best Overall Anchor for 50' powerboats

[mvelotas]

Meant 'knocked my wife off the BOW...not now! !

[Kenomac]

Buy the Quickline Ultra Anchor. I just fitted a 45kg with swivel to the roller on our boat, it looks awesome. Bigger, shinier, sharper and more bad-ass than in pictures and works just like the company says it should.

I've used Rocna, Danforth and CQR quite a bit in the past. Still have the Lewmar CQR and a Fortress 55 for kedging.

[mvelotas]

After re-reading threads, noticed I didn't reply to Suijin's question about my line vs chain. I'm all chain. I misspoke by saying "rode". But again, this Spade is great....knock on wood! (Or Fiberglas!)

[bluewater1953]

Just went from the Fortress to the Rocna. What a difference! When you shift with wind and tide you might have a problem with the Fortress type.

[Fortress]

Originally Posted by bluewater1953

Just went from the Fortress to the Rocna. What a difference! When you shift with wind and tide you might have a problem with the Fortress type.

That would depend, of course, on the anchor model and bottom type. There are certainly sea bottom conditions (ex. harder soils) where a denser anchor with a narrow single fluke will have an advantage over a larger, two fluke design. In softer soils, where an anchor can penetrate more easily, the larger surface area of two fluke offers a huge holding power advantage.

To illustrate this point, there are three holding power tests that I can immediately think of (West Marine-USA, Voile-France, Pakryss-Sweden) which were conducted in softer soils whereby a Fortress out-performed much heavier steel anchors, including the Rocna.

Regarding the wind & tidal shift and re-setting issue, I have posted this before: It is our firm contention that a properly set Fortress anchor, with its two massive precision-machined and sharpened flukes, is not more likely to break free from a sea bottom during a wind or tidal shift than other anchor types, particularly those with far less surface / resistance area.

This contention is based upon the opinion of a 40+ year US Navy soil mechanics and anchor design expert, the 25 years of testimonials we have heard from Fortress owners all over the world, particularly from those in our hurricane region here in south Florida, as well as from independent test results (Practical Sailor, Sailing Foundation).

All of that noted, we will readily acknowledge that sailboats oftentimes do not have the engine power to back down hard enough on the more massive Fortress anchor to bury it deeply, and therein lies a key issue in how it performs (or not) during off-center loads.

Here's an interesting comment from the Sailing Foundation test, after they put 4,000 lbs of load on a 24 lb Fortress in straight line, 90°, and 180° directions which illustrates this point:

The Fortress set so deep that the rode had to be hauled in to 1:1 and significant power applied to rode by the 83,000-pound tug to break it free. It is doubtful that a sailboat would have windlass power to break it out. Perhaps large primary winches or a rising tide might be adequate. However, it is also doubtful that a sailboat could have set the anchor that deep in less than a full hurricane.

So for a sailboat, the Fortress anchor would certainly serve you well as a storm anchor when the wind force and load are expected to be extreme, and the anchor will be buried deeply as it is designed.

Safe boating,
Brian

[SailFastTri]

Brian-- the Fortress is a great anchor, but I have had the experience that any Danforth-style anchor (such as a Fortress) can be broken out in a wind shift and fail to reset. All it takes is a clump of mud or a rock/weed or shell to get caught between the flukes and shaft, and if the anchor flips it's as useless as a paperweight. Seen it many times and helped rescue a boat following a wind shift that went adrift with its Fortress anchor on the bottom. It came up with a clump of weed.

Your acknowledgements above about deep set are duly noted, as is the effectiveness of your design when well set. Real world IMHO is that the Fortress is best as a kedge, as a lightweight secondary, or as a storm anchor when anchor(s) can be set in the direction of the predicted wind, and in the direction of anticipated change.

[Fortress]

SailFastTri - thanks for your kind words about our product.

Our company founder/owner, who was a lifelong and very adventurous boater with a 1,000 mile trip up the Amazon River, several Atlantic crossings, and a circumnavigation on his resume, said that "once an anchor breaks free from a sea bottom, it is oftentimes no longer an anchor....it is a massive ball with no remaining sharp edges in which to re-penetrate into the sea bottom".....and in this circumstance, re-setting is not possible."

This is one of the reasons why we note in our "Safe Anchoring Guide" literature that if you are expecting a wind or tidal shift, its a good idea to set two anchors for maximum safety.

Otherwise, a large heavy plow type might serve your sailboat better.

Much appreciated,
Brian

[Delfin]

Properly set, I doubt there is any anchor available that surpasses a Fortress for holding power, but as noted, getting that proper set may be more challenging for small boats. When it is not challenging is when you start to worry about whether your primary anchor will hold because wind and wave are getting extreme. That is why we have always, and will always carry a Fortress (in our case Guardian) to serve as a backup hook and storm anchor that stows away out of sight until needed. It would seem to me to be prudent insurance for any cruising boat to carry one for those 'special occasions.'

Here in the PNW, the Coast Guard carries the Fortress for a reason. They have the power to set them, and once set, they will hold their vessels through most anything. I assume if it works for those vessels, it will work for me.