Back-up/Second Anchor

[a64pilot]

My boat came with a CQR and a Danforth type anchor.
I retired the CQR, repalced it with a Rocna, leaving the Danforth as the back-up and have never used the Danforth since getting the Rocna.
One idea is the Danforth is light enough with Nylon rode to carry out in the dinghy should I need to use it to kedge off a sandbar.
I keep 600' of Nylon rode for the Parachute anchor which could be used to kedge me off.
I want a Monsterous Fortress I can stow taken apart for that Storm I hope I never experience.

[Fortress]

Thanks for all of your positive comments about our company and products. Here's an image of an old FX-37, which is one of our most battle-tested models that was returned by the owner after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

image posting

The story is told within this image, and the owner said that it took almost a day to break it free and they bent the flukes in the process, which of course we gladly replaced for free under out Lifetime Parts Replacement Warranty.


Fortress anchors have been made in the USA at the exact same Ft. Lauderdale, Florida facility since 1986 and they have had American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) certifications since the early 90s. There are currently over 500k in use around the world.

We are located in a hurricane region which encompasses the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and east coast of the USA. Bottom conditions will obviously vary within that large area, and they will typically range from hard sand to soft mud.

In both controlled and real world test conditions, no other anchor has achieved the anchor weight to holding power ratio of 200-350x which Fortress has consistently, and that includes conditions which do not include straight line pulls, as we all certainly know that winds do not always cooperate and blow in one direction during storms.

These proven high performance test results are the clear reason why Fortress is the best-selling storm anchor in our region.


Considering the importance of an anchor as a critical piece of safety equipment aboard any boat, I believe that before one is given a recommendation, it should have first have met some form of a manufacturing & performance standard (such as ABS, BV, DNV, Lloyd's certifications) and withstood extensive independent, or at least independently-verified, field testing.

This type of testing would not include the anchors being pulled along a brick hard beach by hand or truck, or a vastly over-sized anchor model being tested in only idyllic conditions.

Safe anchoring,
Brian

Fortress Marine Anchors - The World's Best Anchors!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

Unfortunately, there are conflicting requirements for the different roles. The Manson Supreme is an excellent general purpose anchor. It you want a back up if the main anchor is lost, then my vote would be for the Mantus. I think it is a better anchor than the Manson Supreme and it can be easily unbolted to make storage easier. If you want this to double as an anchor for storm conditions, then as big as you can manage is the best rule.

I would agree with this 100%.

If however, the idea is not specifically for a replacement in case the primary anchor is lost I am a bit proponent of having a variety of anchors and think a Fortress is a great addition to any boat. No I don't work there and I'm not getting a freebie although I keep hoping.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I'm thinking a Danforth/Fortness type of anchor. What do others think?

Fortress.

-Chris

[Stumble]

Personally I simply do not believe in storm anchors. Or to be more precise I think the bower anchor should be your storm anchor. One massively oversized that is deployed all the time. Personally I like the Ronca, but I would accept any SHHP anchor except the Fortress.

As a secondary anchor in the unlikely event the bower anchor is lost I want a massively oversized Fortress broken down and stored below. With a reasonable amount of chain/line ready to go at all times.

So why not the Fortress as the primary bower anchor? First is size, their design leads to massive exposed area when in the roller on most boats. Secondly because I have seen a lot of them with bent flukes from storms. But the light weight and ability to break down and be stored is so adventagious it can't be ignored.

So how big of an anchor? Large enough that people laugh at you when they walk by the boat at the dock.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Stumble

Personally I simply do not believe in storm anchors. Or to be more precise I think the bower anchor should be your storm anchor. One massively oversized that is deployed all the time. Personally I like the Ronca, but I would accept any SHHP anchor except the Fortress.

I think that is sensible policy. Some of the worst storms I have experienced at anchor have been when only moderately strong wind was forecast.

In bad conditions it is not possible to change or deploy additional anchors.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Stumble

So how big of an anchor? Large enough that people laugh at you when they walk by the boat at the dock.

I already one of those and I have to pull on a rope I have tied to the roll bar in order to tip it so that it doesn't catch on the bottom of the furler when I bring it up, and its' backed up with 350 of chain. It is also the largest I can pull up by hand when down 20' (I know this for a fact).

[a64pilot]

I sailed my boat for a year or so before finally installing the Windlass with combination Rode and a 25 Kg Rocna.
I learned that if the winds were just too high to manually haul it out, that your sheet winch can impart an enormous amount of pull when assisted with a Milwaukee drill, sort of a poor mans Windlass.

[Mike OReilly]

I basically agree with the big bower approach, but with a slight nuance. I like to have the largest new-gen anchor that I and my anchoring system (windlass, roller, rode, me) can reasonably manage. I want my bower to be able to manage through all normal conditions, and by "normal" I mean winds and upwards of 60 knots. But I also want the whole system to be comfortably manageable so I am never dissuaded from anchoring or re-anchoring should the need arise.

I think it's possible to go too big on your bower, but it still should be big enough to make dock walkers laugh at you .

[Fortress]

Originally Posted by Stumble

So why not the Fortress as the primary bower anchor? First is size, their design leads to massive exposed area when in the roller on most boats. Secondly because I have seen a lot of them with bent flukes from storms. But the light weight and ability to break down and be stored is so adventagious it can't be ignored.

So how big of an anchor? Large enough that people laugh at you when they walk by the boat at the dock.

No doubt that the bolded comment is possible, as per my previous message with the FX-37 image, although I am not sure that there is another 21 lb anchor which could hold a 25,000 lb boat during a hurricane, much less come back up afterwards with only minimal fluke damage.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I think it's possible to go too big on your bower, but it still should be big enough to make dock workers laugh at you .

I laugh at a lot of marina boats anchors, but is because they are sooooooooo small!

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I.
I think it's possible to go too big on your bower, but it still should be big enough to make dock walkers laugh at you .

I still think our anchor looks a little goofy because of how big it is but now I'm hearing things like,"it's really not all that big anymore". Pretty soon everybody is going to have these huge things on the front of their boats. The one that looks like a Texan Long Horn with the big bolt-on roll bar is a total crack-up in the extra large size.

[cfarrar]

We don't think in terms of a "second" anchor, because we use deploy just one anchor from the bow (a Rocna 33, but the brand isn't the point, here).

We like our "stern / kedge" anchor assembled in an accessible locker. This locker is deep, and we need to lift the anchor and deploy it by hand, sometimes using the dinghy. So aluminum is good. Our boat came with a Guardian FX-37, and it works great. It's the same as the Fortress but without the anodized, chiseled points and the soft mud setting, which we've never used. So that's an option if you want to save some money.

As a "backup" we have an aluminum A-100. I know, it's expensive for this role, but we had it on our previous boat, and it's such a great anchor that we kept it. It makes a great stern and kedge anchor, even easier to deploy from the dinghy than the Guardian. And it can backup either the Rocna or Guardian if we lose them.

Hope this helps. I think the key points are not the brand of anchor, but how you intend to store them, use them, and pay for them!

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Fortress

No doubt that the bolded comment is possible, as per my previous message with the FX-37 image, although I am not sure that there is another 21 lb anchor which could hold a 25,000 lb boat during a hurricane, much less come back up afterwards with only minimal fluke damage.

i am pretty sure you are right. combine the light weight and ability to be broken down and there is every reason in the world to carry one as a backup anchor. The issue to me in using the Fortress as the bower however is that in the size I consider acceptable the anchor won't fit on the boat.

The major fluke damage I have seen is generally a result of 40+ in squalls rolling thru anchorages with sand over rock/coral. Where the anchors wind up acting more as grapples than burying. With most of the load on the points instead of the flukes I don't really see this as a design issue so much as a reality issue.

[IdoraKeeper]

Given that you are heading south and won't likely need the second anchor till you get there, why not (don't laugh) get a smaller Rocna with a bit of chain and a couple hundred feet of three strand nylon? If stowing is the driver, get a Danforth and hang it on the pushpit. If your down to anchors, you must be nearly ready to depart. Bon Voyage Captain!