Chesapeake Bay Anchor Holding Power Test

[Fortress]

Good day Cruisers,

Just a quick note to let you know that during the week of August 4th, we will be conducting an anchor holding power test in the soft mud bottoms of the Chesapeake Bay aboard the 81-ft Rachel Carson, a research vessel that is owned & operated by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Solomons, MD.

Chuck Hawley, who is a long-time sailor with an impressive resume will be aboard to serve as an independent reviewer of the testing. Chuck was formerly the VP of Product Testing at West Marine for many years, and he was present at the tests we conducted in the SF Bay way back in 1990, and he was involved in West Marine's highly-publicized tests that were conducted in 2006.

We will also have aboard a solid group from the boating media as well, with writers from several of the USA's largest magazines.

I will keep you updated on the progress of the testing once we begin, which I am sure will be of great interest to many of you.

Have a great weekend,
Brian Sheehan

Fortress Marine Anchors
Fortress Anchors – The World's Best Anchors!

[Cheechako]

I hope you are going to test the ability to reset with a major shift in "wind" direction. That is probably 80% of holding failures in my experience. Anything short of that has been done quite enough.

[kmacdonald]

I would like to add the the holding conditions and bottom varies greatly with what part of the bay you are in. The northern part is thick silt from the rivers. The southern part is mostly sand. Some of the creeks in Solomons is hard clay----nothing seems to dig in. Then there are the oyster beds----they get stuck in the flukes of the danford style anchors making resetting impossible. I think we all know what the straight line pulls with various anchors will look like in the various bottoms.

[onestepcsy37]

Who's taking bets that Fortress wins?

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Fortress]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I hope you are going to test the ability to reset with a major shift in "wind" direction. That is probably 80% of holding failures in my experience. Anything short of that has been done quite enough.

Cheechako,

Thanks for your input. This is a very soft mud bottom and it is common in bays, lakes, and rivers. Other than the previous tests that we did in the soft mud bottoms of the San Francisco Bay in 1990, I am unaware of any other anchor testing that was conducted in this type of bottom which is very challenging for holding.

Anchor design will certainly be a factor in this testing, and if an anchor is not capable of handling much of a straight line pull, then it will definitely not perform better when it is side-loaded with a simulated wind shift.

That said, I would expect all anchors to turn relatively easily in this soft mud, depending of course on how well they bury initially from a straight or minimally off-center pull.

Much appreciated,
Brian

[kmacdonald]

A one point in my life I had the displeasure of seeing medical research that showed whatever the company paying for it wanted it to show. I don't expect that this will be any different.

[Fortress]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

A one point in my life I had the displeasure of seeing medical research that showed whatever the company paying for it wanted it to show. I don't expect that this will be any different.

Kmacdonald,

Great point, and all the more reason why this testing is being done with the boating media present, which includes (so far) writers from All at Sea, Boat US, Boating, Boating World/Sea, Boats.com, PassageMaker, Sail, Soundings, and Southern Boating magazines.

Thanks,
Brian

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Fortress

Kmacdonald,

Great point, and all the more reason why this testing is being done with the boating media present.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian, you knew the bears were in the cave and you went in anyway! Brave fellow.

Shearing tests with reset time, angle of veer (if that's an acceptable term) etc. are indeed of interest, as are rode composition (chain and rope), shackle or swivel, and catenary ratio. I hope for your sake it's pleasant weather, but I hope for the sake of your products it's blowing like stink with wind opposing tide and squalls on the horizon. Makes for a more compelling value proposition!

Are you inviting spectators? It would be ironic if someone nearby dragged.

[kmacdonald]

Originally Posted by Fortress

Kmacdonald,

Great point, and all the more reason why this testing is being done with the boating media present, which includes (so far) writers from All at Sea, Boat US, Boating, Boating World/Sea, Boats.com, PassageMaker, Sail, Soundings, and Southern Boating magazines.

Thanks,
Brian

Does Fortress advertise in any of those? Sorry, lets go for the short answer, do they not advertise in any of those?

[Fortress]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Does Fortress advertise in any of those? Sorry, lets go for the short answer, do they not advertise in any of those?

All at Sea: Not in 2014 / (4) ads in 2013
Boat US: No, not in several years
Boating: Not in 2014 / (3) ads in 2013
Boating World/Sea: (2) ads in 2014 / (4) ads in 2013
Boats.com: No, never
PassageMaker: Not in 2014 / (3) ads in 2013
Sail: (1) small listing ad in 2014 Buyers Guide
Soundings: Not in 2014 / (1) ad in 2013
Southern Boating: Not in 2014 / (1) ad in 2013

Thanks,
Brian

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Fortress

All at Sea: Not in 2014 / (4) ads in 2013
Boat US: No, not in several years
Boating: Not in 2014 / (3) ads in 2013
Boating World/Sea: (2) ads in 2014 / (4) ads in 2013
Boats.com: No, never
PassageMaker: Not in 2014 / (3) ads in 2013
Sail: (1) small listing ad in 2014 Buyers Guide
Soundings: Not in 2014 / (1) ad in 2013
Southern Boating: Not in 2014 / (1) ad in 2013

Thanks,
Brian

Bravo.

I actually do believe that you're trying to do an honest test and are confident in your product.

I'll echo the desire for 90 and 180 degree veer tests. In my opinion, this is where most new generation anchors are at greatest risk (especially 90 degree) since they are optimized to grab hard in one direction, they have tall skinny shanks to aid in penetration. However, because they have skinny shanks and are indeed dug in well, bent shanks are a danger.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Fortress

Good day Cruisers,

Just a quick note to let you know that during the week of August 4th, we will be conducting an anchor holding power test in the soft mud bottoms of the Chesapeake Bay aboard the 81-ft Rachel Carson, a research vessel that is owned & operated by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Solomons, MD.

Whereabouts, Brian? Down by Solomons? Or...?

-Chris

[Fortress]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Whereabouts, Brian? Down by Solomons? Or...?

-Chris

Hi Chris,

Yes, not far from where the Rachel Carson is docked in Solomons.

The location is at approximately Lat: 38°18'58.49"N and Long: 76°26'48.94"W

Brian

[sailorboy1]

I think kmacdonald should do the tests, that is the only way he is going to believe the results

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I hope you are going to test the ability to reset with a major shift in "wind" direction. That is probably 80% of holding failures in my experience. Anything short of that has been done quite enough.

Ditto, but more important to me are changes in tidal currents. Typically, I experience 180-degree tidal 2.5-knot current changes two or three times overnight with a heavy/sticky-mud bottom.