Bruce vs Danforth.. Need some advise

[ElCapt Drew]

Hello all,

Unfortunately, I've found myself in need of a new anchor in short order. I know this subject has been beat to death, but I'm hoping I can get some opinions on my particular situation.

I have a 29ft foot sailboat, weighs about 7000lbs. The anchor that came with it was a 10ish pound danforth. I have found this to be far too small and in anything over 5-7kts I find I drag quite a bit.

I'm looking to buy an anchor that is going to be over kill.. I'm fairly new to sailing and am starting to do overnights on anchor and this anchor is just not cutting it.

I have the options of buying either a danforth or bruce anchor. Either in 33lb or 44lbs.

In my local area the bottom conditions are sandy/mud with lots of seaweed cover. The areas where I plan on visiting shortly are more muddy/clay with rocks.

Thoughts?

[chris mac]

I cant seem to grab the link with my phone, so go to anchoring section and click on videos of anchors setting. He has done a great job of showing how,each anchor sets and holds.

Of the two, i would choose danforth, but I wouldn't buy either. online you can order any anchor out there. Why limit your choices?

[ElCapt Drew]

Originally Posted by chris mac

I cant seem to grab the link with my phone, so go to anchoring section and click on videos of anchors setting. He has done a great job of showing how,each anchor sets and holds.

Of the two, i would choose danforth, but I wouldn't buy either. online you can order any anchor out there. Why limit your choices?

I'll check out the video. Thanks.

The reason for the limited selection is I'm leaving on a multi-day trip in 2 days and those are the only two choices I have that can get to me in time.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Seaweed can be both a pain, & dangerous. As it makes it tough for an anchor to set. And if your hook feel set, it may in fact be hooked into the plants root structures, but not truly be sunk into the sea bed. So that in a stiff breeze or sea, it'll break loose.

A Bruce is likely a better bet, especially as they tend to bit in more bottoms than do Danforths. As well as being less finicky about setting, & have more abliity to self reset.

If you're doing some serious cruising, or spending a lot of time on the hook... usually a bigger anchor is nice. Assuming that you don't mind picking it up. And neither of those Bruce's is silly large, so. Hopefully that helps.

A pair of questions though. What do you plan to do with the boat? And since it sounds like all of the anchors are used, could you get both the bigger Bruce, & a Danforth. As I hate being on a boat with only one anchor. And even two seems a bit under-anchored. But likely are adequate if you're easily within reach of shipping for resupply, & marinas in which you can tie up if needed.

So given your circumstances as to time, I'm saying buy both unless you truly don't have the coin.

[ElCapt Drew]

Uncivilized,

This is my first year with a sailboat. Still learning lots and every time I go out I definitively learn something new. So, that is basically what I'm doing with this boat, using it as a learning platform until I can afford something bigger to do some real cruising with.

Right now I stay within a day or two sail within "home base" and definitely within motors reach of a marina or fishing wharf.

As for buying both, I really wish I could... but, unfortunately it has to be one or the other right now.

To be honest, this is my first "large" trip (about a week long) and somehow with all the preperations the anchor issue "fell through the cracks" so now I'm dealing with it last minute.

[UNCIVILIZED]

No worries. I'm sure you'll have a great trip. And sailors are almost always happy to help one another out. Before cocktails, during, or after

So where's the trip? And hopefully you have good fishing gear, some great rum, & excellent cigars.

[chris mac]

Like most tools, using them properly is very important. Research proper scope and anchoring procedures. Use the biggest of the two you have access to. Accompany it with as much chain as you can. And pick your anchorage carefully, to protect you from wind, now and any changes through the night.
Load up several anchor alarms on separate devices, and run them all.
Basically overkill on every aspect. Don't give the anchor the chance to drag, and have the ability to deal with it quickly if it does.
Once you get back you will have more knowledge to help find a great primary hook. Keep this one as a decent secondary.
The small danforth will be an OK kedge, or dingy anchor.

[sailorchic34]

Get a 33# bruce and it will be good. Get a 44# bruce and you'll have no worries. I anchored for many years on a 44# bruce (34' 12,000#) in winds up to 40 knots, gusting higher. It set and held every time.

When I lost my bruce clone 6 weeks ago, I used a danforth for a week and 1/2. While danforth anchors hold well in straight line pull they have a tendency to pull out sometimes when faced with a rapid wind shift. Plus it popped out of the sand and clay on weighting anchor far to easy for my liking. With the Bruce and now the 44# Mantus I used the engine to pull the anchor free.

Which brings me to the last recommendation. Get a Mantus 33# and you will be good forever. The bruce set in about 5 to 10 feet most times. The danforth took longer, sometimes lots longer. The Mantus sets in about 2 feet. It does cost more, but you will sleep well when the wind blows.

If the Mantus is to much $$$ then get at least a 33# bruce. For a light 29 footer it will work well. I had a 33# on the rose for a few years, and it held my 12000 lb boat well. I just trusted the 44# tons more when the wind was up.

With the Mantus, I just do not worry about it.

[Don C L]

I have a 29 foot, 7500# boat. I have a Danforth 20H on the bow. I'm pretty sure it will hold in when Armageddon hits. It is best as a straight line anchor though. I'm always setting a stern hook where I am. Also a Danforth. I sleep very well. However sandy/mud with a seaweed cover is a challenge for any anchor. Mud, with rocks is also a challenge. If you are sure there are rocks I recommend attaching a trip line on the end of whichever anchor you use with a buoy. It may be the only way to retrieve the anchor if it gets stuck. In my area I also have times when there clumps of kelp on the bottom or rock outcrops. I usually drop the bow then fall back double the scope I want and set the stern (then when you pull back you have correct scope on both.) Then I pull the anchors against each other, very hard. (so far) I have always been able to tell if one of the anchors is not setting and which one it is. If the bow is I do the whole thing over again in a new spot. If the stern is I'll fall back again, pull up the stern, move the boat slightly to one side or the other and try setting the stern again. Then if you want to swing with wind or current you can run the stern rode to the bow and go "Bahamian" style. Works for me. BTW, which 29' 7000# boat do you have?

[builder dan]

Sailorchic is dead right,I have seen danforths with chain wrapped around them which have put boats up on the beach.I have a 33lb bruce on my 32 foot heavy steel yacht and it hasnt let me down yet I have dived on it and most times it is well buryedLast summer I anchored in 40 knots and it bit so hard it almost threw me on the deck.Danforths perform well in a straight pull but that doesnt happen very often in the real world.

[zeehag]

get the bruce. you will sleep well and cheer every set. is awesome anchor.
mine has been THE solution here on west coast of mexico in sand, mud, mixed sand and rock and mud and rock and silt.

[Tetepare]

No competition- Bruce. Or Delta or Mantus. All are far better in most conditions than the Danforth.

And 33# is plenty. A 44# is overkill for that size boat. You need an anchor that digs in and holds, not one that keeps the boat in place with weight. The 44# will be a lot of work, you'll find the 33# to be enough to manage unless you have a windlass.

[boatman61]

Go for the Bruce.. the only potentially catastrophic anchor failure I've had was with a Danforth.. when the tide changed the anchor flipped and trapped a pebble in the fluke stopping it resetting..
Result.. I ended up hurtling through the Poole harbour entrance on a Spring ebb with a stripped Seagull O/B.. ended up alongside the chain ferry mid channel.. which basically shut the entrance for 1/2 hour till the RNLI came and towed me off.
Hilarious looking back.. but on a hot August Saturday lunchtime with 100 boats wanting to exit or enter.. including the Cross Channel ferry.. highly embarrassing...

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Get a 33# bruce and it will be good. Get a 44# bruce and you'll have no worries. I anchored for many years on a 44# bruce (34' 12,000#) in winds up to 40 knots, gusting higher. It set and held every time.

When I lost my bruce clone 6 weeks ago, I used a danforth for a week and 1/2. While danforth anchors hold well in straight line pull they have a tendency to pull out sometimes when faced with a rapid wind shift. Plus it popped out of the sand and clay on weighting anchor far to easy for my liking. With the Bruce and now the 44# Mantus I used the engine to pull the anchor free.

Which brings me to the last recommendation. Get a Mantus 33# and you will be good forever. The bruce set in about 5 to 10 feet most times. The danforth took longer, sometimes lots longer. The Mantus sets in about 2 feet. It does cost more, but you will sleep well when the wind blows.

If the Mantus is to much $$$ then get at least a 33# bruce. For a light 29 footer it will work well. I had a 33# on the rose for a few years, and it held my 12000 lb boat well. I just trusted the 44# tons more when the wind was up.

With the Mantus, I just do not worry about it.

This is good advice derived from good experience. That said, neither would be my first choice and I dislike that you are "in a rush" to buy a main anchor. Schedules to keep to are the enemy of prudent seamanship.

Rant over. A 33 lb. Bruce and a 20 lb. or 10 kg/22 lb. Danforth (and only HT/high tensile are complementary: one is a plow that buriesand the other works on fluke area that hooks. You not only should have two anchors, you should have two opposite anchors on the basis that if the first one drags, the second one often won't.

I would advocate the Fortress over the Danforth; while superficially alike, the Fortress has some refinements in fluke geometry and two angles for sand or mud that make it work better, even the lightweight aluminum model. I use an FX-37 on my 16 ton steel cutter as a lunch hook/secondary and an FX-21 as a stern anchor. An FX-21 would suit your boat and then some.

Key to any successful anchoring is technique: adequate scope for the conditions (if in shallow waters below 20 feet, I wouldn't go below 5:1 waterline to ground) and a decent chain leader (say 5 metres or 16 feet) before a decent rope rode (say 5/8" for your boat). Pull back slowly until the anchor is set and then give her full aft throttle for 10-15 seconds to bury the anchor. Be aware of wind shifts and tidal currents and drifting over the anchor, which can be buoyed with a plastic bottle on light stuff. Consider a riding sail to keep the boat from "hunting" at anchor. Consider (eventually) a low-draw GPS unit that has an "anchor watch" function that tells you if you are dragging based on your presence within an user-defined circle based on your paid-out rode.

Lastly, hoist or keep lit your anchor light. Your hull will thank you.
Good luck at this: it's a great opportunity to experiment and to learn.

[Cheechako]

The Bruce is not my favorite anchor, but for grass and rocks I would probably go with that of your two choices. 33# should be plenty for your boat , but in a Bruce it is often recommended to go bigger than you normally would.
I assume those are used anchors you have a handle on cheap. If you are buying new don't get either, get a modern anchor , Mantus or some thing.