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As part of my rebuild of my B33.. which weighs in the neighborhood of 24,000 lbs. I am considering getting another style anchor to go along with my standard +/- 30 lb Danforths. Our bottoms around here are pretty much sand, weed, and mud. Not really very rocky.

What are the faithful using anchorwise these days? Any positive or negative comments on any particular style? Your comments, as usual, would be appreciated.

DD 6-92 block. Rods & pistons hanging out a plus.

UV

Frank, I use the Fortress anchor. Although made of aluminium, and very lightweight, it scored #1 when tested by the USCG for holding strength (in pounds) in sand and mud against every other anchor (the anchor line was attached to a measuring device on a tug boat and they set each anchor and pulled until it reached failure). It has the same structural design as the Danforth, so you might want to go a different route. A negative for deep water anchoring is that when tossed overboard, the chain beats the anchor to the bottom, and sometimes the anchor fouls. I hand lower the rode in that situation and have no problem. You can't beat it for holding in our N.C. sandy bottom.

I had the Standard zinc dipped steel Danforth anchor for years. Holds and held great. I just got tied of repainting and scrubbing the Rust Stains so went with an Aluminum Guardian Anchor made by Fortress.

The Guardian is Pretty much the same thing as the Fortress but does not have the additional adjustments for softer bottoms, which I didn't need. The Guardian comes in at 1/3 less in cost...plus it was all they had in stock.

So far I like it...although its funny watching the chain take the lead if you let down like a steel anchor.

Vic wrote:DD 6-92 block. Rods & pistons hanging out a plus.

UV

Will an old Volvo work just as well??? Or even a new one???

hb

:)

:-D

Since mine is currently sitting at the bottom, without my anchor line attached to it, I am also in the market for a new anchor. Think I am going tostick with the heavy Danforth. I have heard that in really deep water with a good current, the aluminum anchor takes forever to hit bottom even with a ton of chain.

I keep a small Fortress on deck, and a large Fortress stowed away for a storm anchor. About 1800 feet of rode in the locker.

I also have a 15 foot Para-Tech sea anchor.

Guy's,
I use a Danforth 17s on foredeck with 10' of vinyl chain and 300' of 1/2'' 3 briad nylon.
When anchoring in realy deep water with a lot of current I use a 23s Danforth with 25' of 5/16'' galvi chain and 600' of 5/8'' nylon line. I keep that set-up under the V berth sole.
I have a Fortress 13 with 6' 3/8'' of vinyl chain with 100' of 1/2'' nylon for a lunch hook or short term protected anchoring, I keep it in a plastic basket in the head.
When I used to tuna fish I used a quick release pelican hook with a trip line to the ignition switch at the helm. A quick tug and your off the ball.
The right size ball and a proper sized ring are the key to the ball style retreival method, don't forget the lobster bouy at the end of the line for a stopper.
Also don't forget to safety wire or zip tie your shackle to your anchor, I've seen too many anchors lost because of the lack of a safety wire.

I got a little Fortress-style aluminum anchor from West to use as a "lunch hook." I did not intended to use it for serious storm holding, just light and easy to handle for a temporary situation when staying aboard.

It turns out the thing holds like crazy. I am very impressed with it. In my case the complaint is the flukes are a bit close to the shank and in coarse sand they can get hung up so that the anchor won't hook up. This is a problem because if you toss the thing over it is light enough that the flukes tend to be pushed upward by the water flow as it sinks. If it hits bottom in a swil of sand the flukes can get stuck "up" instead of "down" and then it won't dig in. Similar to, but not exaclty the same as the chain-first situation. The solution is to lower it to the bottom easy. Once it is hooked in it really REALLY holds like no Danforth I've ever had of similar size.

Still I won't replace my "main" anchor with one because of the failure to hook up reliably the first time. When things get ugly enough to call for emergency deployment of the anchor I don't want to have to think about it, or worse, trust a crew member to think about it.

But as a spare, or in my case supplimental, the Fortress anchors are awsome.


Peter

Pete is dead on with the safety wire on the shackle. I wouldn't trust a zip tie. I learned that the hard way when my boat failed in 20kt winds. One minute my anchor was holding, the next minute I'm on the shore getting pounded. I pulled up a rode to nothing.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I had expected to see several different styles recommended.. especially the claw or plow designs, but the aluminum Fortress seems to be the most popular by far. Live and learn!

Pete's comment about safety wiring the shackle is well taken.. I know of a couple of cases where anchors were lost because the unsecured pin somehow backed out while anchored.

I'll be the lone dissenter. I use a 33-pound Bruce anchor on my 37 and have had excellent results with it.

John Brownlee wrote:I'll be the lone dissenter. I use a 33-pound Bruce anchor on my 37 and have had excellent results with it.

I do like the Bruce anchor...although a royal pain to stow on the 31's deck...or below deck for that matter.

True, they are harder to stow. Mine lives in my bow pulpit. But they do work better in grass than danforths in my experience.