Anyone using a Fortress (or Manson Racer) as bower anchor?

[chal]

There are lots of comments on this and other forums that pretty much completely dismiss any kind of Danforth-style anchor as a possible bower, I think on the basis that they won't hold or reliably reset if the boat turns. I wonder if there isn't a degree of prejudice there, as many of us in Europe probably grew up with plow anchors as standard. Lots of American boat owners seem to use Danforths perfectly happily, but maybe they just grew up with those.

For me, what I really care about is weight. I have a bad back and I'm not getting any younger. I have on occasions really struggled with my heavy steel anchor recently.

The recommended weight of Fortress for my boat (31 feet) is just 3.2kg which is a tiny fraction of the weight of my current anchor, and much lighter than any steel anchor regardless of design.

Fortress disagree with the comments about the anchor being unsuitable as a main anchor, though I suppose they would. They seem to have lots of customers who agree with them though.

The Manson Racer is a similar anchor of similar weight. Manson don't seem to make any particular claims for it other than that it's very light and thus suitable for use on a racing yacht.

The only other lightweight anchor I'm aware of is the aluminium spade but I simply cannot afford one.

Most of my anchoring is done in fairly sheltered conditions in reasonably decent weather. I'm not looking for something to hold me inches from rocks in a force 10, I just want to get a good night's sleep without having to worry. I'm in SW England, thus quite a lot of tide.

So, does anyone have any experience of using this type of anchor for the kind of anchoring I have in mind?

Finally, there are an awful lot of anchor threads and I really don't want to start another, so *please* don't tell me what you think I should be using.

 

[prv]

Lots of American boat owners seem to use Danforths perfectly happily, but maybe they just grew up with those.

What are tides like in the US?

OK, silly question as it's a huge place and of course conditions vary correspondingly hugely along their coastline. But surprise at the strength and range of our tides seems to be a somewhat common reaction from Americans who have sailed here, from which I deduce that a lot of their sailing areas have weaker tides than we do. I'm sure someone will correct this assumption if it's wrong, but if it's right then perhaps it explains why they're happy with an anchor that doesn't handle the turn of the tide especially well?

Pete

 

[rudolph_hart]

I had an aluminium Fortress on my previous Dehler 34. It had 10m chain attached to rope. As you say, it was very light & easy to handle. I had a dramatic demonstration of its holding power when we rode out a 20 minute 'mini tornado' in a 150m wide creek with a mud bottom. The boat sheered very violently from side to side, but the Fortress held. This mini tornado caused structral damage ashore.

The subsequent owner also had cause to be thankful, when the Fortress held outside Chichester in a heavy blow after steering failure. The shank was bent, but it held.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I have used Danforth anchor's very successfully as kedge anchors in a variety of conditions and techniques, so in principle I think they work very well and would not hesitate to use one as a bower. I would be concerned if the yacht was going to turn with the tide and would consider being on deck when that happened to check that it did reset, if the conditions dictated that it would be prudent. The worry I have with the Danforth styles is that they are difficult to get dug in in kelp as they are light weight and kelp does require a bit of weight to help the point find its way to the seabed. So, in my experience, for the type of anchoring that you do, a Danforth (or Fortress) would be suitable. At my Marina on the Firth of Clyde, quite a few motorboats have Danforth style anchors as their main bower and I see them out and about at anchor with no reported issues. So go for it, your back is worth it!

I would add that the majority of places I anchor in the wind determines the direction that she lies, not the tide.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I have them for both my anchors and use only 5m of chain on the main anchor and no chain at all on the secondary one. However, I don't admit that I have this arrangement in public any more because of all the flack and flaming I get from anchor experts.

Er, hang on. What have I just said? Helmet on...incoming...

 

[noelex]

The Fortress is a great anchor, but it does have a weakness when exposed to a changed direction of pull.

I have seen this many times diving.

Most anchors remain set and buried to a new direction of pull. They shuffle around. They do develop a list which makes them slightly more vulnerable, but a well set anchor is unlikely to give problems.

Fortress and other Danforth like anchors frequently develop a problem where the long stock digs in and pivots the anchor out. This is more common in hard substrates.
Most of the time the anchor will reset, but diving its vulnerability is very apparent.

The fortress is otherwise a superb anchor, holding well above what would be expected. Unfortunately there are not any other good lightweight anchors. The aluminium spade is a long way short of its excellent steel brother.

For most boats the weight if the chain is much more significant, but there are situations where a lightweight anchor makes a big difference.
Depending on your circumstances and anchoring area you need to decide if a weakness of coping with different directions of pull rules the Fortress out as main anchor. For most people it does.

 

[vyv_cox]

I bought my Fortress specifically as a kedge when I lived in Holland. On the first weekend after purchase I substituted it for the Delta that I was using at that time, on 50 metres of 8 mm chain. The weather was beautiful, wind light, inland with no tides. We motored a couple of miles and anchored to swim and have lunch. While eating the wind changed direction, still light, and soon afterwards we realised that we were drifting backwards when we overtook a buoy. The anchor was raised and we went sailing with the new wind.

That night we anchored again. Very early in the morning, due to that strange ability we have to detect something amiss with the boat's motion, we awoke to find ourselves some distance from where we had anchored, with the chain audibly dragging across the bottom. I replaced the Fortress with the Delta and that's the last time it has been the bower.

Since then it has been used as a kedge on countless occasions, always successfully but of course without a change in the direction of pull.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

I have a pal who uses a fortress 37on his 12tonne boat and has no problems. He spens a lot ot time at anchor in the scillies and scotland.

 

[KellysEye]

For peace of mind always buy an anchor one size bigger than the size for your boat. I used a Fortress as a second anchor off the bows in a blow and I also had a monster Fortress for a storm anchor. I have used a Danforth as a bow anchor and it worked well but I've never used a Fortress as one, so can't comment on it.

 

[prv]

For peace of mind always buy an anchor one size bigger than the size for your boat.

I did that with my new Spade. The interesting thing is that there seems to be a hell of a gap in their size range. So the S80 says it's good for boats up to 35'. Well, we're 34', and I don't like to be on the margins, so I went for an S100. That is apparently suitable up to 52' ! The really odd thing is that having made full-size cardboard models of both to check the fit on the boat, using their print-out templates, there isn't that much difference in size between them anyway.

Pete

 

[BruceDanforth]

With the exception of Lindisfarne I've never actually seen any other boats in the anchorages I've used. There's never been anyone else anchored in Newbiggin Bay or off Walkworth Beach, nobody round the back of Coquet Island, I didn't see anyone else in the Kettle or Hauxley Haven. I had the sea to myself outside the channel at Wells, complete solitude off Spurn Head, emptiness just south of Flamborough head, not a soul to be seen off Scarborough...

Wandering around marinas the bulk of the anchors don't appear to have ever been in the water - mint stickers on deltas etc., no mud or traces of weed on them.

So it probably doesn't really matter.

 

[pmyatt]

US Navy tests seem to support the efficacy of the Fortress anchor, but hell, what do they know about seamanship . . . . . .

http://www.fortressanchors.com/advantage/benefits/stronger

 

[vyv_cox]

US Navy tests seem to support the efficacy of the Fortress anchor, but hell, what do they know about seamanship . . . . . .

http://www.fortressanchors.com/advantage/benefits/stronger

Every one of the tests quoted in your link shows histograms of holding power, nothing else. Most users agree that the holding power of a Fortress is superb, provided the pull on the anchor is not required to reverse. Resetting is its achilles heel, a property apparently not tested by any of the investigators.

 

[prv]

US Navy tests seem to support the efficacy of the Fortress anchor, but hell, what do they know about seamanship . . . . . .

http://www.fortressanchors.com/advantage/benefits/stronger

"For over two decades, the much lighter Fortress has out-performed substantially heavier steel anchors in holding power tests conducted around the world. "

Nobody ever accuses the Fortress of not holding once it's set.

Pete

 

[Brian@Fortress]

As I have posted elsewhere, it is our firm contention that a properly set and well-buried 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 (ex: Practical Sailor, Sailing Foundation).

During the Sailing Foundation test (summary below) they conducted straight, then 90°, and finally 180° pulls on the anchors tested. A 24 lb Fortress model FX-37 held to the maximum of 4,000+ lbs in all three pull directions, and no other much heavier steel anchor (ex: Bruce, CQR, Davis, Delta, Luke, Max) was close.

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 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.

Our late 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.

Safe anchoring,
Brian Sheehan

Fortress Marine Anchors

 

[prv]

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.

Thanks, that's interesting to see.

Anybody anchoring in the UK for more than just lunch will experience at least one "tidal shift" pretty much every time. Putting out two anchors every night represents a lot of additional hassle, plus in many anchorages if you do that you may be hit by another boat when you fail to follow the tide like everybody else.

This is exactly why Fortresses and other Danforth-style anchors are popular here as kedges (indeed, I'm about to buy one myself) and on small motorboats that only anchor for lunch or fishing, but are rarely seen as main anchors on seagoing yachts.

Pete

 

[sailorman]

As I have posted elsewhere, it is our firm contention that a properly set and well-buried 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 (ex: Practical Sailor, Sailing Foundation).

During the Sailing Foundation test (summary below) they conducted straight, then 90°, and finally 180° pulls on the anchors tested. A 24 lb Fortress model FX-37 held to the maximum of 4,000+ lbs in all three pull directions, and no other much heavier steel anchor (ex: Bruce, CQR, Davis, Delta, Luke, Max) was close.

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 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.

Our late 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.

Safe anchoring,
Brian Sheehan

Fortress Marine Anchors

I bought an FX16 for my 37 footer a month ago to replace the rather small but trusted Genuine 10kg Bruce.
i have used the Fortress twice & dragged both times, the last time i changed anchors to the Bruce & re anchored trouble free.
i have 20m x 8m/m chain & 30m warp. i was anchoring in 4m depth into hard clay / mud.
I am sorely disappointed & so is my wallet. i am considering the 90- day no quibble refund option

 

[Brian@Fortress]

I bought an FX16 for my 37 footer a month ago to replace the rather small but trusted Genuine 10kg Bruce.
i have used the Fortress twice & dragged both times, the last time i changed anchors to the Bruce & re anchored trouble free.
i have 20m x 8m/m chain & 30m warp. i was anchoring in 4m depth into hard clay / mud.
I am sorely disappointed & so is my wallet. i am considering the 90- day no quibble refund option

Sailorman, sorry to hear that. A couple of simple performance notes which might make a difference:

• Be sure to permanently install the Mud Palms which were included in the box, as they will lift the back end of the anchor up so that the flukes take a more aggressive angle into the sea bottom. The Mud Palms typically solve any setting issues in common sea bottoms.

• Be sure that you do NOT have the anchor set at the 45° angle, as this angle is only to improve the holding power in very soft, silty, soupy, mud types of bottoms. If the bottom is a harder soil as you described, then the anchor is likely to skip along the bottom and not set at the 45° angle.

Please let me know if this helps!

Brian

 

[BruceDanforth]

What advantage does the Fortress have over the heavier steel Danforth other than weight please?

(I know the Fortress seems to work well as I've slept on one several times on a friends boat with no problems but I don't understand why one is trendy and the other seems to be frowned upon.)

As I have posted elsewhere, it is our firm contention that a properly set and well-buried 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 (ex: Practical Sailor, Sailing Foundation).

During the Sailing Foundation test (summary below) they conducted straight, then 90°, and finally 180° pulls on the anchors tested. A 24 lb Fortress model FX-37 held to the maximum of 4,000+ lbs in all three pull directions, and no other much heavier steel anchor (ex: Bruce, CQR, Davis, Delta, Luke, Max) was close.

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 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.

Our late 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.

Safe anchoring,
Brian Sheehan

Fortress Marine Anchors

 

[Brian@Fortress]

What advantage does the Fortress have over the heavier steel Danforth other than weight please?

(I know the Fortress seems to work well as I've slept on one several times on a friends boat with no problems but I don't understand why one is trendy and the other seems to be frowned upon.)

Hi Ed,

In a word, sharpness. The shank and flukes of the Fortress anchors are precision-machined to be sharper than heavier, dull-edged steel anchors like the Danforth, which typically results in faster and deeper penetration into a sea bottom. Kind of like a razor cutting into something vs. a dull knife.

That said, there are certainly sea bottoms where a denser anchor with a narrow single fluke might have a better chance of penetrating, such as grass, weeds, or rocks vs. the two big flukes of the Danforth/Fortress types.

Brian