Deep Breath - anchor thread

[Fortress Anchors]

Gents,

I appreciate the comments about our product. A few additional thoughts:

• Fortress anchors are precision-machined for sharpness which results in a razor-like effect and fast, deep penetration into common sea bottoms.

• As the pull on the Fortress increases from higher winds, it will typically continue to bury deeper and retrieval can sometimes be difficult, and we have heard humorous comments about the anchors pulling up dinosaur bones and fossils. One boater told us that after a very heavy blow it took him several hours to retrieve his Fortress and when he finally brought it back aboard, a Chinese gardener was attached, but we just knew that had to be an exaggeration......

The image below is an example, as the owner brought this 21 lb (10 kg) Fortress model FX-37 anchor back to us after it held their 42-ft Silverton during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. According to this owner, they had three anchors deployed in preparation of this horrific storm, but two had broken free from the winds which reached over 150+ knots, leaving this single anchor to hold a 25,000 lb (11,300 kg) boat.

They were obviously very grateful, but said that it took almost a day to retrieve the anchor and the flukes were bent in the process, which we gladly replaced under our Lifetime Parts Replacement Warranty.



• This deep burying capability will usually insure that the anchor remains embedded into the sea bottom, regardless of a tidal or wind shift. In fact, during my 19 years with Fortress, I can recall two forum posts about the anchor breaking free during a wind shift and both involved the 10 lb (4.5 kg) FX-16, which I believe was undersized for the boat and the wind and sea bottom conditions.

In turn, we maintain that a properly-sized and well-set & buried Fortress anchor, with its two sharpened and massive flukes, is not more prone to breaking free during tidal or wind shifts than anchors which have much less surface area and with a single narrow fluke.

•*However, for maximum safety we recommend setting two anchors if a tidal or wind shift is expected, as despite manufacturer's claims, no anchor will dependably reset 100% of the time. Please find below an animated gif from a US sailing site which offers a way of setting two anchors.




Safe anchoring,
Brian Sheehan

http://fortressanchors.com/

 

[dom]

Great post, tks :encouragement:

But is that anchor seriously 10kg

The image below is an example, as the owner brought this 21 lb (10 kg) Fortress model FX-37 anchor back to us after it held their 42-ft Silverton during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. According to this owner, they had three anchors deployed in preparation of this horrific storm, but two had broken free from the winds which reached over 150+ knots, leaving this single anchor to hold a 25,000 lb (11,300 kg) boat.

They were obviously very grateful, but said that it took almost a day to retrieve the anchor and the flukes were bent in the process, which we gladly replaced under our Lifetime Parts Replacement Warranty.

 

[Fortress Anchors]

Great post, tks :encouragement:

But is that anchor seriously 10kg

Dom, yes and it is comparable in physical size to the 35 lb (16 kg) Danforth Hi-Tensile 35H model.

 

[Serin]

Whenever I sailed with an Irish Sailing Association (ISA) Cruising Instructor, I was always taught to take transits on coming to rest after anchoring, with the proviso that "you should not use a cow as one of your landmarks".

My father was in the navy "for the duration" and recalled the words of an early instructor in boat (112 foot ML, to be precise) handling. I this case it was a question of a fixed mark to help judge speed, angles etc. when coming alongside. When asked what sort of mark to use, he replied "use a dockyard matey if you like. He'll never move"

 

[dom]

Dom, yes and it is comparable in physical size to the 35 lb (16 kg) Danforth Hi-Tensile 35H model.

Which comes in nearly 70% heavier, not bad!

Incidentally, now that you're here it would be great if you could somewhat expand your comments regarding roll stability. I personally think Fortress anchors are simply excellent in a straight line, but in UK waters where boats typically swing 180 degrees with the turn of each tide there does some to be a legitimate concern (both from an engineering and anecdotal perspective) as to the risk of such an anchor either capsizing or breaking free.

 

[Fortress Anchors]

Which comes in nearly 70% heavier, not bad!

Incidentally, now that you're here it would be great if you could somewhat expand your comments regarding roll stability. I personally think Fortress anchors are simply excellent in a straight line, but in UK waters where boats typically swing 180 degrees with the turn of each tide there does some to be a legitimate concern (both from an engineering and anecdotal perspective) as to the risk of such an anchor either capsizing or breaking free.

Dom, my belief is that with the two large flukes and long perpendicular rod (called the stock), the Fortress is much more roll stable than narrower, stockless anchor types. I have asked our consultant, Bob Taylor, a US Navy anchor design and soil mechanics expert with 45+ years in the field, to weigh in on this and I will share his reply when I receive it.

It is my understanding that the UK has predominantly mud bottoms, and once this sediment is tightly compressed against the two large Fortress flukes, then breaking it free from the sea bottom is going to be a challenge, no matter what the direction of pull. We saw this firsthand during the 60 pull tests over 4 full days aboard the 81-ft Rachel Carson research vessel in the soft mud bottoms of the Chesapeake Bay.

image sharing

In fact, after one pull test of the FX-37 in which the tension rose to 2,000 lbs, we attempted to retrieve the anchor by getting directly above it at a 1:1 scope. The winch operator calculated that it was buried 13 feet into the mud, and we ended up breaking the wire rope at 3,500 lbs and losing the anchor. The thought that the FX-37 would have broken free easier if only a side load had been applied seems a bit unlikely, and maybe even a bit comical!

image free hosting

 

[[70521]]

• Fortress anchors are precision-machined for sharpness which results in a razor-like effect and fast, deep penetration into common sea bottoms.

I want to anchor the boat not give the seabed a shave! What is a common sea bottom in your part of the globe might not be a common sea bottom on mine, I do love that phrase, what sea bottoms has the fortress been tested on?

Apart from the cheap joke about shaving the sea bottom what are the advantages of having a sharpened edge over a blunt one is one? Given the forces and the sea bottom I don't understand why a sharpened edge is required. Does the edge need maintenance?

 

[Fortress Anchors]

I want to anchor the boat not give the seabed a shave! What is a common sea bottom in your part of the globe might not be a common sea bottom on mine, I do love that phrase, what sea bottoms has the fortress been tested on?

Apart from the cheap joke about shaving the sea bottom what are the advantages of having a sharpened edge over a blunt one is one? Given the forces and the sea bottom I don't understand why a sharpened edge is required. Does the edge need maintenance?

Sandy, thanks for your comments. In our part of the world the bottoms are typically sand, mud, and clay, and those are the bottoms in which the Fortress has been extensively field tested (both controlled & real world) over the 30 years that we have been manufacturing our product here in the USA.

In some areas there are grass and weeds (where the performance of the Fortress is iffy, at best), as well as rocks (the same).

A sharper anchor will simply cut and slice its way into a sea bottom faster and deeper than a dull-edged anchor, similar to trying to cut into something by using a razor versus a dull knife. There is no maintenance required.

free picture upload


Sandy, as a side note, I noticed your boating attire from your avatar and this customer below from Mersea Island in the UK shares the same superb taste:

how to take screenshots

 

[dom]

In fact, after one pull test of the FX-37 in which the tension rose to 2,000 lbs, we attempted to retrieve the anchor by getting directly above it at a 1:1 scope. The winch operator calculated that it was buried 13 feet into the mud, and we ended up breaking the wire rope at 3,500 lbs and losing the anchor. The thought that the FX-37 would have broken free easier if only a side load had been applied seems a bit unlikely, and maybe even a bit comical!

I fully get and basically agree with the suitability of Danforth type anchors in a soft mud substrate. But what about these kinds of videos and magazine tests we often see over here?

Here is an anchor boffin who was featured on here a while back having a go with the Fortress with almost no success in sand/mud, especially vis a vis roll stability. Fast fwd to 4:50 where he finally gets the anchor to hold, only for it to suddenly break out on the turn once more! Any idea what's going on here?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFciNIzJkng

This chap also comes to the 'kedge only' conclusion, and at least for me some of those dramatic fails would at the very least raise questions about the Fortress's suitability as a bower.

And finally, look how near perfect something like the Spade performed, starting around 9:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giDsoDHxG_c

 

[Fortress Anchors]

I fully get and basically agree with the suitability of Danforth type anchors in a soft mud substrate. But what about these kinds of videos and magazine tests we often see over here?

Here is an anchor boffin who was featured on here a while back having a go with the Fortress with almost no success in sand/mud, especially vis a vis roll stability. Fast fwd to 4:50 where he finally gets the anchor to hold, only for it to suddenly break out on the turn once more! Any idea what's going on here?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFciNIzJkng

This chap also comes to the 'kedge only' conclusion, and at least for me some of those dramatic fails would at the very least raise questions about the Fortress's suitability as a bower.

And finally, look how near perfect something like the Spade performed, starting around 9:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giDsoDHxG_c

I am well familiar with this test and I have exchanged messages with Steve / Panope about it. First of all, he was using a 10 lb (4.5 kg) FX-16 aluminum alloy anchor, which is obviously even lighter in water, and then there were line connections to it which certainly had a negative upward affect on this light anchor embedding and then re-embedding into the sea bottom.

After loading up the anchor and setting it at a short 3.5 to 1 scope and with 3,000 rpm from his engine, he drove his 34-ft / 15,000 lb boat over the anchor at 2 knots and it was supposed to quickly break free from the sea bottom, then instantly flip over and re-embed itself. A bit much to expect, isn't it, for a 10 lb (4.5 kg) anchor?

Further still, the performance of this light anchor is being compared to anchors that are around 45 lbs?

In what I believe is an more reasonable re-setting test, the FX-16 performed well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHxO8mbAyk

 

[dom]

I am well familiar with this test and I have exchanged messages with Steve / Panope about it. First of all, he was using a 10 lb (4.5 kg) FX-16 aluminum alloy anchor, which is obviously even lighter in water, and then there were line connections to it which certainly had a negative upward affect on this light anchor embedding and then re-embedding into the sea bottom.

After loading up the anchor and setting it at a short 3.5 to 1 scope and with 3,000 rpm from his engine, he drove his 34-ft / 15,000 lb boat over the anchor at 2 knots and it was supposed to quickly break free from the sea bottom, then instantly flip over and re-embed itself. A bit much to expect, isn't it, for a 10 lb (4.5 kg) anchor?

Further still, the performance of this light anchor is being compared to anchors that are around 45 lbs?

In what I believe is an more reasonable re-setting test, the FX-16 performed well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmHxO8mbAyk

Thanks again for the info, very helpful to have a true expert on here. I must however say that I'd still be concerned in light of yet another of Steve's videos (he must love this stuff!) where he struggles to set the Fortress and in light of the Kippari test which found the Fortress simply stunning in soft mud, but largely useless in hard sand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVJWXhAxIqA
http://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/independent-performance-testing.php

In light of both your tests and these, I'm wondering if the Fortress is best when it can slide down into soft deep mud/sand where those huge flukes can then hold on for dear life. However, in hard sand the anchor perhaps lacks the tip wight to properly penetrate and in weedy/stony bottoms the flukes can fail to articulate correctly around the shank.

Perhaps a good description of the Fortress would be: 'King of Mud' and A1 kedge!
...with the caveat that it should be treated as basically a lunch hook in other substrates.

Would that be fair?

 

[Fortress Anchors]

Thanks again for the info, very helpful to have a true expert on here. I must however say that I'd still be concerned in light of yet another of Steve's videos (he must love this stuff!) where he struggles to set the Fortress and in light of the Kippari test which found the Fortress simply stunning in soft mud, but largely useless in hard sand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVJWXhAxIqA
http://www.petersmith.net.nz/boat-anchors/independent-performance-testing.php

In light of both your tests and these, I'm wondering if the Fortress is best when it can slide down into soft deep mud/sand where those huge flukes can then hold on for dear life. However, in hard sand the anchor perhaps lacks the tip wight to properly penetrate and in weedy/stony bottoms the flukes can fail to articulate correctly around the shank.

Perhaps a good description of the Fortress would be: 'King of Mud' and A1 kedge!
...with the caveat that it should be treated as basically a lunch hook in other substrates.

Would that be fair?

Dom, I watched the link to Steve's video that you posted and I think the upward pull that the lines were having on this light 10 lb anchor is crystal clear, not to mention the upward pull from the short 3.5 to 1 scope.

Regarding Kippari's test, I am also well familiar with it and I have communicated with the tester. Here are Bob Taylor's comments about that test, and again, he has over 45 years of experience in designing and testing of anchors during his time with the US Navy and in the offshore industry:

"Testing on a gravelly or hard beach is meaningless. I did tests in beach sand but it was dry and medium density and I did it to evaluate anchors in tandem. We both have seen tests on hard seabeds and movable fluke anchors don’t tend to do well in that situation but this is a very poor choice for testing anchors. This condition rarely occurs in real life unless one is trying to anchor in Puget Sound where the bottom is scoured clean or where the bottom is glaciated."

A "real world" hard sand sea bottom test was conducted and independently-verified in Miami many years ago, the results of which are below.

image uploader

Additionally, considering that over 500k Fortress anchors have been sold throughout the world, I think comments about limiting the use of the Fortress for kedge or lunch hook or only mud use are a bit inaccurate. Please find below the image of the new US Coast Guard's 154-ft Sentinel-class cutter, which displaces 353 long tons (790k lbs / 359 kg) and it has the 70 lb (32 kg) FX-125, our largest anchor model, mounted on the bow for its primary anchor.



I think it is fair to say that no other anchor in the world of that size and weight would have even a remote chance of meeting the performance standard required to be approved aboard a vessel of that size.

The FX-125 has also served as the primary anchor aboard the US Coast Guard's 110-ft patrol boat for over 25 years.

 

[dom]

The FX-125 has also served as the primary anchor aboard the US Coast Guard's 110-ft patrol boat for over 25 years.

Thank you,so much for an excellent reply. I have a couple more questions if I may, but would like to hold them for a day or so due to saily commitments! But seriously, a US Coastguard endorsement .....hats off to you, I have some notion of the hoops to jump through with the F35 Joint Strike Fighter and to get through anything like that you clearly have a top product for which you should be roundly congratulated :encouragement:

 

[Fortress Anchors]

Thank you,so much for an excellent reply. I have a couple more questions if I may, but would like to hold them for a day or so due to saily commitments! But seriously, a US Coastguard endorsement .....hats off to you, I have some notion of the hoops to jump through with the F35 Joint Strike Fighter and to get through anything like that you clearly have a top product for which you should be roundly congratulated :encouragement:

Thanks for your kind words, and Fortress anchors are also the primary anchors aboard the 28', 33', 45', 47' and 87' US Coast Guard patrol boats.

Awhile back I took a call from a "Coastie" who was in the Gulf of Mexico (Texas) aboard the 87' boat (91 long tons) and he was calling for the replacement of their 47 lb FX-85 model. I asked him what happened to it and he said that the seas were too rough for their patrols, so they hung on the anchor for 3 days. When it came time to leave, they couldn't break it loose so they cut the line!

Regarding your questions, ask away anytime!

Fair winds,
Brian

 

[Hadenough]

I assume the mods will be blocking this series of blatant commercial posts!

 

[dom]

I assume the mods will be blocking this series of blatant commercial posts!

Hang on a minute, the proprietor referenced in this thread has had the balls to come on here and coherently put his side of the story. We can all ask questions, but block the discussion, come off it

 

[Hadenough]

Hmmm?

 

[NormanS]

Thanks for your kind words, and Fortress anchors are also the primary anchors aboard the 28', 33', 45', 47' and 87' US Coast Guard patrol boats.

Awhile back I took a call from a "Coastie" who was in the Gulf of Mexico (Texas) aboard the 87' boat (91 long tons) and he was calling for the replacement of their 47 lb FX-85 model. I asked him what happened to it and he said that the seas were too rough for their patrols, so they hung on the anchor for 3 days. When it came time to leave, they couldn't break it loose so they cut the line!

Regarding your questions, ask away anytime!

Fair winds,
Brian

Well, my boat is hanging on mine for the next three weeks, in the Outer Hebrides, so I hope I can retrieve it alright.

 

[oldbilbo]

FWIW, I anchored a Hurley 24/7 thingy in New Grimsby Sound, just inside/east of the Duchy V-moorings, on 6m. of 10mm chain with, initially, about 10m. of warp, using a Fortress FX-16. There was about 5-6m of water and a F3. I lowered the anchor, then drifted back on the breeze. It set, into the sand, then didn't move for the 2 days I was there, despite several changes of tide.

When the time came to leave, and my having discussed the anchor with him, Harbourmaster Henry Birch offered to lift it using his heavy workboat by over-running the rode on his bows until the chain was up and down, using the 'lift' of the waves to tug the anchor out. That took more than 5 minutes, and he remarked that 'it was well in'.

I was glad I hadn't tried to sail it out.

IMHO, it 'does exactly what it says on the tin'.

Edit: Henry has now retired, although he can't keep away, and Adam is now the official Official. A hard act to follow....

http://tresco2011.solutionsdev.co.uk/getting-here/own-boat.aspx

I was anchored just inshore of the left-hand boat ( just ) shown, with the patch of seaweed and the granite boulders of West Tresco under my lee.

 

[Babylon]

I assume the mods will be blocking this series of blatant commercial posts!

I hope not! There's been nothing remotely 'blatantly commercial' about these contributions.

I've followed the whole thread closely since its start (Serrie and I have a thing going don't you know), and I'm particularly interested in Fortress anchors as I keep one aboard as both a kedge and an emergency bower.

Several posters had questioned the suitability of the Fortress as more than a lightweight kedge, and also its performance in different grounds. The manufacturer took the opportunity to provide very valuable technical information about their product - from which we've all learnt more than one often does from the subjective opinions or casual prejudices (mea culpa) of regulars.

If one is going to get all huffy about the commercial origins of forumites (a much belated welcome to you Brian! :encouragement, then there's a good few of our mates who'd need immediate blocking: engineers, electricians, sailmakers, surveyors, hull-blasters, yacht-deliverers, coastguards (that's commercial now, innit?) and, err... those with RYA connections! (Sorry John, but we are going to have to police the police!)