Fortress hook in an Emergency

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Yachtingsouthwest

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Hi all

I have carried a fortress anchor on three boats now primarily as a kedge however the anchor is sized as a bower. I have often wondered if the fortress could be relied apon to replace the primary if it was lost?

I know a lot of people generally carry two anchors and I guess a lot include a danforth or fortress.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
You might try putting "Fortress" into the search box (top right,). There must be thousands of posts on the subject of anchors, inc Fortress as kedge or primary.

Isn't a "bower" anchor a "primary" anyway ?
 
Yachtingsouthwest said:
Hi all

I have carried a fortress anchor on three boats now primarily as a kedge however the anchor is sized as a bower. I have often wondered if the fortress could be relied apon to replace the primary if it was lost?

I know a lot of people generally carry two anchors and I guess a lot include a danforth or fortress.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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What's the emergency?
If your Fortress is genuinely "sized as a bower", then it'll hold like a bower. Weight for weight, Fortresses are very good, particularly in mud. They're light and easy to handle, if for example you want to lay it out by dinghy. Their disadvantages are that they don't lend themselves to stowing easily on a bow roller, and may not reset after a significant change of wind or tide direction, quite as well as some other designs. They are good at what they're good at.
 
Yachtingsouthwest said:
I have carried a fortress anchor on three boats now primarily as a kedge however the anchor is sized as a bower. I have often wondered if the fortress could be relied upon to replace the primary if it was lost?
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One of the well known problems with Fortresses is that after a blow when it's well dug in is getting the effin thing out again. Trimeringues often use them successfully as their main anchor because of the light weight.
 
The Fortress anchor is great kedge anchor, but not a great primary anchor.

It does not do very well when subject to a significant change in the direction of pull. While It has fantastic holding power in soft substrates it is not very good in hard sand and weed. These drawbacks are more significant if it is pressed into the roll as primary anchor and the light weight is of little significance if you are using an electric anchor winch.

So it not the ideal choice as a replacement for a lost primary anchor, but boats are full of compromises, so it may be acceptable especially if you cruise areas with soft substrates.
 
This photo illustrates the problem of lightweight aluminium aluminium anchors especially the Fortress and Guardian anchors in hard/weedy substrates.

This was a small Guardian dropped by another cruising yacht and as you can see it was just not working in the hard sand.

dWupNOP.jpg
 
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The Fortress is a 'refined' variation on the Danforth. Many people have used Danforths (and copies) as a bower/main anchor (including myself) quite satisfactorily.

As people have suggested, their strength is softer bottoms, and their weakness is harder bottoms, and they may not reset as readily when turned as some (though I have had no problems in that regard). But no anchor is ideal in all circumstances.

I would have no qualms at all about having a Fortress as a spare bower main/anchor. It would be especially suitable for that purpose if the main/bower anchor were of a different type with complementary strengths and weakness.
 
I have a Fortress FX23 as a kedge on a bracket on the pushpit. A few years ago my 25kg Delta failed to reset when the wind changed and strengthened on a muddy bottom. Hastily replaced by the Fortress which stopped us dead and held perfectly for the night. Delta now replaced with a Knox which is a massive step up.
Last year I was alongside a friend on the quay (stern to) at Lefkas, soft mud again. I had no problem but friends anchor pulled out when wind picked up and was pushing him onto the quay. Put a temporary line on to my boat but then set the Fortress up with 30m of multiplait and 8m of chain to take out in the dinghy for him. Easily pulled him off the wall then held for 6 days of 20 - 35kn on the bows followed by a further 10 days isolation with covid.
I would not be without my Fortress even though it is little used!
 
Thanks all for the replys so far.

My boat is probably quite different to what the majority of people sail being a Drascombe Coaster relatively small vessel, however I regularly anchor in various places and as the boat can take the ground often in places that require two anchors.

My ground tackle consists of
Bower Mantus 13lb, 10m 6mm chain and 50m 10mm 3 strand.

Fortress FX7 3m chain and then a long mooring line added when used.

I nearly lost the bower last season after it became snagged on a dumped steel cable, thinking after could I have carried on the adventure using the fortress as a primary.
 
I also have a Fortress sized as a main anchor but now held as a kedge. Used as a main a few years ago when my original 'cqr look alike' failed miserably in East Coast mud. Now replaced with a Manson Supreme as a main anchor.
 
There is no perfect anchor.

Take most of today's acclaimed modern anchors (name anyone you like) and they simply do not work in soupy mud. A Fortress is superb. As mentioned deploy a Fortress in sand in a blow and your problem is retrieval - and in a change of tide, and after a blow, it will not move.

A personal view is that Fortress are over specified, which is why after a blow they are difficult to retreive. But being over specified when you power set you cannot bury the anchor and its crown and stock stand proud - all ready to be tripped in a change of tide.

As mentioned Fortress is designed largely round a Danforth and thousands of people have used a Danforth as a primary - and still do (predominately in America). They look most ungainly on a bow roller and provide some interference to sheets - but Americans seem to cope.

IMG_5028.jpeg

This is a Fortress we power set, under water, when we were beaching. Its no different to having been used as a primary anchor - is it any wonder it trips in a change of tide. The chain will get under the stock and trip it. Take any anchor oversized and be unable to set it deeply and there are protuberances on all anchors that can allow the rode to get 'underneath'. Don't believe me - I have the pictures.

To emphasise the point - this is the same anchor set the same way - at a different time.

Image 2a.jpeg

And to further illustrate - this is a FX 23 and FX 16 set at the same time, same seabed, same tension. The FX16 has set more deeply than the FX 23 - but both have the exact same hold.

IMG_9838.jpeg

Because of my belief that Fortress are over specified we retired our FX23 and replaced it wth the FX 16 but carry the FX 37 to use in soupy mud.

Anchors are a compromise - you should carry a spare bower (primary) anyway - carry those two anchors so that they cater for a wider cross section of seabeds.

Take care, stay safe

Jonathan
 
We have a Rocna and a Fortress, both "full size" for the boat.

The fortress light weight and flat stowage is a tremendous advantage as a kedge. To my mind that's worth the rather small risk that it lets me down as a primary due to (1) failure of the Rocna (somehow) AND (2) conditions are unsuitable for the Fortress.

We have used the Fortress a handful of times including in mud. You can't just haul it up, sure. But patience, patience, and use the motion of the ocean. Drive the boat as close as you can so the rode is vertical, pull it tight and secure it. Even in a flat calm, the natural rocking of the boat is enough to break it out if you wait a minute or two. That's our experience anyway.
 
Neeves said:
There is no perfect anchor.

Take most of today's acclaimed modern anchors (name anyone you like) and they simply do not work in soupy mud. A Fortress is superb. As mentioned deploy a Fortress in sand in a blow and your problem is retrieval - and in a change of tide, and after a blow, it will not move.

A personal view is that Fortress are over specified, which is why after a blow they are difficult to retreive. But being over specified when you power set you cannot bury the anchor and its crown and stock stand proud - all ready to be tripped in a change of tide.

As mentioned Fortress is designed largely round a Danforth and thousands of people have used a Danforth as a primary - and still do (predominately in America). They look most ungainly on a bow roller and provide some interference to sheets - but Americans seem to cope.

View attachment 134261

This is a Fortress we power set, under water, when we were beaching. Its no different to having been used as a primary anchor - is it any wonder it trips in a change of tide. The chain will get under the stock and trip it. Take any anchor oversized and be unable to set it deeply and there are protuberances on all anchors that can allow the rode to get 'underneath'. Don't believe me - I have the pictures.

To emphasise the point - this is the same anchor set the same way - at a different time.

View attachment 134262

And to further illustrate - this is a FX 23 and FX 16 set at the same time, same seabed, same tension. The FX16 has set more deeply than the FX 23 - but both have the exact same hold.

View attachment 134263

Because of my belief that Fortress are over specified we retired our FX23 and replaced it wth the FX 16 but carry the FX 37 to use in soupy mud.

Anchors are a compromise - you should carry a spare bower (primary) anyway - carry those two anchors so that they cater for a wider cross section of seabeds.

Take care, stay safe

Jonathan
Click to expand...



I notice you only have a few links of chain on the fortress is that the amount you use on your second anchors?
 
Yachtingsouthwest said:
I notice you only have a few links of chain on the fortress is that the amount you use on your second anchors?
Click to expand...

Of course not.

When you are grounding and you draw 1m to have a rode with 15m of chain is, well unnecessary (and very difficult to tension on a sheet winch). If you want to compare the performance of 2 anchors you should do so using the same conditions, same rode, same depth, same seabed. Whether you use 0.2 metre or 20 metres of chain - should not matter.

Once the anchor engages the anchor is not very intelligent and has no idea how the tension is applied A good anchor will engage quickly whether chain or dyneema. The primary reason to have chain is for its abrasion resistant and it offers catenary. There is no need for abrasion resistance nor catenary when you are beaching. Similarly there is no reason for a catenary when the depth is 1 metre - the rode will be effective bar tight (whether chain or dyneema)

Most modern anchors will set at a 3:1 scope - the idea of a tension at zero degrees is for our grandfathers who did not enjoy the anchor designs available to us.

Jonathan
 
Yachtingsouthwest said:
I notice you only have a few links of chain on the fortress is that the amount you use on your second anchors?
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly, Fortress themselves claim that no chain is necessary. I don't know their reasons for this but I choose to ignore it, using 5 metres of 8 mm chain on a FX16. This has been used very many times as a kedge or as a second anchor in a fork mooring, but most notably in a full gale as the only anchor for several days with only a 3:1 or 4:1 scope.

This page shows our fork mooring experience with a video that demonstrates its effectiveness in cutting down yawing. Fork mooring
 
vyv_cox said:
If I remember correctly, Fortress themselves claim that no chain is necessary. I don't know their reasons for this but I choose to ignore it, using 5 metres of 8 mm chain on a FX16. This has been used very many times as a kedge or as a second anchor in a fork mooring, but most notably in a full gale as the only anchor for several days with only a 3:1 or 4:1 scope.

This page shows our fork mooring experience with a video that demonstrates its effectiveness in cutting down yawing. Fork mooring
Click to expand...


Vyv

Do you use your fortress as your back up if the bower is lost or do you carry a third anchor and rode?
 
Yachtingsouthwest said:
Vyv

Do you use your fortress as your back up if the bower is lost or do you carry a third anchor and rode?
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I still carry my old Delta as a 'just in case' but have not used it for years. I have used the Fortress as the bower a few times, mainly when the stripper on the windlass failed. Plus many times in fork mooring, when it carries the same alternating load as the Rocna plus chain.
 
The OP has a Drascombe Coaster, a fine boat but not one would expect to be out and about in the ultimate storm.

In my view, a Fortress would be ideal as a kedge-cum-spare-bower anchor for his sort of boat, especially with its light weight and potential for dismantling.

It being over-sized would not worry me (though I agree with Neeves that over-sized anchors aren't generally desirable), except if that made storage a problem. If he does considered it too over-sized, I imagine it would be easy to sell, or swap with someone for a smaller version.
 
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