Have you ever had a Danforth type anchor break out..?

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DogWatch

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I haven't.

I have anchored all kinds of craft with Danforth type anchors, (mainly in sand or mud on the west coast admittedly). I have anchored large MFV in 30m in bouncy conditions all day, I have anchored yachts, angling boats, dinghies you name it, deep water, shallow water, vertical rope rode depths at times; Until I took over my current boat I always use(d) a danforth with a usual rule of thumb, 1ft in length to 1lb of anchor.

As far as I am aware I have never dragged the anchor, never broken out without a reset, never lost the boat on a danforth.

This whole debate is turning into lazy speak,

Jaguar X type, just a mondeo
Catamaran, will capsize
Danforth, will not reset if you more than sneeze on board.

I have a Delta for every day use but have a big F-OFF danforth on the fordeck that I have used occasionally with great satisfaction and security.

So has anyone any real life experience of losing grip completely with a danforth style, or is this more media hype?
 
Danforth

I agree danforth type are often unreasonably derrated. They and similar and often known as "Sand" anchor here. I have one and no other type on board. But then I have not anchored in many years. (just my type of sailing).
However we have a lovely Island off Fremantle called Rottnest Island. It is surrounded by reef and a lot of weed. If you drop a Danforth onto a sand patch (easily seen) then no problems but if you miss and end up in weed then the Danforth chokes with weed and ends up as a ball of steel and weed that won't bite into anything. I use a Fishermans anchor in this case. It just cuts through the weed into the bottom without problem. I reckon in good conditions ie sand the danforth has the best holding for its weight.
good luck olewill
Or have I been sucked into another anchor troll? HA HA
 
William_H said:
I agree danforth type are often unreasonably derrated. They and similar and often known as "Sand" anchor here. I have one and no other type on board. But then I have not anchored in many years. (just my type of sailing).
However we have a lovely Island off Fremantle called Rottnest Island. It is surrounded by reef and a lot of weed. If you drop a Danforth onto a sand patch (easily seen) then no problems but if you miss and end up in weed then the Danforth chokes with weed and ends up as a ball of steel and weed that won't bite into anything. I use a Fishermans anchor in this case. It just cuts through the weed into the bottom without problem. I reckon in good conditions ie sand the danforth has the best holding for its weight.
good luck olewill
Or have I been sucked into another anchor troll? HA HA
Click to expand...

Not a troll, I'm just getting a bit fed up with 'I heard it somewhere' info being passed back and forth rubbishing a great anchor. People may feel the need to remove perfectly good anchors for the boats/area on the basis of the lazy-think that is happening around this subject.
 
Funny things the old Danforths. Some people do swear by them and they are most definitely fabulous in sand and loose mud. Our previous boat had one and I confess I loathed the thing. Couldn't wait to change it for a CQR. Current boat had CQR which was wonderful in mud and heavily packed sand but after dragging all over Jervis Bay in NSW I was getting a tadge nostalgic for the Danforth.

Nothing really works all that well in weed except a Fisherman but then nice people don't anchor in weed now do they ? Certainly not in Eastern Orstrylia anyway.

Heading back down to Jervis in the New Year to try out shiny new Rocna in that same patch of sand. Fingers crossed.
 
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Many yachts (power and sail) that have anchors self stowing in hawsepipes each side of the bow invariably have Danforth types, as they do stow nicely in this configuration - and they must work ok, otherwise they would go for something else surely?

The 40 lb Danforth on our mooring here tripped when we had Force 10+ winds from Tropical Storm Tomas recently - snorkelling on it afterwards, the chain had somehow wrapped itself around the shank a couple of times, and just a few inches of one fluke was actually dug in to the sand.
It did however have a 13 lb Danforth in tandem, on about 10' of chain, and this wee anchor was completely buried........ :)
 
I used to sail into and out of harbours (and marinas before they got to far up their butt holes) and my Danforth was a very reliable emergency brake on short scope.

I have used it in preference to my CQR when waiting off a lee shore for an ambulance to arrive.

I also used it in about a F6, Ullapool, to haul the yacht off the pier beam on. I have used it quite a few times as a running mooring, deployed over the stern. In that application as you sail forward its pretty obvious that it it will haul the boat to a stop if its not allowed to run.

The Danforth is a good anchor, no doubt about it in my mind. I have recovered it with a big stone stuck between a fluke and the stock. I am not sure if its every failed to set or tripped, but it is a reliable, high holding power anchor in my opinion.
 
I don't want to drift your thread too much, but I anchored for years using a CQR and always swore by the thing. It did take some setting occasionally - if you were too vicious with the throttle when digging it in, you could easily end up ploughing a furrow on the seabed. Furthermore its the only anchor I've actually used to anchor a boat to survive a hurricane - although that was a case of Hobsons choice! The anchor held and all was well. When we changed to a modern design the only thing we have noticed is that it sticks like glue - setting instantly. Nowadays I really don't worry too much about whether its going to set or not, as it always does.

Back to your post - I have also used a Danforth on a boat years ago and also never remember dragging it or it tripping in all the anchoring I did with it.
 
The Danforth is a good anchor in mud, it's the anchor of choice on Chesapeake Bay, for instance, which is all mud. You have to get the right size, about a pound a foot; note that the makers recommend lighter anchors for a given boat size than that.
 
I've seen Danforths where after a wind shift the stock has bent rather than the anchor breaking free. I believe the combination of size, weight and holding power is quite difficult to beat, and it stows flat.
 
I often snorkel around the anchors of yachts anchored near me.
To watch them rotate when there is a new wind direction is always interesting (at least to me).
The Danforth anchor sometimes breaks during this rotation. It seems to pivot on the long stock tipping the anchor at a large angle and breaking it out. It will not always do this, but often enough to be of concern. I have not yet formed any conclusions under what circumstances (bottom type etc) makes the anchor more prone to this behavior.

This observation does agree with reports of Danforforth anchors breaking out on large wind or tide shifts. It is often stated this breakout occurs because the rode catches under the stock. This is also a possible mechanism, but generally, if well set, the stock is buried and I personally do not think this is a frequent cause of the problem.

I am interested if the Fortress exhibits the same behavior. I own a Fortress as kedge, but it is a little too small to be used as a main anchor (it does have very good holding power however). There is some evidence that the Fortress breaks out much less often, but unfortunately there are not many Yachts in the Med that use this as there main anchor and I have only managed to observe them occasionally rotating. I have not observed them breaking out, but the sample size is too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
 
I have only ever used my 25lb Danforth for kedging off after getting aground . (A fairly frequent occurence, as I like taking my boat where 'few have gone before' :o) It has been brilliant as a kedge anchor, used with 5 metres of chain and a rope warp.

Until I bought the boat it had been the bower anchor, and it still would be if I had not followed Eric Hiscock's advice and got a 35lb genuine CQR.
 
parsifal said:
I have only ever used my 25lb Danforth for kedging off after getting aground . (A fairly frequent occurence, as I like taking my boat where 'few have gone before' :o) It has been brilliant as a kedge anchor, used with 5 metres of chain and a rope warp.

Until I bought the boat it had been the bower anchor, and it still would be if I had not followed Eric Hiscock's advice and got a 35lb genuine CQR.
Click to expand...

Bah!What did Hiscock know! (I use a 45lb CQR) .You need Craig to tell you about anchors!:cool::p
 
I have a Fortress anchor (aluminium Danforth type design) and I'm very pleased with it. Never dragged, never failed to set, always easy to break out and lift into the locker.

I suspect there is more hazard to the ship if the skipper is confined to his bunk having strained his back lifting the old anchor than the risk of the Fortress anchor dragging or failing to re-set.
 
DogWatch said:
I haven't.


So has anyone any real life experience of losing grip completely with a danforth style, or is this more media hype?
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My 23' fishing boat has a Danforth as its main anchor and yes it has broken out in strong currents and deep water (I often anchor in 100+ ft) especially with a fair chop. That said, it holds better than its predecessor, a delta.

I anchor where yachts would probably not choose to, in places such as reefs and rips, which is where the fish live. Perhaps of more interest is that I've never had the anchor pull out on a tide change.

If you look at charter fishing boats most have danforths, certainly in the IoW and surrounds.

So, in sum, I'd agree that the danforth is under-rated.
 
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I carry a danforth as a kedge and, as such, it has proved excellent. But I have pulled it up with the flukes jammed against the stock by a stone. I have seen several where the shank has been bent sideways and I have also seen one where one of the flukes has been twisted at an angle to the other. Because of this I wouldn't feel happy about using one as a bower, I need to know that I will never be left without my main anchor.
 
All this paranoia about anchors! The whole thing boils down to two issues.

1) The bower anchor needs to be at least one size larger than that recommended by the manufacturer.
2) When cruising, you need more than one type to suit a variety of bottoms.

Rob.
 
Gents,

This is a terrific post with many intelligent, straightforward & honest answers. I addressed this wind shift issue with Danforth / Fortress fluke anchors in a painfully long-winded post on this link below. Pop open a cold one first:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257345&page=8

And now, so I don't sound like another boorish anchor manufacturer, I am going to exit stage door left.

Regards,
Brian Sheehan

Fortress Marine Anchors
 
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