It might interest you all to know that Sail mag, page 52, just did another anchor test. All anchors except for Fortress rated poorer than Danforth! A Fortress is merely a variation of a Danforth. Maybe you need to carry all that other new generation stuff to back up your Danforths! Chief
Anchor size
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A Danforth is great if the wind never veers and the current always runs in the same direction but in real world anchoring I view it as about the same value as one of those vinyl coated mushroom dink anchors.
I never understood the idea of a storm anchor....especially if you have a windlass. If it fits, you can haul it up, then use it. Bigger is better. If it will hold a bigger boat then it will work good for yours.
Besides....setting a hook in good weather is all well and good. A smaller anchor will work for that. The problem is when you get that thunderstorm with 50 knot gusts in the middle of the night when you are sleeping.
I drug once with my danforth and ended up on a sandbar. Luckily I caught it in time and was able to get off without a huge ordeal.
You want an anchor that will set, then re-set if necessary. Anyone who has been in a anchorage when a storm comes and sees the 180 degree wind shift at high wind speeds knows what I mean by saying this.
When I am in a crowded anchorage I set my anchor hard and my only concern is the other people around. Funny, but if I am in the anchorage early I can usually pick those people out because watching them anchor give me a good idea of their skill.
Besides....setting a hook in good weather is all well and good. A smaller anchor will work for that. The problem is when you get that thunderstorm with 50 knot gusts in the middle of the night when you are sleeping.
I drug once with my danforth and ended up on a sandbar. Luckily I caught it in time and was able to get off without a huge ordeal.
You want an anchor that will set, then re-set if necessary. Anyone who has been in a anchorage when a storm comes and sees the 180 degree wind shift at high wind speeds knows what I mean by saying this.
When I am in a crowded anchorage I set my anchor hard and my only concern is the other people around. Funny, but if I am in the anchorage early I can usually pick those people out because watching them anchor give me a good idea of their skill.
Anchor Selection 101 includes good discussions of various system selections and pictures of new generation anchors on bowsprits both short and extended http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4457.0.html
Why NEW GEN Anchors are Better:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.msg19651.html#msg19651
Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) & Swivels http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.msg30400.html#msg30400
Why NEW GEN Anchors are Better:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.msg19651.html#msg19651
Anchor System Sizing Tables (Reply #6) & Swivels http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.msg30400.html#msg30400
Basically the article in Sail mag indicates that the new anchors are not better. In fact they indicate they are worse! My experience indicates its the person anchoring that is the major problem. Chief
Sail magazine is advertiser revenue driven. This is not an objective source for testing.
There's really no perfect anchor for all conditions & bottoms. Which design will hold fast on a flat rock bottom? Non that I know of.
I did go back to a Danforth five years ago with good results because of the design. A local shop, "Fisherman's Ideal Supply House" in Seminole Florida. This is a commercial fisherman's supply house although open to all. They sold a made for them brand of Danforth's, I think the manufacturer were local or state.
I poked around in various stores & manufacturers concentrating on who had the greatest angle of fluke travel. Some brands had less fluke angle than others. I remember my old original Danforth fluke angle was small. I had alot of dragging problems then moved to the Fortress as a fix. The Danforth from Ideal had the most travel angle off the shank. This proved to have excellent holding power & no slippage in Florida sand & mud bottoms, even grass.
Add twenty five feet of stainless 1/2 inch chain (my C30) & this will keep the shank down. My old fortress was retired as my original galvanized chain laying against it in the well ate into the forging. I'll never use anything galvanized on my boat again.
A friend repaired the voids & powdercoated it white. It's now a floor conversation piece in my living room.
ps: Happy Thanksgiving to all.
CR
I did go back to a Danforth five years ago with good results because of the design. A local shop, "Fisherman's Ideal Supply House" in Seminole Florida. This is a commercial fisherman's supply house although open to all. They sold a made for them brand of Danforth's, I think the manufacturer were local or state.
I poked around in various stores & manufacturers concentrating on who had the greatest angle of fluke travel. Some brands had less fluke angle than others. I remember my old original Danforth fluke angle was small. I had alot of dragging problems then moved to the Fortress as a fix. The Danforth from Ideal had the most travel angle off the shank. This proved to have excellent holding power & no slippage in Florida sand & mud bottoms, even grass.
Add twenty five feet of stainless 1/2 inch chain (my C30) & this will keep the shank down. My old fortress was retired as my original galvanized chain laying against it in the well ate into the forging. I'll never use anything galvanized on my boat again.
A friend repaired the voids & powdercoated it white. It's now a floor conversation piece in my living room.
ps: Happy Thanksgiving to all.
CR
Delta
To answer your question if buying new anchor than yes for sure get the 35lb
Delta and I have a 35lb Delta on my H-36 and been very happy.
Going bigger is better for sure when things get bad and stuck out in that weather,my boat came with a 25lb Delta.
Check prices of the delta and Ronca and Mason and Mantus maybe or just stop
letting everyone of us from driving us crazy,but listen to all the other advice of how to anchor properly,look at Youtube or other web sites for good anchoring.
Nick
To answer your question if buying new anchor than yes for sure get the 35lb
Delta and I have a 35lb Delta on my H-36 and been very happy.
Going bigger is better for sure when things get bad and stuck out in that weather,my boat came with a 25lb Delta.
Check prices of the delta and Ronca and Mason and Mantus maybe or just stop
letting everyone of us from driving us crazy,but listen to all the other advice of how to anchor properly,look at Youtube or other web sites for good anchoring.
Nick
I've posted this before. I mean it as empirical evidence that Danforth's do not pull out so easily when pulled laterally. I don't know if the bottom where this was set would be considered sand or mud. The bottom that comes up with the anchor is black, smelly and somewhat granular. The anchorage is at Coecle's Harbor in Shelter Island.
Attachments
I remember you posting that picture before. It sure is a shame they only hold about as good as a "vinyl coated mushroom dink anchor," huh? Chief
She,
I've seen this before. Some causes could be because of current & sometimes trying to power the anchor loose under engine askew of a straight line pull. Danforths are not designed for these side loads.
If you have a stuck anchor, simply nose up into the wind and/or current to the anchor spot taking up slack as you approach. Get the anchor directly straight down off your bow, tie it off & wait. Make sure the line is taught & re-tighten if slack appears. It will break free. Don't try to power out as your prop rotation will spin your stern.
Any wave action, wakes & bobbing will eventually break it free without applying side pressure bending the shank.
CR
I've seen this before. Some causes could be because of current & sometimes trying to power the anchor loose under engine askew of a straight line pull. Danforths are not designed for these side loads.
If you have a stuck anchor, simply nose up into the wind and/or current to the anchor spot taking up slack as you approach. Get the anchor directly straight down off your bow, tie it off & wait. Make sure the line is taught & re-tighten if slack appears. It will break free. Don't try to power out as your prop rotation will spin your stern.
Any wave action, wakes & bobbing will eventually break it free without applying side pressure bending the shank.
CR
Best purchase I ever made was 45# Mantus to replace 35# Delta that came with my Hunter 41DS. The difference in anchoring is unbelievable. With the Delta it was always a problem to get it to set. With the Mantus I can just drop the anchor and it just sets by itself.
That's the problem with anchors made with poor quality steel. They bend like rubber.
Our Anchoring System For PNW Waters
Our boat came equipped with a 40# Danforth, 30 feet of 5/16" grade 40 chain and 250 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. When we first purchased the boat in 2002 I had some anchoring lessons to learn.
Those lessons have helped make what I consider to be a very effective anchoring system suitable for just about any occasion. Still have the 40# Danforth. Very effective in PNW waters. Also, still use a 20# kellet (lead down rigger ball). So, Belle-Vie now has 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain, 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon, another 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain and another 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. Each is connected to the other using a warp splice.
Typically I shoot for 25 feet of water to drop and set the anchor. Usually settle with a minimum of 110 to 140 feet of rode unless sour weather is in the forecast. A SS carabiner secures the kellet to the end of the first 50' segment of 5/16" chain. This helps with catenary.
Catenary is also the reason for alternating between chain-to-rope to chain-to-rope. This tip came from another seasoned sailor that seemed to make sense when lots of rode is needed for much deeper water and/or sour weather conditions.
In all the years of anchoring hundreds of times in PNW waters, one time the anchor did not hold and that was in a strong blow in Cortex Bay on Cortez Island, BC. It is a notoriously poor anchorage consisting of a thin layer of mud over hard shale. Needless to say even with 300 feet of rode, Belle-Vie at 35,000 pounds still moved about 100' that night.
Our Danforth resets when a wind shift occurs or when tide current changes. I have yet to experience a time when the Danforth did not reset itself. Perhaps there are other more modern anchor designs and styles, but as long as the Danforth does its job, I'm a happy sailor.
Our boat came equipped with a 40# Danforth, 30 feet of 5/16" grade 40 chain and 250 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. When we first purchased the boat in 2002 I had some anchoring lessons to learn.
Those lessons have helped make what I consider to be a very effective anchoring system suitable for just about any occasion. Still have the 40# Danforth. Very effective in PNW waters. Also, still use a 20# kellet (lead down rigger ball). So, Belle-Vie now has 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain, 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon, another 50' of 5/16" grade 40 chain and another 150 feet of 5/8" three strand nylon. Each is connected to the other using a warp splice.
Typically I shoot for 25 feet of water to drop and set the anchor. Usually settle with a minimum of 110 to 140 feet of rode unless sour weather is in the forecast. A SS carabiner secures the kellet to the end of the first 50' segment of 5/16" chain. This helps with catenary.
Catenary is also the reason for alternating between chain-to-rope to chain-to-rope. This tip came from another seasoned sailor that seemed to make sense when lots of rode is needed for much deeper water and/or sour weather conditions.
In all the years of anchoring hundreds of times in PNW waters, one time the anchor did not hold and that was in a strong blow in Cortex Bay on Cortez Island, BC. It is a notoriously poor anchorage consisting of a thin layer of mud over hard shale. Needless to say even with 300 feet of rode, Belle-Vie at 35,000 pounds still moved about 100' that night.
Our Danforth resets when a wind shift occurs or when tide current changes. I have yet to experience a time when the Danforth did not reset itself. Perhaps there are other more modern anchor designs and styles, but as long as the Danforth does its job, I'm a happy sailor.
Thanks to all
Thank you all for the recommendations and comments, have a lot of homework to do. I think I'll make a Bloody Mary and start my research.
Happy holidays to all.
Thank you all for the recommendations and comments, have a lot of homework to do. I think I'll make a Bloody Mary and start my research.
Happy holidays to all.
One thing about it Terry; we won't have to worry about our Danforths turning on their side! ha Chief