Is my anchor adequate

Bill Roosa · Aug 21, 2017

My 40 lb delta has held in 70+ knot winds. It was properly set in mud. Does great in mud, ok in sand and have not tried rock but bet it either gets stuck and holds or does not hold at all. Your best bet if you have different types of bottoms is to have anchors to sute.

jssailem · Aug 21, 2017

Rocna is made on your side of the world and has many fans. What ever anchor you choose follow the recommendation of the manufactures for your size of boat and then step up one if you expect to be anchoring in challenging conditions. There are a few good youtube videos showing anchor comparisons.
My research of the subject has me choosing a spade 80 or 100 anchor (Galvanized) for my CAL 35ft 7800 kg boat. I am pretty sure with 15 meters of chain and 60-70 meters of rode I will be safe in most conditions faced in my waters (Pacific NW).

Stu Jackson · Aug 21, 2017

Here is a lot of information for you to make your own informed choice. Good luck.

Anchoring 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2705.0.html

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) & Why Swivels are a bad idea http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4990.msg30400.html#msg30400

Steve’s Anchoring 101

The Rocna. All 20kg of it with 100ft of chain. The rest of the world can debate all they like. When I pull into a place like Bodega Bay at midnight and the fog is so thick I can't see the jetty 50 feet away to make an entrance, I drop my hook in the rolling ocean swells with the surf crashing (Foster says it's like staying in a cheap Best Western beside the highway), and I sleep. And in the morning I have a windlass to pull the beast up and I wouldn't trade it for anything. (I also wouldn't add more chain - this works perfectly in 25 to 30 feet of water - you let all the chain out and you tie off nylon at the preferred scope and don't bother with snubbers and chain hooks and all that stuff...)

This was our best upgrade.

jviss · Aug 21, 2017

Well, you could look at Lewmar's and Rocna's anchor sizing charts, which would be a good start. The CQR: more than adequate. the Rocna, more info needed - what is your boat's displacement?

jeepbluetj · Aug 21, 2017

I have a CQR copy that came with the boat. If you look at my anchor roller there's a Mantus. I was not impressed at all with the CQR. It liked to drag, was horrible in weed (common here), and that dang swivel was fantastic at pinching fingers. That swivel even makes it hard to use as a mailbox post (which would be a good use for a CQR)

The Mantus, OTOH, has stuck like glue every time I've used it. It weighs less, sticks better, and doesn't smash my fingers.

New gen anchors _are_ better. Stu's links show why.

SG · Aug 21, 2017

We have a 65# CQR with (essentially) an all chain rode as our primary anchor.

We've also a Fortress 50 and smaller Fortress which has never seen water (other than a hose).

Our CQR isn't so great in very SOFT MUD -- but otherwise I've been happy with it.

I looked at the new generation ROCNA and such, They recommend a much heavier anchor and have a higher profile that would interfere with our sprit pole. If we went to an 85# CQR, I have little question it would hold, too. ;^)))).

I think the Practical Sailor tests have shown that # for # their are better testing anchors than the CQR or it's brother, the Delta; however, I wouldn't change.

The Shadow Knows · Aug 22, 2017

SG,

I had a Fortress anchor (21/22 LB.) for several years & I didn't like it. If it didn't drop straight down while carefully controlling the rode for no slack, it could lay on its side. Add wind or current & if the bow rolled off abit before it dug in, many times the anchor lay on it's side & dragged, then I had to do it all over again.

I also discovered that is didn't hold well in grass or harder type bottoms. I got tired of this & got a good Danforth. I had the Fortress powdercoated white & placed it in one room on the floor in a corner. I never had problems with it dragging along the rug.
I got tired of looking at it & gave it away free last year.

Alansails · Aug 22, 2017

I will add to the debate, When we bought our boat it came with a Danforth, we immediately bought a Manson Supreme and enjoy sleeping well, we have also added more chain than what is recommended.

Parsons · Aug 22, 2017

Like most things on a boat, "adequate" is a balance of your risk tolerance and cost/weight. So @Jack999000 , if you're "wondering" I think you know the answer! Think of your bed and your loved one hanging off the side of a tall cliff by a single chain attached at the top with a small bit of metal. That is what you are doing when you anchor and go to bed at night. How much are you willing to pay for the quality of that bit of metal and the rode? In the scheme of securing your life, the anchor and rode does not cost much. I chose a Rocna (a coin flip with Manson Supreme) and sleep better. Remember that the light displacement (9 tons) is probably only 75-90% of the true displacement of your yacht fitted-out for cruising. Just for day sailing, you probably have, literally, a ton of stuff (200 liters of water and 100 liters of fuel, to begin). If you have not had it weighed lately, ask the hoist operator the next time you do.

Gunni · Aug 22, 2017

I also inherited a SL CQR knock-off, and having lots of anchoring experience in the Chesapeake mud went looking for a replacement. Threw a modest Fortress on in the meantime as a backup/kedge. Settled on a 27kg Manson Supreme (Rocna was in a food-fight at the time). The new gen anchors really do hook and stay hooked better. And heavy anchors also come with an added feature - larger fluke area. The SL CQR is for sale, cheap.

py26129 · Aug 22, 2017

Check out the SV Panope channel on youtube. Steven tests anchors for setting and resetting performance. he is not paid by any of the manufacturer. I bought a Mantus partly based on its performance in this video.

There is a reset testing video for the Rocna as well.

Cheers

Matt

Fortress · Aug 24, 2017

The Shadow Knows said:
SG,

I had a Fortress anchor (21/22 LB.) for several years & I didn't like it. If it didn't drop straight down while carefully controlling the rode for no slack, it could lay on its side. Add wind or current & if the bow rolled off abit before it dug in, many times the anchor lay on it's side & dragged, then I had to do it all over again.

Sorry to hear that your Fortress anchor did not perform well for you. I am trying to figure out how the anchor ever "laid on its side"?

Chief RA · Aug 24, 2017

Basically a Fortress style anchor has no definitive "side" to lie on. Chief

jeepbluetj · Aug 24, 2017

It'd be interesting to understand how a Danforth performed better than a Fortress, as they're very similar in their design, other than steel vs alum. But the advantage to the design isn't weight, it's how the flukes jam into the seabed.

I also get this image in my head of a Fortress on it's side: stock stuck into the seafloor and the flukes vertical.....

Ron20324 · Aug 24, 2017

Fortress anchors tend to "float" in the current or when backing up. If let to settle onto & into the bottom, they can be satisfactory. "Just ask the U.S. Navy", as the ad goes.

SG · Aug 24, 2017

My view of the Fortress's issue is that it's relatively light compared to it's projected area. So if you try to back down on it on a kelpy, grassy, or harder sand bottom, it tends to skid before really digging in.

I think that backing down slowly, understanding the bottom type, etc. would make a lot difference.

IN a muddy bottom, a Fortress would be really good, once you set it.

The Danforth, in my opinion, is somewhat easier to set because it is heavier compared to its projected area. It is heavier.

Chief RA · Aug 24, 2017

Fortress is monitoring this discussion, obviously. With that in mind, I find this a great opportunity to encourage them to give us the option of a steel or aluminum anchor. I will not buy an aluminum anchor no matter what is said. I had a large and light Fortress style aluminum anchor and it was not even reliable enough to even serve as a backup! I gave it away! Chief

jssailem · Aug 24, 2017

With anchors as with so many boat issues it seems everyone wants the magic one that will hold their boat everywhere and all the time so they can go down to the bunk and sleep like a baby.

It just ain't going to happen.

I watched the Fortress promo videos testing theirs and others in similar conditions and in they were impressive. But change the conditions say in a Pacific NW kelp bed over a rocky bottom and the results are likely to be different.

As a boat owner you are faced with juggling multiple conditions with the compromised equipment you have selected and may find you will be sleepless sometimes.

So choose wisely.

Then deal with it.
And yes it would seem a choice of a Fortress in galvanized steel might be interesting.

Rick · Aug 24, 2017

Jack it has been interesting to watch the evolution of this thread. Haha, we sailors tend to wander here just like on the water. I have a Hunter 420. Went to several anchor sizing charts. For local anchoring, day hook, etc, yours is more than adequate. If you are going to be remote where your tackle is the fate of your boat, then you are undersized by about 5 kg as you mentioned for "cruising" tackle. I recently purchased the Mantus 55 lb and the Mantus s2 swivel which was rated for my boat. I have all chain rode. It is the most impressive anchor I have ever seen as far as easy and sturdy for a good nights sleep, and it sets before the wind can grab the bow.

Good luck

Is my anchor adequate

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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