Replacement Anchor and rode

[Paulh]

Well, I lost my anchor and rode this weekend to the lake Gods. Need to replace. Do I go with a Danforth or Fortress? What weight? I was going to replace the line with 150' of 7/16" rope. How long a rode? I was thinking a 15 footer. Open for Suggestions I anchor mainly in mud and sand occasionally some underwater trees . Thanks for the help

 

[Paul H]

Forgot to mention my boat is a Hunter H26. Paul

 

[Paul Akers]

Replace it with what you had.

nm

 

[Paul H]

anchor loss

This is going to sound dumb but I really don't know what I had. Never took a real close look at it

 

[Jack h23.5]

Its simple..

Do not replace it with a fortress unless you want to lose that one on a tree also. I would use a good danforth type anchor, and a different style anchor as backup. I keep a 16 lb manta claw as my overnight anchor, a 9 lb danforth as my primary anchor, and a 4 lb claw as a lunch/beach hook. The danforth fits in my forward anchor locker, and the 4lb claw sits in the real lockers. I only carry the big claw when I'm overnighting.

 

[Craig Smith]

Why Danforth or Fortress?

Of course it depends on what sort of anchoring you do, but these are not good general purpose anchors.Any question like this is best anchored with a reference to last year's SAIL anchor testing...

 

[Landsend]

I really like the fortress

I've rarely had a situation where it didn't hold well. Especially with the mud paws and my wife loves the light weight. After all it's just a aluminum version of a danforth.

 

[Hugh4753]

Second the Fortress

I second Landsend on the Fortress. I seriously thought about changing to a Bruce or plow type but I like the lightweight of the Fortress and it's held me fine in 20-35 knot winds.

 

[JC on Bainbridge]

What do you mean by a 15 footer?

"How long a rode? I was thinking a 15 footer."Do you mean a 15' chain?If you have a 15' chain, and 150' of rope, then you have 165' of anchor rode.

 

[JC on Bainbridge]

Part 2, I would go with a Bruce anchor.

Not knowing what type of lake bottom you have, I would suggest a Bruce type anchor. I think they are a good anchor for most types of bottoms we have around here in the NW.

 

[Jack h23.5]

I was keying off the "trees" comment...

You don't want to use an expensive anchor like a fortress in an area of underwater logs. In sand and mud its great. Also a factor is storage. Only a danforth stores in my deck anchor locker. A bruce,plow,claw or any of the new designs will need a bow mount of sorts. I keep my 16 lb manta claw in a milkcrate below until needed. If I'm anchoring over construction junk, then I'll use a danforth knockoff.

 

[Wanderer138]

Danforth or Fortress

Both types hold well in mud and sand, are easy to stow and are relatively inexpensive. In addition, the H26 is not a heavy boat.The trees pose two problems; how do you know that the anchor is really set in the bottom and not hooked over a tree branch (and possibly let go during the night if the wind shifts) and what happens if the anchor snags in a branch and you can't retrieve it next morning? A trip line and an anchor buoy should solve that problem.If you don't want the hassle of a trip line, you can also try securing the chain to the head of the anchor, leading it back along the shank and tying it to the stock with light line. As long as the pull on the rode is in line with the stock, the light line will hold and the anchor behaves normally. However, if the anchor gets stuck, pull the boat up to it hand over hand until you are directly over the anchor, then pull hard. The vertical pull should break the light line and you can pull the anchor out by the head. Try it one afternoon in a clear area and see how it works. Good luck.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[JC2]

The first rule you need to know about ground tackle

The first rule you need to know about ground tackle is that size matters. In other words, the biggest you can handle is what you should have. For a lightweight 26 a Danforth/Fortress 13 is plenty of anchor. A rode of 1/2" would be fine. 150 ft gives you up to 25 or 30 ft of water. Be sure to provide a swivel shackle at each end of the chain lead and to wire all shackles against unscrewing.The other question is how small you can go. My H-25 came with an 8-lb Danforth which I now call the stern or backup anchor. The 13 is a pain to find a place for, but we don't use the v-berth so it's okay up there.Read the holding specs on the anchors. The proportionately strongest anchor is the one with the highest holding-power-to-weight ratio. Catalogues such as West Marine, Defender, and so on provide a wealth of info.JC 2