What is this on my bowpulpit?
- Thread starter 4lane
- Start date
Yes! I figured it was some sort of anchor holding bracket. Is it specific to a particular brand's fortress anchor or generic to any fortress style anchor?
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,821
Fortress is a specific brand of anchor.
The anchor has a specific plate on the side. It will fit in your holder.
The anchor has a specific plate on the side. It will fit in your holder.
I couldn't remember "danforth" ... gettin' old. FYI my boat came with two of those little deals, makes it handy to keep the bower off the deck... but... beware... mounting it so the anchor's STEM points UP.. can be a threat to you spinnaker sheets.... ask me how I know. heh, heh. Also, I wouldn't recommend stowing the anchor in the bracket with the chain attached... the racket is annoying... for that matter, even with nothing attached the stem will bounce around, banging on the railing. So tie it off with some short stuff or something. The best thing about this type of anchor, probably why it's so popular, is it is very lightweightl. Easy to handle, though it can be difficult to set is some conditions. Around here it seems to fill the bill.... Catalina is a bit more challenging though. But heck, I only know of one place you can anchor there, the rest moorings managed by Cat Island Co.
Back to the bracket, it can be mounted so the anchor is stem up or down.... one way the anchor "hangs", the other it "stands". You'll have to experiment. I found hanging to be less noisy and you can leave the chain attached and tied off to a cleat or stanchion for security. Leave it mounted while bebopping around your area, but stow it away for the longer trip. That said, the hanging method looks goofy, for lack of a better description, and you will run the risk of snagging things with the horizontal cross piece. Just be aware of that.
The reason the Fortress is so cool, besides being light weight aluminum, (and more expensive, I guess) is that it is easily broken down and reassembled so it can be stowed in the locker or somewhere else until it's neeeded. My two danforths were the cheapo's that don't dismantle as easily, and a little heavier because they're steel...but..I don't anchor out that often....so I kept one hanging on a pulpit, stanchion, the other standing on a pushpit stanchion. The chain and rode for both are kept in a handy 5 gallon container with a hole in the bottom for drainage that allows me to tie the bitter end to the boat, just in case. I also have a lanyard to secure the kit on deck. The boat has an anchor locker connected to the deck with a hawspipe, access is in the vee berth... so obviously, the previous owners found that inconvenient and devised this method. It actually works pretty well, even though there's no windlass. A few years back WM had the Rockna on sale so I got the 22 pound size.... a far cry from the light weight danforths I'd been used to... Even though it's a challenge to this 79 year old body sometimes, I really love that anchor! I feel so secure ....it has set and held reliaby so far in it's limited use. I bought an anchor roller from Garhaurer that's beautiful..... but have never figured out how I want it mounted with the limited space up there.... and the anchor's design required the unit to protrude out over the bow quite a bit.... I got headaches trying to figure out how I can mount it....so... I've found a good place to keep the awkward beast till I need it. I keep everything under the vee berth, when I'm ready I'll access the anchor and tackle bucket through the foredeck hatch... so far so good, no headaches, heh, heh. Geez... another long story. sorry about that. Have fun.
Back to the bracket, it can be mounted so the anchor is stem up or down.... one way the anchor "hangs", the other it "stands". You'll have to experiment. I found hanging to be less noisy and you can leave the chain attached and tied off to a cleat or stanchion for security. Leave it mounted while bebopping around your area, but stow it away for the longer trip. That said, the hanging method looks goofy, for lack of a better description, and you will run the risk of snagging things with the horizontal cross piece. Just be aware of that.
The reason the Fortress is so cool, besides being light weight aluminum, (and more expensive, I guess) is that it is easily broken down and reassembled so it can be stowed in the locker or somewhere else until it's neeeded. My two danforths were the cheapo's that don't dismantle as easily, and a little heavier because they're steel...but..I don't anchor out that often....so I kept one hanging on a pulpit, stanchion, the other standing on a pushpit stanchion. The chain and rode for both are kept in a handy 5 gallon container with a hole in the bottom for drainage that allows me to tie the bitter end to the boat, just in case. I also have a lanyard to secure the kit on deck. The boat has an anchor locker connected to the deck with a hawspipe, access is in the vee berth... so obviously, the previous owners found that inconvenient and devised this method. It actually works pretty well, even though there's no windlass. A few years back WM had the Rockna on sale so I got the 22 pound size.... a far cry from the light weight danforths I'd been used to... Even though it's a challenge to this 79 year old body sometimes, I really love that anchor! I feel so secure ....it has set and held reliaby so far in it's limited use. I bought an anchor roller from Garhaurer that's beautiful..... but have never figured out how I want it mounted with the limited space up there.... and the anchor's design required the unit to protrude out over the bow quite a bit.... I got headaches trying to figure out how I can mount it....so... I've found a good place to keep the awkward beast till I need it. I keep everything under the vee berth, when I'm ready I'll access the anchor and tackle bucket through the foredeck hatch... so far so good, no headaches, heh, heh. Geez... another long story. sorry about that. Have fun.