Anchor selection help

My primary anchor is a Danforth 2 sizes up with 50" of chain. We generally anchor in soft mud and it has never failed us. We were anchored in the back bay during the Mothers Day storm about 3 years ago 70 mph gusts and sustained 60mph winds. I have an large enclosed hardtop and we held. It is a pain to clean off the muck but we have a set of washdown pumps rawwater and freshwater.
Bill
 
Yes an FX or danforth will held like Velcro but if winds had shifted before that storm you d have had to get it back up, clean it and reset it. During the storm...

On the Chesie, with some of the thunderstorms that you get and also with the current in some of the anchorages, I wouldn't use a danforth
 
"My AhHa moment involving Danforth type vs Bruce came one night some years ago rafted with another boat of similar size. He had a Bruce out with ample chain, I had a Fortress, also with ample chain, in a grass/mud bottom. Middle of the night squall brought a radical wind shift. Both anchors pulled. The Bruce turned & reset, holding both of us. The Fortress pulled, turned & just laid there, a lump of mud."

That doesn't surprise me. Fortress anchors aren't the greatest in grass. At least in their smaller sizes they just don't seem to have the body weight to penetrate grass easily.
 
Bought my replacement at Shop-A-Rama . . .$40 bucks. It ain't purdy, and we lake boat, if it gets snagged on a log I bet I cut it loose and go buy another one :) I missed a real opportunity this fall. My buddy was reeling in his houseboat anchor and snagged a lost anchor with his. . .he dumped it before I could . . . . . thought I had an extra there for a second.
 
I had mostly Danfords before our last 2 boats, which had real Bruce anchors from the factory and they were most often set it and forget it. I had good use with an oversized CQR on our old 33 Cruisers express.

Or last boat and present with the Bruce’s had all chain rode. Our current boat has a 66lb Bruce and I have a high comfort level with it – we do have a small FX as backup or used as a stern anchor when backed to some beaches we go to. If I ever had to cut the Bruce free I think I will try a Rocna, but I’m into hurry to have to do it
 
As much as I agree with the fact that an anchor is not where you want to cut corners and save a few bucks, a 154lbs Rocna is listed at $2359 in the WM catalog vs the $450 I paid for the 176 lbs Bruce . That a big difference worth taking into account and again in my experience (probably 150 sets and even more resets in the last 12 months) the damn thing just works!
 
Yeah, different anchors for different situations. On my recently sold 32' workboat, that I used for snorkeling & sightseeing charters, I had a Fortress FX16 with about 20' of chain. It had to be light. Armstrong winch. Some days would see 6 or 8 anchorings. Sometimes I could get away with a 5# Bruce by the stern when anchoring in a very protected spot & I was feeling very lazy. I also have grapnels. A little tiny one & a big one. Found an old Danforth, the type with the rounded flukes. Must be more than 40#. Too big for normal cruising use for me but bet it would hold my boat almost as good as my mooring in a storm.
 
Thanks for all the info and help. I am now realizing part of the problem is that the 3 different anchors I have now all seem to be undersized. Anchor #1 is a danforth S1600, anchor #2 is a FOB HP 16 or 17 kg, and anchor #3 is an SL Claw 15 kg. I can't find much info on the FOB, does anyone know anything about that one? Which of these 3 would be best for a backup? As for my new one I'm leaning toward an S3000 danforth or a larger claw. Would the 66 lb be enough? I would like to stay under $500 if I could. The new wash down system I want to add is a whole other topic. The other 2 will be for sale if anyone is looking.
 
Yes those anchors are a bit small for primary anchors on that size boat. I would say 66 lb anchor would be a good choice.

For your area, and if you are shopping price, I would go with a Danforth style, Fortress or SuperMax. If you go with the Danforth style, be careful of which one you get. The cheap knockoff ones have build quality and geometry issues. I'd also suggest looking around for a used one to even save so more cash.

You should keep at least one of the anchors you now have as a secondary/stern anchor. With it's own rode and chain of course. I'd consider keeping the FOB anchor. Light, adjustable, easy to stow and it seems to have nice wide flukes for good holding power in the bottom types found in your area.
 
quote:
Originally posted by caltexfla

For the Chessie, it is hard to beat a Danforth or Fortress. Does great with the mud goop there. I too use a Delta and have done so happily on the Chessie, as well as the rest of the eastern seaboard, but I always think about switching to the spare Danforth there, just never get around to it. My boat had a 60HT Danforth as the primary when I bought it in Baltimore and I used it on our maiden cruise around the Chessie and down to NC; held extremely well and we anchored every night. The only reason I switched is because we were headed for a lot of reversing current situations further south. I know a lot of guys who swear by the Supermax for soft mud, no direct experience other than a couple of nights up in Nova Scotia on a buddies boat, an extremely experienced sailor and boater who really liked it.
Anyway. if I were to be based in the Chessie, I'd put the Danforth back on.

BTW ranger, we anchored in Selby Bay for two days of a rotten Nor'easter about 3 years ago (had the Delta by then). Nice area, but the weather was so bad we never put the dinghy in the water.

Click to expand...


Sorry for late response... holidays :)

You'll have seen Selby Bay isn't very well protected, in the grand scheme of things. Harness Creek on the other side of the river is better, as are several of the other creeks further upstream.

-Chris
 
Chris, it was fine for the conditions we were in, we were pretty far back behind Long Point and the winds were mostly North. We stayed cozy, I probably was outside twice, once to set the anchor and once to pull it up. If the winds had a more easterly bent, we would have gone elsewhere. Just like to enjoy that little area in fair weather some time; it's in "the plan".
 
At least nobody suggested a stainless steel anchor or worse, stainless steel chain.

My anchor is a claw (I suspect it's not a "real" Bruce). It was on the boat when I bought it and it has never failed me (yet). I boat in an area with reversing tides and current so anchoring well is pretty critical.
 
This type of thread seems to come up once in a awhile. My two cents.

I've been boating in the Pacific Northwest for many years now. Up here we have a conbination of just about all bottom conditions fron sand, grass,mud and rock. We anchor out at least 95% of the time so a good anchor is very important to me. I've tried them all from the Danforth, Delta, Bruce and CQR. All have had problems from dragging to never getting it to set. Once I ended up 10 feet from a public dock when the wind came up during the evening. I got into the habit of during the evening getting up every few hours to check on the boats position. I also had the GPS and depth alarms set. There had to be a better way!!

Then one day walking down the dock I saw a guy working on his boat that some kind of funny looking anchor I've never seen before. He told me it was a "SuperMax" and he had very good luck with it. Found it on the internet and ordered out the adjustable one. One of the first places I went to was a park near Port Townsend with a narrow enterance and mooring bouys. All of them were taken. I dropped the hook down and it set immediantly. After several hours the tide changed cuasing a strong current that was enough to turn the prop. The rode was very tight but the anchor held.

We were anchored by some island in the Gulf Islands one day with about four other boats. The wind came up and they all dragged. I didn't. They left. I stayed. I've been using this anchor now for about nine years. I had an area in the log book about anchoring conditions in the places we have been. Some using the old anchor I never was able to get a set. I no longer have that as this anchor just seems to work every time. I no longer get up in the middle of the night. At last, a good night sleep when on the boat. And now that I think of it I haven't been setting the GPS alarm. Dumb, I've got to start doing that again. It's just this anchor has never failed me.

So take a hard look at the SuperMax. It's always the first thing I buy when I get a different boat.

Dave N
 
quote:
Originally posted by caltexfla

Chris, it was fine for the conditions we were in, we were pretty far back behind Long Point and the winds were mostly North. We stayed cozy, I probably was outside twice, once to set the anchor and once to pull it up. If the winds had a more easterly bent, we would have gone elsewhere. Just like to enjoy that little area in fair weather some time; it's in "the plan".

Click to expand...


Well I can see most of Selby Bay from our bridge when in our slip... and there's a German restaurant nearby... so give a shout and we'll probably be able to find a beverage or two :)

-Chris
 
quote:
Originally posted by Wingspar

This type of thread seems to come up once in a awhile. My two cents.

I've been boating in the Pacific Northwest for many years now. Up here we have a conbination of just about all bottom conditions fron sand, grass,mud and rock. We anchor out at least 95% of the time so a good anchor is very important to me. I've tried them all from the Danforth, Delta, Bruce and CQR. All have had problems from dragging to never getting it to set. Once I ended up 10 feet from a public dock when the wind came up during the evening. I got into the habit of during the evening getting up every few hours to check on the boats position. I also had the GPS and depth alarms set. There had to be a better way!!

Then one day walking down the dock I saw a guy working on his boat that some kind of funny looking anchor I've never seen before. He told me it was a "SuperMax" and he had very good luck with it. Found it on the internet and ordered out the adjustable one. One of the first places I went to was a park near Port Townsend with a narrow enterance and mooring bouys. All of them were taken. I dropped the hook down and it set immediantly. After several hours the tide changed cuasing a strong current that was enough to turn the prop. The rode was very tight but the anchor held.

We were anchored by some island in the Gulf Islands one day with about four other boats. The wind came up and they all dragged. I didn't. They left. I stayed. I've been using this anchor now for about nine years. I had an area in the log book about anchoring conditions in the places we have been. Some using the old anchor I never was able to get a set. I no longer have that as this anchor just seems to work every time. I no longer get up in the middle of the night. At last, a good night sleep when on the boat. And now that I think of it I haven't been setting the GPS alarm. Dumb, I've got to start doing that again. It's just this anchor has never failed me.

So take a hard look at the SuperMax. It's always the first thing I buy when I get a different boat.

Dave N

Click to expand...


My experience with the SuperMax has been good. I've never even had to change the adjustment from the middle setting. There's a guy named Cap'n Wil who did a lot of anchor testing for hurricane preperations in the slime down in one of the Carolinas. (That's just a description of the holding grounds, not meant as a slur.) He gave favorable reviews. Should be easy enough to find his results on the 'net somewhere...

-Chris
 
Chris, all I can do is offer what my experiences have been.

The only negitive I've had if you can all it one is that when anchoring in a muddy bottom and staying there for three or more day retrieving the anchor can be a real challange. It seems to want to go to China.

Using a trip line whould probably make it much easier.

Dave N
 
quote:
Originally posted by Wingspar

Chris, all I can do is offer what my experiences have been.

The only negitive I've had if you can all it one is that when anchoring in a muddy bottom and staying there for three or more day retrieving the anchor can be a real challange. It seems to want to go to China.

Using a trip line whould probably make it much easier.

Dave N

Click to expand...


Indeed. We've had that "China" experience, too.

A trip line gives other folks a clue where your anchor is, too.

-Chris
 
That brings up an issue with anchors that depend on a lot of weight as part of their formula (Rocna, Bruce, even the Delta etc). You might love them, right up to the day the windlass breaks.
 
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