What a difference 4 years make
Noelex,
I post your comments from above. This the first quote.
I then post some comments from a thread on another forum of 4 years ago. You were much milder in your ability to condemn either Danforth or Fortress then and you, I think, agree that genuine Danforths are like hens teeth in the Med. You seldom if ever see, or I do not recall your ever reporting seeing, a Fortress as the primary anchor in the Med, or anywhere you have been.
So on what evidence do you have that supports your repeated condemnation of both brands.
Noelex
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Quote:
Originally Posted by manyboats
Noelex how often do you think a Fortress would be likely to fail?
In most cases an anchor that develops a high list like the Danforth/Fortress when changing direction will reset in the new direction without any problems. However, it is very disconcerting to see an anchor with very little grip on the bottom as it rotates. A gust at the wrong time, when the anchor is rotating, will see the anchor sliding backwards.
Underwater, I see Fortress/Danforth anchors develop this high list with minimal grip of the flukes quite frequently. In most cases the anchor will reset without the skipper realising there is a problem. Occasionally a gust at the wrong time will see the anchor dragging. Once moving an anchor is unlikely to grip again. This is a much greater problem in strong wind.
In practice, the dragging problems with a change of direction of pull are only infrequent, but observing underwater, the difficulty of these anchors rotating are very common and obvious. They are much worse than most anchors when changing direction.
If there is risk of a significant change in the direction of pull, I don't consider the Danforth/Fortress anchor a good option. This must be weighed against the extraordinary holding power of the Danforth/Fortress in medium/soft substrates when the direction of pull is constant.
The idea is to maximise the attributes of the anchor.
As a secondary anchor the direction of pull tends to be constant. The very high holding power of the Fortress anchor for the weight make it the best secondary anchor available, hence its popularity in this role.
As a primary anchor I think there are better alternatives.
Happy new year everyone.
end quote
quote:
DogWatch
20-12-10, 00:11
I haven't.
I have anchored all kinds of craft with Danforth type anchors, (mainly in sand or mud on the west coast admittedly). I have anchored large MFV in 30m in bouncy conditions all day, I have anchored yachts, angling boats, dinghies you name it, deep water, shallow water, vertical rope rode depths at times; Until I took over my current boat I always use(d) a danforth with a usual rule of thumb, 1ft in length to 1lb of anchor.
As far as I am aware I have never dragged the anchor, never broken out without a reset, never lost the boat on a danforth.
This whole debate is turning into lazy speak,
Jaguar X type, just a mondeo
Catamaran, will capsize
Danforth, will not reset if you more than sneeze on board.
I have a Delta for every day use but have a big F-OFF danforth on the fordeck that I have used occasionally with great satisfaction and security.
So has anyone any real life experience of losing grip completely with a danforth style, or is this more media hype?
Salty John
20-12-10, 09:15
The Danforth is a good anchor in mud, it's the anchor of choice on Chesapeake Bay, for instance, which is all mud. You have to get the right size, about a pound a foot; note that the makers recommend lighter anchors for a given boat size than that.
Woodlouse
20-12-10, 09:59
I've seen Danforths where after a wind shift the stock has bent rather than the anchor breaking free. I believe the combination of size, weight and holding power is quite difficult to beat, and it stows flat.
noelex
20-12-10, 12:22
I often snorkel around the anchors of yachts anchored near me.
To watch them rotate when there is a new wind direction is always interesting (at least to me).
The Danforth anchor sometimes breaks during this rotation. It seems to pivot on the long stock tipping the anchor at a large angle and breaking it out. It will not always do this, but often enough to be of concern. I have not yet formed any conclusions under what circumstances (bottom type etc) makes the anchor more prone to this behavior.
This observation does agree with reports of Danforforth anchors breaking out on large wind or tide shifts. It is often stated this breakout occurs because the rode catches under the stock. This is also a possible mechanism, but generally, if well set, the stock is buried and I personally do not think this is a frequent cause of the problem.
I am interested if the Fortress exhibits the same behavior. I own a Fortress as kedge, but it is a little too small to be used as a main anchor (it does have very good holding power however). There is some evidence that the Fortress breaks out much less often, but unfortunately there are not many Yachts in the Med that use this as there main anchor and I have only managed to observe them occasionally rotating. I have not observed them breaking out, but the sample size is too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
ChrisE
20-12-10, 12:52
I haven't.
So has anyone any real life experience of losing grip completely with a danforth style, or is this more media hype?
My 23' fishing boat has a Danforth as its main anchor and yes it has broken out in strong currents and deep water (I often anchor in 100+ ft) especially with a fair chop. That said, it holds better than its predecessor, a delta.
I anchor where yachts would probably not choose to, in places such as reefs and rips, which is where the fish live. Perhaps of more interest is that I've never had the anchor pull out on a tide change.
If you look at charter fishing boats most have danforths, certainly in the IoW and surrounds.
So, in sum, I'd agree that the danforth is under-rated.
electrosys
21-12-10, 14:19
I've seen Danforths where after a wind shift the stock has bent rather than the anchor breaking free.
This is a good point - people talk about Danforths as if they are all of the same quality - which they're not. I've seen some Danforth-pattern anchors in which the stock was made from steel which was far too thin, as were the flukes. Cheap and nasty. They just looked like anchors.
RobHom
23-12-10, 02:18
I don't use a standard Danforth....but rather a "Fortress" danforth style anchor:
http://www.fortressanchors.com/fortress_anchors.html I can honestly say that this anchor has never "dragged"...I have set it in sand, hand bottom and even hard clay... But then the Fortress anchors are engineered differently than standard danforths.
My other anchors are CQR's...and they are quite good...but I still tend to favor my Fortress....
