Best anchor for sandy bottoms?

[Wayloncle]

Good videos!
All I could think when you were putting the anchor together is, I'd probably be calling the police if some masked dude was at my Neigbors front door assembling some contraption.

 

[OUT ON THE REEF]

for me the fortress anchor is been the worse anchor i had purchase ,that just me i ques

 

[mraz72]

Lake ontario where I boat is mostly a sandy bottom with some mud in other places. I've tried a few different types of anchors and the Fortress has been the best one yet. The box anchor holds just as well as the fortress and the box anchor takes less scope BUT, it feels like you're pulling up 50 lbs when you drag that thing in.

The fortress weighs 4 lbs and the chain weighs 6 lbs, its much easier to handle. I threw it out in some pretty heavy winds (I think the forecast was 10 -30 mph) and it stuck no problem, held my boat in place. Since the weather was so bad and it was annoying, I didn't stay long so I can't comment on dragging, but it instantly stuck....

 

[jdonalds]

for me the fortress anchor is been the worse anchor i had purchase ,that just me i ques

I agree, although for sandy bottoms it is pretty good. The fortress/Danforth used to be the king of anchors but modern anchors are much better for all conditions.

 

[jdonalds]

Lake ontario where I boat is mostly a sandy bottom with some mud in other places. I've tried a few different types of anchors and the Fortress has been the best one yet. The box anchor holds just as well as the fortress and the box anchor takes less scope BUT, it feels like you're pulling up 50 lbs when you drag that thing in.

The fortress weighs 4 lbs and the chain weighs 6 lbs, its much easier to handle. I threw it out in some pretty heavy winds (I think the forecast was 10 -30 mph) and it stuck no problem, held my boat in place. Since the weather was so bad and it was annoying, I didn't stay long so I can't comment on dragging, but it instantly stuck....

You have the best lake bottom for a fortress. They are best in sandy bottoms. Once a fortress bites into a sandy bottom they hold very well. They do well in certain soft mud bottoms too. In many other cases though the fortress can be very difficult to set. In some situations they won't work at all.

I had a 30' sailboat with two fortress anchors, one bow and one stern. the bow anchor was a 20 pounder with about 20 foot of chain. There were times when I spent over an hour trying to get that thing to hook up. All too often it would drag. One time my family and I woke up at 3 in the morning to find the boat laying at a 45 degree angle. The anchor had dragged and the tide went out. We had to wait hours to get the boat off the bottom. I finally gave those anchors away to other boaters and switched.

Today I use a 25# Richter but if I had issues (which I don't) I'd switch to a Mantus. I follow several cruising videos on youtube and those that switch anchors switch to the Mantus these days. They will pay a lot for a Mantus, and pay a hefty postage bill to have it shipped to remote places. Watching test videos of a Manuts on youtube is pretty convincing.

 

[Coheeba]

I go to Shell Island for day trips and nice weather that being said, a Danforth or traditional fluke anchor with some chain and enough SCOPE is more than adequate. I like a Bruce anchor also. I have a typical fluke for a bower, that fits in the bow locker and a small fluke that I cut off the ears so its small enough to store in wet locker that I deploy by hand.

 

[waternutt]

a Danforth or traditional fluke anchor with some chain and enough SCOPE is more than adequate.

I think the scope has been my problem. I have a fluke anchor that came with the boat and I use a Shore Spike off the stern. I typically have issues getting the fluke to set, but when it does it seems to hold fine.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

t being said, a Danforth or traditional fluke anchor with some chain and enough SCOPE is more than adequate. I l

I prefer Lysterine orange but go with what you like.

 

[hobineros]

Just got me a fx7 for 84 bucks. Checked Mantus prices at well over 200 for a 13lb one, decided on the fortress as I only boat in sand. Jet.com is selling the fx7s for cheap- if u sign up today for a free account u save 15% jus thought I'd share , a penny saved is a penny earned

 

[waternutt]

Thanks for the tip. Unless I am doing something wrong, the price has gone up. They are listed ~120 right now.

 

[hobineros]

try this one https://jet.com/product/detail/ba3e...&clickid=e76d70e4-63ea-4474-807b-51f5a8dc85bf

 

[hobineros]

try this one https://jet.com/product/detail/ba3e...&clickid=e76d70e4-63ea-4474-807b-51f5a8dc85bf

JUST REALIZE THAT IT WAS A GUARDIAN AND NOT A FORTRESS. SUM B!TCH. LOL

Gotta go switch that and get my 15% off a FORTRESS. I think that's still a good deal

 

[maboat]

I am always a little leery of the box/slide anchor from the thought of kids stepping on it and such.

I've often thought the opposite. IF I'm going to step on an anchor (and I have ) I think I'd rather it be a Box than any other style.

 

[MattFX4]

JUST REALIZE THAT IT WAS A GUARDIAN AND NOT A FORTRESS. SUM B!TCH. LOL

Gotta go switch that and get my 15% off a FORTRESS. I think that's still a good deal

I have bought two of these. Best deal I could find on an anchor that fits our lockers perfectly. #9 600lb holding power for $29.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TIE-DOWN-ENGINEERING-Danforth-Standard-Anchor/29402672

 

[hobineros]

Got the fx7, had to trim off .5" of the slotted bar across the top. Fits like a glove now. Tried it in the sand Saturday. Hooked on first throw and held for 5 hours. Solid.

 

[waternutt]

For those of you that have the Fortress FX-7, what is the width of the flukes? The website has length but not width. The opening in my bow locker is only 10-1/2" wide.

I know I would need to trim the stock about an inch on both sides. Does that affect the performance of the anchor at all? What do you use to cut it?

 

[hobineros]

I honestly don't know why that top bar is so long, Must be so they can sell to more boats and then the owners trim to fit .

I used my cut off wheel then ground the edges down. Looks fine.

I think 10.5 might be pushing it for a fx7, I can't measure mine right now but my opening is full on a 242 and i only recall having small amount of bar left past the flukes. I'll measure tonight if no1 chimes in by then.

They do disassemble.... but that's annoying. Lol

 

[OUT ON THE REEF]

that boat looks like a Rocket ready to launch

 

[waternutt]

Well, I came across a deal I could not pass up. Jet.com is currently running a 25% off coupon, so I was able to pick up a Fortress FX-7 for $84. I guess I will give it a try.

 

[CraigAR]

I got the Yamaha 10lb. Anchor kit (danforth style) with my 17' ar240. I boat in Sandy and muddy bottoms here in swfl. My boat does not move even when I'm 50 yards off the beach in the gulf and the boat is a rocking from waves. Just remember to let out 4-5 times your depth in rope. Our system with myself and my boy is as follows:
1) I pick a spot that I want to anchor and check the depth.
2) Tell my boy to take out the anchor and set on the floor.
3) example depth, I tell him we're in 10' of water and I want him to take out 10 arm lengths of rope and then tie it off to the bow cleat.
4) I drive out 40 feet from our spot and have him drop anchor.
5) I put the boat in reverse moving slow and have him guide out the rope until it's all out from the tied cleat. At this point, I give the boat some reverse throttle and the anchor will catch and I can't power in reverse anymore.
6) kill engines you are now set.

To keep the stern from swinging, add an anchor to an opposite side stern cleat. If you do not want to get into the water when setting the stern, follow the steps above but add an extra 30' to the line. Toss the stern anchor out and tie it on the cleat with only 20' of line out. Go back to the bow anchor and untie it from the cleat and pull in that extra 30'. Doing this will now set your rear anchor. If you follow these steps YOUR BOAT WILL NOT MOVE.