Bruce vs Danforth.. Need some advise

[sailcrazy]

We used a Bruce for many years when in Asia, where there was lots of coral. When we got to the Medd, we switched to a Delta (softer bottom, often with weeds). And while we got a "set" about 75% on the first attempt, our cruising friends with a Ronca "set" every time! We "slipped" only once in a while.....and they NEVER slipped. I'd strongly suggest watching the videos of anchor tests, and then buy a Ronca, or a Mantus as suggested above. The test videos have convinced us to put the Bruce away.

[roverhi]

Manson Supreme or similar 'Spade' type anchor. They will dig in and hold in the widest variety of bottoms. The Bruce is a decent anchor but the relatively blunt shape isn't the best for cutting into/through bottom surface barriers like weeds or hard clay. The Bruce is an older design and, like the CQR, isn't state of the art in anchor technology. From my brief experience, the Bruce seems to be a fad anchor in the PNW. Never seen more of them on boats as there. Might attest to how well they work or just habit like the old followers of the CQR.

A 25# anchor would be adequate in almost all situations for a boat of your displacement. 35# anchor would be storm/survival hook, heavier anchor will be over kill and a back breaker if you don't have a windlass. Currently have a 35# Manson on 13,000# boat. Last boat had 45# CQR on 20,000# boat and it never let me down in 24/7 anchoring for a year and a half.

If you are looking at mud bottoms, a 20H Danforth or equivalent Fortress would suffice. My problem with a 20H Danforth in the Chesapeake was getting it out of the bottom. Had a couple experiences where I couldn't pull it out with two of us cranking on #40 sheet winches after a night of strong winds. Had to dive in, dig down to the anchor and pull it out backwards. The reset issue in hard bottoms after a radical change in tide or wind can be an issue but never was a problem in mud for me.

[ErikFinn]

Originally Posted by builder dan

Sailorchic is dead right,I have seen danforths with chain wrapped around them which have put boats up on the beach.I have a 33lb bruce on my 32 foot heavy steel yacht and it hasnt let me down yet I have dived on it and most times it is well buryedLast summer I anchored in 40 knots and it bit so hard it almost threw me on the deck.Danforths perform well in a straight pull but that doesnt happen very often in the real world.

Hi Dan, how much does your boat weigh please? I'm interested as I have genuine Bruce.

[Bleemus]

Get the 33 lb Bruce and a decent length of chain that is one size up from needed and you will sleep well.

[hsi88]

IMO, if you are in a hurry, go with what you have or borrow an anchor. Don't buy anchors from another era (plow/claw) because that is all you can buy today. There are modern anchors that test WAY better than those. When you have more time, buy a scoop type with a rollbar like the Mantus or Rocna. They test better and long term cruisers that have them rave about them.

Myself, I will stick with the Dansforth type I have until I travel more with the boat outside the Chesapeake.

[wolfesmy]

3. Things that will yield unending discussions politics, religion and anchors. That said bottom conditions will always be the main factor in your selection process.
On my 38 Morgan (18000#) I use a 45 # Manson and on my C+C 34 (12000#) I use a 33# Claw. You'll find on watching videos that the new modern anchors (Manson, Rocna, Mantis, etc ) will give you the most range of bottoms and reset the quickest.
Another "Rule" look at the manufacturers recommendations and go up one size.
Your anchor is your insurance. Even though modern anchors cost a little more it's worth the security of a good nights sleep. Of course there's always the other guy.

[hamburking]

Danforth needs a clean sand, clay or gravel bottom. If there's weeds, it just can't get to the bottom. So forget the danforth.

For a 29' sailboat, a 10kg bruce will work great. I used one on my P30 and the same on my H35.5 too. Rather than go heavier, add 10' of HEAVY chain. And carry an identical spare. If you lose the anchor, you'll have the spare, and if you are in a real big blow, anchor with two anchors. This is the system I use and it has worked for me for many years...I anchor a lot.

If you have the $$$ get a rocna. And a 10kg bruce. There is always the chance of losing the anchor, so one is not enough.

Get rid of that little danforth...its a toy. Use it for your dinghy at the beach.

[Don C L]

I think Noelex and Panope better chime in and put us out of our misery.

[dannc]

Get a keg or two of your beverage of choice, and go read/watch the Stickies, "Photos of Anchors Setting" by noele77 and "Videos of Anchors Setting" by Panope, in the Anchoring & Mooring - Cruisers & Sailing Forums anchoring forum.

Panope has a YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/flygoodwin/videos, which has quite a few interesting videos. His anchor test compilation is here,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l59f-OjWoq0

, and takes about 40 minutes to watch.

Later,
Dan

[barnakiel]

We have both anchors onboard and our boat is similar to yours so here are my thoughts:

Bruce (15kg / 33lbs) - is an excellent choice. We have ours on 30 meters (100ft) of 8 mm chain (5/16imp). Our rope is 160' of multiplait polyester rope. This is our bower now. Tested 2013/2014 on our Caribbean stunt. Sets well and holds great.

Danforth (12kg / 26lbs) - is another great choice. However, because of reported issues when veering the pull, we opted for it as our secondary rather than primary anchor. Chain is again 8mm but only 8m/26ft of it. This one held us very well in sustained 40 kts of wind plus gusts over very shallow waters of a Polynesian lagoon, so I give it top ranks too.

Our first anchor was a 12kg CQR. This one was horrible.

We also had a 10kg / 22lbs Bruce (copy) during our rtw adventure. It was flawless.

Our boat is 27 ft LOA and slightly over 8000 lbs at full load.

BTW You may discover that your choice is best dictated by what bottom type is predominant in your cruising area and then by what the chandlery stocks. There are very many very good modern anchors around so do not limit yourself to a Bruce/Danforth choice.

Cheers,
b.

[JPA Cate]

Given that the OP has said it must be one or the other, and no other, I think that probably the Bruce might be better for the bottoms he described. We used a genuine Bruce for a number of years. It's main failure mode was to pick up a rock in its palm and not set. However, one time, it came out all on its own, failed to re-set, and when we arrived back at the boat, she was thumping on the bottom. We did use it where there was weed around, but always tried to drop it in a sandy patch. Generally speaking, anchors don't like setting in heavy grass or weed.

Hold on to the little Danforth, though, as it will work well to hold the dinghy when you're off snorkeling.....assuming you live somewhere that's feasible. If you post your general location with your avatar, you can add that, so that people can evaluate your general situation before posting.

An afterthought. We still carry a #20 lb. Danforth HT. It has proved useful to add, on it's own separate rode, in bottoms where our Manson Supreme did drag, rather than digging in deeper.
Many people would, these days, use a Fortress, suitably sized, for what we still use our 40 plus yr. old Danforth. We have been fortunate in all these years to never have had a "clamshell" failure like Boatman 61's pebble, but quite aware of that as a failure mode.



Ann

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by ElCapt Drew

Hello all,

Unfortunately, I've found myself in need of a new anchor in short order. I know this subject has been beat to death, but I'm hoping I can get some opinions on my particular situation.

I have a 29ft foot sailboat, weighs about 7000lbs. The anchor that came with it was a 10ish pound danforth. I have found this to be far too small and in anything over 5-7kts I find I drag quite a bit.

I'm looking to buy an anchor that is going to be over kill.. I'm fairly new to sailing and am starting to do overnights on anchor and this anchor is just not cutting it.

I have the options of buying either a danforth or bruce anchor. Either in 33lb or 44lbs.

In my local area the bottom conditions are sandy/mud with lots of seaweed cover. The areas where I plan on visiting shortly are more muddy/clay with rocks.

Thoughts?

Go for the bigger Bruce and keep your Danforth for your Dinghy or as a Kedge.

[knockabout]

30 lb cqr

[Don C L]

Well, I dunno... you'd be amazed what that little 5lb Danforth can hold. I'm not recommending it for anything necessarily, but I had one once on a smaller boat as a stern hook. In the middle of the night a strong tidal current came up right on the beam.. That little anchor buried itself about 3 feet I bet. It refused to come out no matter how forcefully it was coaxed. I ended up breaking it. I got one with the 29 footer I have now and I can't bring myself to give it away. It is my firm belief that a Danforth (real one, I don't trust copies of anything) once well set with decent scope will never drag. But I agree, I'd only use it for a limited range of swing and not in weeds. And set in mud is like setting it in concrete, need a trip line. But take it all with a grain of salt, I hank on my headsails too.
(some may wonder why I didn't know there were tidal currents there... I wasn't in a channel, narrow bay or estuary... I was on an exposed stretch of coast... not expecting a longshore current like that)

[barnakiel]

Yep. Weed is bad. Kelp is a no no no.

Actually, maybe one could anchor a small boat by tying a rope onto a bunch of kelp ;-)

b.