Fortress anchor questions

[Russian007]

Any fans here? I have a 29' motor sailor and the light weight will make my windlass and back happy. Only $145. But, the literature implies this anchor should be stowed. I want to keep it on the deck in the mouth of my Ideal Windlass. Will it deteriorate if kept exposed to the elements? That light weight sure appeals, but is there a catch?

[Off Trail]

Fortress is a great anchor with high holding power for its weight. However, I'd not use it as a primary anchor across all conditions. The Danforth design is susceptible to breaking out, even tripping itself, if subject to reversing/veering.

Makes a great day anchor if you're not leaving the boat unattended. Also a great backup, emergency or storm anchor.

I wouldn't be worried about leaving it out in the weather, though.

[Shrew]

Danforth designs are great at holding in sand and mud in a single direction. They are great as a stern anchor or to use for Kedging. Fortress is particularly good at both of these because it can break down and be stowed and it's light weight.

They set poorly in grass or weeds.

They are prone to having the anchor chain foul the anchor in reversing winds or tides.

I wouldn't use one as a primary anchor.

[goboatingnow]

I have one as a kedge, Darnforth is one of my least favorite anchor patterns

The Spade pattern anchor is available in aluminum

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Russian007

Any fans here? I have a 29' motor sailor and the light weight will make my windlass and back happy. Only $145. But, the literature implies this anchor should be stowed. I want to keep it on the deck in the mouth of my Ideal Windlass. Will it deteriorate if kept exposed to the elements? That light weight sure appeals, but is there a catch?

We've use Fortress anchors over the years. They work very well, for our situation.... which is mud, usually ranging from soft to slime.

We've used one as primary, sometimes, but they haven't happened to have rested nicely on our bow rollers... simple because the angle of the dangle wasn't right, rollers weren't ever optimized for a Danforth-style anchor. More often, and because of that, we've used these as a secondary, stowed... simply because they stow so well.

No, they will not deteriorate if stowed on deck.

Putting one together takes a few minutes of yutzing around; if used as a primary I'd leave it all put together. Changing the fluke angle, if it's already put together, takes a few more minutes of yutzing around, essentially unbuilding first and then rebuilding.

I've read they don't do well in reversing currents; I know specifically that we've never had any issues with reversing currents... and I also know that retrieving a well-buried Fortress often indicates the anchor probably didn't reset directions nor did it need to. (Breaking one loose for retrieval can be a real chore.)

I have read they're difficult to set in grass or weeds, but haven't experienced that (that I know of).

I have read the lighter weight versions may have a tendency to "sail" in the water as they're deployed... and that this tendency may impact setting. No experience with that; the lightest we've used was an FX-23 and it didn't seem to do anything like that.

Steve on Panople has done extensive anchor tests, although I dunno if he's included some Fortress anchors in there. You might rummage around for that.

Several years ago now, Fortress did some "Chesapeake mud" tests and their published results were also written up in several boating magazines, should be easy to find that -- if mud is on your horizon.

-Chris

[Jubilee39]

I have carried a Fortress for over 20 years. FX 37 I think is the model anyway it is large. I have successfully kedged off with it but the occasions when I really needed it it storm conditions as a backup it failed to set even when I changed the fluke angle and tried physically driving it into the bottom. I would not be comfortable as a primary anchor.

[fourlyons]

The Danforth pattern anchor is a great holding anchor in mud and sand once set. They will handle a reverse pull as long as they don't foul, but that's the issue, they foul very easily. I gave up on them 25 years ago after having shells, rocks, beer cans, and sea grass all foul and prevent a reset.

There are much more dependable anchors available if you anchor in anything other than mud or clean sand.

We are cruising in New England right now, a few nights ago we were anchored in Cuttyhunk and watched a single hander try to reanchor on a Danforth or Fortress in the middle of the night, nine times, after a wind shift, in a rising wind, before giving up and leaving. Everytime the anchor came up you could see the big ball of eel grass.

I carry an FX-37 as a storm anchor back up.

[JBP]

You can keep it on deck without any issues, it's just that most people don't. They use their Fortress as a backup. Spade also makes a light weight aluminum anchor, but their 15 lb (for boats up to 9,920 lbs) is $689.

[rwidman]

The Fortress anchor is lightweight and they use that in their advertising, but the savings in weight seems insignificant to me when considering the weight of the chain that's normally attached to the anchor. The light weight and design of the anchor means it may tend to float to the bottom while the chain drops immediately. And if you are backing down on the Fortress, it may continue to float and not dig in properly.

It is nice that it can be taken apart and stored in a bag and one was included with my boat when I bought it along with a traditional anchor. The down side of taking the Fortress apart and putting it back together is, it takes two different sized wrenches.

I have used my Fortress anchor once in nearly 14 years and countless nights at anchor and that was an occasion where I had to use both a bow and a stern anchor because that was the custom where I was anchored. The water was barely deep enough to float my boat and I walked the Fortress out and stuck it in the bottom.

[Russian007]

So I ignored all the warning and got a Fortress FX-11. I am now the target if intense ridicule in my marina. One neighbor says he's "offended". Another said "It's an amazing engineering feat as there are an unprecedented number of failure points". My wife provided to Coup de grace saying "I thought it was a new wi-fi antenna".

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Russian007

So I ignored all the warning and got a Fortress FX-11. I am now the target if intense ridicule in my marina. One neighbor says he's "offended". Another said "It's an amazing engineering feat as there are an unprecedented number of failure points". My wife provided to Coup de grace saying "I thought it was a new wi-fi antenna".

Be comforted: the people in the marina that are mocking your anchor also aren't out there anchored. The fortress is a great anchor for many situations, and IMO it has the best holding in a light package of any anchor out there.
If you understand its limitations and can deal with them, you'll be fine.
Mine is used as a kedge and a storm anchor, and after hundreds of uses, it has never failed to give satisfaction.

[Fore and Aft]

We love our fortress anchor. We use ours for a stern anchor mainly. It's light enough so I can load it along with some chain into a kayak and one of our kids paddles it out to where I want it dropped.
Cheers

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by rwidman

The Fortress anchor is lightweight and they use that in their advertising, but the savings in weight seems insignificant to me when considering the weight of the chain that's normally attached to the anchor. The light weight and design of the anchor means it may tend to float to the bottom while the chain drops immediately. And if you are backing down on the Fortress, it may continue to float and not dig in properly.

It is nice that it can be taken apart and stored in a bag and one was included with my boat when I bought it along with a traditional anchor. The down side of taking the Fortress apart and putting it back together is, it takes two different sized wrenches.

I have used my Fortress anchor once in nearly 14 years and countless nights at anchor and that was an occasion where I had to use both a bow and a stern anchor because that was the custom where I was anchored. The water was barely deep enough to float my boat and I walked the Fortress out and stuck it in the bottom.

The light weight is a benefit for you and your back when you're schlepping it around to set it up and stow it!