Fortress Anchors

Last year I messed up and threw my anchor and my anchor buddy away, by not attaching it to my boat and throwing it out like it was attached to my boat "By By" (I felt like such a jack ass) LOL. I had attached the floating ball to the boat but the anchor was not attached to the floating ball. So I needed a new anchor and I was already at West Marine so I did some shopping. I used to have one of the plastic coated steel hook anchor’s that everyone has it worked well. So while anchor shopping I come across the Fortress anchor. Its all lightweight and trick looking and breaks down for storage (although I cant see using this feature) it’s very well made and is super light. But here is the best part, it says right on it "Worlds Best Anchor" LOL so a $100 buck's later and I can now saw I own the worlds best anchor. But serious it’s real nice. Ill snap some pick’s of it http://www.fortressanchors.com/

That's a funny story... Every time I anchor, I worry about doing that.

a few years ago, I threw my anchor out and it dragged and dragged and finally caught on something. ...Later... I tried to pull it back in. Couldn't. We ran the boat forward and I was able to barely pull the anchor back up. It took all of my muscle and my brother's help to extract this thing back out. So I finally get it up, and it had caught someone's abandoned anchor, all rusted, so I set the anchor on the bow and proceeded to cruise back to the dock with my new found anchor. As I'm cruising, I keep hearing this clunking sound on the bottom of the hull So I stop to inspect. Well, the new anchor had a rope with something heavy attached to it that was still in the water hanging off the bow. So I pull it in. Some dip-stick had attached a 1/2HP electric motor (40lbs) to his cast iron anchor (15lbs). So, that day I got an extra anchor and a 1/2HP motor. No wonder why he gave up on pulling it back in. And no wonder why it was so difficult to drag my anchor back up the 50 feet. So I threw the extra motor in the dumpster and saved the extra anchor.

On a side note, I have a friend who does some scuba diving. He told me to never anchor under a bridge. He says the river bed under bridges is like a junk yard of Rebar, scrap iron and construction debris. In addition, there are plenty of abandoned anchors tangled up in the mess.

Those look like pretty cool anchors, Grant. Is it made out of aluminum?

I have done the same thing. (I have thrown anchor and dragged up someone's mushroom style anchor) Yes the anchor is a aluminum & mag mix. Check out their website for the exact make up.

The thing about this anchor is its super light. It seems like 1/2 the weight of the traditional anchor. Seeing as how I make my wife get the anchor almost everytime Im sure she will like it. LOL

Grant I will do you one better, I did the same thing but to make matter worse I had Just bought the Ancor and ancor buddy so it had never even been in the water, I thought that I had snaped onto the ring but I did not snap on. so same feeling By By. Of course we were at Shasta and it was almost dark so I had to figure out something else for an entire week since again it was the first day up....

Grant now isn't that a funny story, at Shasta when it happened and his first day up, sound familiar?

Grant, that anchor you're looking at is horrible for soft terrain.

Get the one that looks like a spider. It works in rock, sand, mud, anything. I'll see if I can find a picture.

Here ya go. This is what I use. So far it's held at lakes and the delta in high winds.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/246994/0/0/Anchor/All_2/mode%20matchallpartial/15/0

I use an anchor like this for lakes.(holds great) and it collapses very small. and an anchor like grant's in rivers and delta.

Silly Rabit That anchor is for a PWC. I have a Mushroom Anchor for day use. So I guess that Anchor in your pick would would well for that. The anchor im talking about is a overnight anchor. I wanna be sure that my boat is going anywhere while Im ketching some Zzzzzzz's

I've been using the Box Anchor for years and have had great luck with it!

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/10001/-1/10001/255420/10001/450/11206/5



BTW, at our lake I like dragging around one of those 25# earth magnets. I have found all sorts of stuff from props, a purse, some headers, even a gun!

(Message edited by bocephus on May 24, 2006)

Oldcentury76--
I have that exact anchor for my Jetski. Will not work on a boat. For my boat,I use the type that Grant threw in the lake. It works well.

http://roloffmfg.com/Marine/

I have had very good luck with their "aluminum coated navy" style anchor.

like the fluke style that grant shows it works best when you let a lot of line out to get a nice low angle

my family has also had a lot of luck with the "river special" type anchor, fishing up in WI, in muck, rocks, sand, gravel, you name it.

(Message edited by timmy on May 24, 2006)

people - read post. I have an anchor similar to the one in the pic. The only difference is it is larger. I have used the anchor many times in lakes. It works great to hold my boat. Yes, I have used it overnight. I have an 18' SN. it was recommended by a local boat shop for my boat. thanks for the input, opinions are like A**holes everyone has one, as do I.

OK OK !! Dont get your panties in a bunch. I misread your post and I am sorry.

panties out of crack, check.

Grant - where do you sleep on a Nautique?

You must have another boat?

House Boat Trip's I anchor the front of my boat with a anchor buddy and a solid anchor. Then I stern in and tie the back of my boat to the houseboat. Like this

Grant ive got one, well my second one but thats another story, and it works great, holds with minimal line/chain, and is very easy to retrieve but is most effective in sand from what I hear (thats all I ever am in anyway).

ok - I see what you're saying now. It's one thing for your boat to drift off with you sleeping in it. It's another thing when it drifts off by itself. lol!

why not just tie up to the houseboat?

I had a chance to use the new anchor this weeknd. I dont know if It ened up under somthing like a log but once this thing was set it never moved all wekend. I was super happy with it.
Clay bought the same set up as well and his boat never moved either.
Tim. #1 The houseboat on one side has a exhaust for the generator it spits on your boat. #2 when the houseboat deck is washed down or someone spills somthing or the hot tub over flow's if your boat is parked on the side where the houseboat is leaning your boat gets what ever comes off the deck. #3 if you tie to the houseboat you have to have take the bumpers on and off all weekend #4 people tie up next to your boat and use your boat as a walk way to there's #5 if you want to take off and some one's tied up to you you have to get them down there to help you out, ect ect.

I had a chance to use the new anchor this weeknd. I dont know if It ened up under somthing like a log but once this thing was set it never moved all wekend. I was super happy with it.
Clay bought the same set up as well and his boat never moved either.
Tim. #1 The houseboat on one side has a exhaust for the generator it spits on your boat. #2 when the houseboat deck is washed down or someone spills somthing or the hot tub over flow's if your boat is parked on the side where the houseboat is leaning your boat gets what ever comes off the deck. #3 if you tie to the houseboat you have to have take the bumpers on and off all weekend #4 people tie up next to your boat and use your boat as a walk way to there's #5 if you want to take off and some one's tied up to you you have to get them down there to help you out, ect ect.

Grant:

I tie up to my houseboat all the time....
1) Generators suck, I rarely run mine. When I do it spits out the back.
2) I don't wash the houseboat once I have left the dock.
3) I use the LARGE houseboat fenders and leave them on the houseboat. No need to take them off for every wakeboard run
4) People tying up next to you and walking across can be a problem.
5) Ditto on getting out if someone is tied to you

If I am anchored out I can tie four ski boats up directly to the houseboat. If there is one other houseboat tied to me there are still two spots. When I am the middle boat in larger raftup of houseboats then I have to tie the ski boat behind.

What I normally do is throw a bow and stern anchor off the houseboat, pull them REALLY tight. The houseboat anchors are large and once set generally don't move. About 30 feet out I will tie a dock line to the anchor line, tie a float to it so I can pick it up with the ski boat. This line gets connected to the bow. A line is then run from the stern of the ski boat to the stern of the housboat.

If the rope lengths are just right you can pull the ski boat back to the houseboat (stretching the anchor line a bit) and step onto the skiboat swim platform. When you are ready to take off you connect the stern line to the bow line so both are handy when you come back.

I ended up helping Grant and Clay set their new Fortress aluminum anchors. They did work great once set but they require a little more attention to get them set because they are so light. You need to keep a little tension going in the right direction then drag them a tad until the forks start to dig in the mud. The key was not to jerk on them until they set.

For ease of use I still prefer my 15lb cast iron navy style anchor. It's compact and it sets almost first time every time. I definately had it hooked on a log and almost thought I would need to cut the line and leave but I was finally able to pop it by uplling it the opposite direction from a low angle. Once it's up I do kind of hate having the rusty old anchor on board (even in duffel bag) after seeing how nice, clean and light Grant's anchor was.

How about forgetting to remove the line from the front bow eye and running over your line, going out and wakeboarding to find that when the boat comes around to pick you up, you notice what's left of the anchor buddy and realize you just ran over $70 of equipment?
I've been considering carrying a 2nd anchor for when we go camping and get these really windy afternoons. It happens every year at least one day out of a week of camping. Not fun. Every boat in the cove is dragging their anchors and coming really close if not hitting the next boat downwind and I'm out there trying to re-set mine. Idea with two would be to have your normal one straight out and then one at 90 degrees upwind. Thought being that you can retrieve the boat normally to the shore and when the wind kicks up, the boat stays where it supposed to because the wind isn't being pulling the 1st anchor and all the tension is on the 2nd anchor. Of course this all doesn't help to have the bimini and surfboards/wakeboards up acting as a sail.

Chris
Get the Grip you Deserve
www.wakejunky.com

can i ask a stupid question. does the anchor buddy allow you to not have to pull your anchor up during a run and then you can come back to it and hook back up? similar to a bouy? for camping and houseboating trips of course. they sound pretty cool. how much are they?

Anchor buddy is just an anchor line. It stretches, so you can move the boat, while the anchor stays set. If you put a bouy on the end, that attaches to your boat, then when you get back from a run, just connect it back to the eye. Back to the houseboat/ shore, then tie the other line to the back of the boat. Jump off, and the anchor buddy pulls your boat back away. (Notice the rear line will need slack, so the anchor buddy can retract and pull the boat)

i didnt take time to read the whole thread so i apoligize if this is redundant. i had a horrible time trying to anchor my boat in our local party cove. there were many reasons:

1. about 1/4 of everyone tying off had an anchor
2. there are always incoming rollers in the cove
3. i am sure that the bottom of the cove is covered in beer cans making it hard to set an anchor.

a buddy of mine suggested that i put some chain in between the anchor and the rope, so i went out and bought 10 ft of heavy duty stainless steel chain. since then, i have never had a problem setting my anchor. apparently the chain forces the anchor to move accross the lake floor more flatly in hopes of catching on to something. without it, the rope pulls the anchor perpendicular to the floor, limiting its ability to grab...

I have been anchoring larger boats for about 20 years now and have learned a few things about it. One time I was having an especially hard time getting anchors to set so when I finally did get one to set I experiemented with others. I actually put on the dive gear and would swim down to the bottom to visually inspect why the stupid anchor wouldn't grab.

let me draw you an ascii picture of an anchor laying on the bottom:

rope chain anhcor
---------ooooooooooooooo========/
________________bottom_________/_______ tips down
/

In order for the anchor to have a chance to grap it has to land in the approximate postion shown above. For this reason you want to LOWER the anchor, not toss it. When you toss it there is a good chance that the chain/rope will wrap around the anchor and foul it.

If you have a nice sandy bottom then it is very likely that the tips of the anchor will dig into the sand and it will set and not budge.

If there are weeds on the bottom or if it is very soft mud bad things can happen.

Weeds:


rope chain anchor
--------oooooooooooooooooooo---------/
(tangle / of weeds)
( / )
____________bottom_____________________________

Here you see that the tangle of weeds is holding the anchor off the bottom. You can drag this mop all over the lake and it will never grab hold.



Soft Mud:

\
________bottom____________________\________
-----oooooooooooooooooooo---------\

This shows the anchor partially buried in the mud, with the tips pointed up instead of down. The mud is bouyant enough that the flat blades of the anchor sit on top while the draw bar sinks in, the result of the anchor landing tips up instead of tips down.

Many lakes and especially the California Delta have a bottom that is very soft silty mud. If the anchor lands the wrong way the tips may never grab and you can drag the anchor all over and not have it set.

A plow type anchor (Bruce, delta, claw, etc.) will generally set much more reliably in soft mud. Unfortuantely, they are not a practical anchor to carry on a ski boat.

I haven't figured out a sure way to anchor in weeds.




(tangle / of weeds)
( / )
____________bottom_____________________________

Grant,

Which Fortess anchor did you pick up? The FX-7 or FX-11? My philosophy with anchors is bigger is better but, then there's the storage factor as well as somethings the larger size is only marginally better so, the $$ factor isn't worth it.

Chris
Get the Grip you Deserve
www.wakejunky.com

so what's a good little bouy setup that you can leave setup near your houseboat, beach camp, etc. and then just come back and hook back up to it? what do you guys use and where did you get it, etc. already got a nice anchor, but would like a little bouy.

I don't think anything beats the Death Star custom anchor from Savage Industries. Light, convenient, easily storable, cheap and it definitely holds the boat in place!

Huh.... It seems to be lacking the Bayonet attachments on each of the blades.

lol

i bet if you were to tow that behind the boat it would clear the weeds off the bottom pretty good

Chris I got the FX -7. I saw after I bought my anchor that fortress has a cheeper line of anchors. The have a "extra or storm serie's" of anchors that come in a red nylon storage bag with chain and 150 feet of rope. They sell for $120. Check them out.

Bruce: It just a orange ball. Im pretty sure you can use anthing that will flote. I attach the anchor and the stretchy anchor buddy to the orange ball when Im away from the houseboat so it holds my anchor. I have a quick disconnect attachet to a 3 foot piece of rope that connects my orange ball to the boat. Quick and easy. As long as you make sure you anchor is connected to your boat and or the orange ball when you throw it out you shouldn't have any problems's LOL

Dave, you need some new shoes, buddy.

thanks grant, i'll go scope around for a floatie. one last question. theoretically, in decent weather could 2 or 3 small boats share the same anchor and bouy?