[MHml] Reducing weight

[Ted Warren]

A few years ago I had a chance to talk to the group at
Danforth, now owned by Rule Industries, about
Fortress anchors. This was in conjunction with selecting
an anchor for one of my designs. They had tested the Fortress anchors
along with testing of their own anchors. Their conclusion was that
they were excellent and had more holding power per
pound than steel anchors of the same type. The only caveat is that
they are more reluctant to set at a given size. I would guess
that this is because aluminum is less dense than steel; I
think it has a specific gravity of 2.7 vs. 8 for steel. The result
is that water supports more than 1/3 of the weight of the
aluminum anchor, so its effective weight is less.

I like David's idea of going a few sizes larger. I selected
a 5 lb. high strength deepset Danforth
with the blessings of the Rule design group, although I think
that the Fortress anchor is a good choice.

Regards,

Ted


David Busenbarrick wrote:

> > Has anyone hd any experience with the Fortress alloy anchors?  I bought
> two
> > Robert Gunn
> > Chesapeake - modified Tennant Turissimo 10m Cat
> > Auckland, NZ
>
> Hi Robert,
> I used a fortress while cruising and was quite satisfied with it. Only used
> it in sand and soft mud where the CQR would drag or drift. When in San Blas
> islands of Panama, anchored behind a reef with strong currents, it was
> amazing to watch the other boats anchor next to us and slowly drift aft over
> the next few days. I used one that was 2 sizes larger than recommended for
> my boat and did set it by hand occasionally. I also had a bruce, which was
> too small, as they initially undersized their recommendations. It was
> inadequate, heavy and hard to store. The Spade or Delta sound like good
> alternatives. Most of our anchoring was tradewind conditions, so not much
> swinging or direction reversal.
>
> Hope this helps,
> David Busenbarrick
>
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