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Choosing your anchor...

All information provided by the Manufacturer or article's author unless otherwise specified.

There's lots of information about anchoring and the one thing that becomes obvious is that anchoring is not an exact study. Having read many of the articles, and personally tried many different anchors and practices, we have come to the position of recommending two anchors to cover the majority of needs.

• The Delta Anchor with chain on a windlass as the work horse primary anchor. It's easy to stow and deploy and works well in a wide variety of conditions.

• The Fortress Anchor as a secondary anchor. It has the maximum holding power in test after test. It comes apart for easy storage.

Fortress Anchors

Fortress Selection Guide
FORTRESS MODEL	FX-7	FX-11	FX-16	FX-23	FX-37	FX-55	FX-85	FX-125
Boat Length (ft)	16-27	28-32	33-38	39-45	46-51	52-58	59-68	69+
Weight (lbs)	4	7	10	15	21	32	47	69
Replaces Steel Anchors (lbs)	6-9	10-13	14-18	19-28	33-50	50-65	70-90	100-170
Holding Power
Working Load (lbs)	700	900	1,250	2,000	3,000	4,000	5,250	6,750
32° Hard Sand Holding (lbs)	2,800	3,600	5,000	8,000	12,000	16,000	21,000	27,000
45° Soft Mud Holding (lbs)	840	1,080	1,500	2,400	3,600	4,800	6,300	8,100
32° Soft Mud Holding (lbs)	420	540	750	1,200	1,800	2,400	3,150	4,050
Dimensions
"A" Shank Length* (in)	24	27	31	36	40	46	51	56
"B" Fluke Length* (in)	14	16	18	21	24	27	30	33
"C" Stock Length* (in) *See diagram	19	22	25	29	32	37	41	45
Support Hardware
Proof Coil Chain (in)	3/16	1/4	5/16	3/8	3/8	1/2	1/2	5/8
Nylon Rope** (in)	3/8	3/8	1/2	5/8	3/4	7/8	1	1-1/4
Shackle Size	1/4	1/4	5/16	3/8	7/16	1/2	5/8	5/8

Guardian Selection Guide
GUARDIAN MODEL	G-5	G-7	G-11	G-16	G-23	G-37	G-55	G-85	G-125
Boat Length (ft)	12-16	17-22	23-27	28-33	34-41	42-47	48-53	54-62	63-72
Weight (lbs)	2 1/2	4	6	7	13	18	29	42	65
Replaces Steel Anchors (lbs)	4-6	6-9	10-13	14-18	19-28	33-50	50-65	70-90	100-170
Holding Power
Working Load (lbs)	350	575	750	1,075	1,625	2,500	3,500	4,625	6,000
Hard Sand Holding (lbs)	1,050	1,725	2,250	3,225	4,875	7,500	10,500	13,875	18,000
Soft Mud Holding (lbs)	210	345	450	645	975	1,500	2,100	2,775	3,600
Dimensions
"A" Shank Length* (in)	19	22	25	29	33	38	43	48	53
"B" Fluke Length* (in)	11	13	15	17	19	22	25	28	31
"C" Stock Length* (in) *See diagram	16	18	20	23	27	31	35	39	43
Support Hardware
Proof Coil Chain (in)	3/16	3/16	3/16	1/4	5/16	3/8	3/8	1/2	1/2
Nylon Rope** (in)	3/8	3/8	3/8	3/8	1/2	5/8	3/4	7/8	1
Shackle Size	3/16	3/16	1/4	1/4	5/16	3/8	7/16	1/2	5/8

Boat size recommendations are for boats of average windage and proportions in 30 knots of wind, average bottom conditions, and moderate protection from open seas. Remember that the loads in 42 knots of wind are twice as much as in 30 knots.

Use three-stand nylon line, 6-12 ft. of chain should be used for every 25 ft. of water that you usually anchor in. For storm conditions use an anchor one or two sizes larger. (We suggest all chain on a windlass for a primary anchor--transitions are difficult. As a secondary anchor, for simplicity we use an all rope rode, though if this were to become the primary anchor you could switch to chain.)

NOTE: Hard sand holding power figures above represent loads actually achieved on production FORTRESS and Guardian anchors under controlled horizontal pull conditions without dragging or resulting in disabling structural deformation.

**Rope recommendations are based on 25% of break lbs.,
Rope must be in good condition

The Delta Anchor times 300 From Multi-Hull Magazine

By Charles E. Kanter

When the Simpson-Lawrence's DELTA Anchor was first introduced, I looked at it, poked around it, laid it on the floor next its
ancestor anchor, the CQR plow, fiddled with it next to a Bruce and the Danforth Plow and just generally messed with it. What
I saw sure looked like the next anchor generation to me, so when Brian Baine, the Simpson Lawrence representative here in
the colonies offered me the opportunity to test it, I leaped at the chance. Brian was familiar with the "Three Hundred
Anchoring" test I had recently done for Fortress and how the published results of the tests had boosted user awareness. The
basis of all testing that I have done for various manufacturers over the years is field conditions testing. Bending anchors in
laboratory testing has its place. Pulling anchors with Jeeps, bulldozers, tugboats, etc. also has certain value. 

What is missing from those tests is the broad spectrum of actual use by Mom & Pop as they adventure through the real world.
Missing from all formalized tests is how the anchors work in various bottom conditions. How the various anchors handle the
combinations of forces such as contrary winds and currents, the need to reset at a change of tidal current, how they handle
grass, weeds, kelp, etc. Will they or won't they reset? Will they snag the rode as the boat drifts over top on a tide change?
Therefore, the basis of our testing is a minimum of 300 different anchorages over at least a variation of 30 degrees of latitude,
thus anchoring in a very large variety of bottoms depth, conditions, etc. As end-users, we also need to know such minutiae as,
how easily does the anchor set? How easily does the anchor break out? Are the materials from which it is manufactured
sufficiently rugged and rust resistant? What are the physical requirements of its use? How easily does it stow? What are the
trade-off considering weight and bulk and the nee for special handling equipment. 

Through the years I had built a love-hate relationship with the CQR plow. That relationship was based partly on observation,
partly on experience, partly on the experiences of others. My own CQR 25, that I had inherited when I bought my boat, did
exactly what most CQR owners admitted to, that is plow (drag) in winds over 15 knots. Other cruisers instructed me on the
oath: "there is no CQR smaller than 35." Meaning, that a smaller CQR has no value. On the other hand, the sheer rugged
features of the anchor, the way it snuggled so nicely in the bow roller chocks, the weight, oh yes, the weight, all conjure it an
object of absolute power.

What was wrong with that picture? Why did I have a collection of underwater photos of CQRs not really set, but lying on their
side with one "ear" sticking up from the bottom? Why was I paranoid about anchoring downwind from people using CQRs? I
intended to find out.

Having the anchors together on the showroom floor provided the tentative answers. It is my opinion that there are two major
reasons the old CQR is more difficult to set, requires a much heavier anchor to do the same job, and also will not work without
a long heavy chain lead. The two reasons are the hinge and the massively heavy shank. The hinge allows the anchor to wander
in a non-linear fashion and deflect the driving forces placed upon it by the pull on the rode. The massive shank prevents the
anchor from burying. Neither of those conditions apply to the DELTA which has no hinge and has a blade-like shank,
sharpened on the lower edge to aid in penetrating the bottom.

The first step in finding out was to do a simple finger-pressure test. Lay two equivalent anchors on the deck next to each other,
on their side, in the position they would be on the bottom in order to set (a DELTA 22 and a CQR 45). Place your forefinger
under the point of each and lift slightly. You will note that the DELTA exerts considerably more force on your finger. Since
these anchors require weight to begin the penetration process, the first clue was obvious.

In addition, the DELTA has a much higher fluke area to weight ratio, greater fluke area, more of its fluke area in the rear
quarter and more angle on the back of the flukes. This is exceptionally important as the DELTA, like the CQR and the Bruce,
is a "stockless" anchor and needs positive turning moment to guide it into the bottom as opposed to a Danforth, Fortress or
Admiralty which has a stock to keep it parallel to the bottom while it penetrates.

Based upon Simpson-Lawrence tables, a 22-pound DELTA has the same holding power as a 45-pound CQR. Reinforcing my
thinking along this line are the several CQRs I have observed with extra-flat plate metal welded extending the back of the flukes
and giving them a Delta-like appearance.

The three-hundred anchoring test for Fortress covered the cruising grounds between the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay,
through all the intervening anchorages as far south as Georgetown, Exuma, Bahamas. That test spanned 20 months. Our
DELTA test, covered the waters from Newport, Rhode Island to Harbor Island, Eleuthra, Bahamas and spanned 35 months.

Our Fortress test had been based upon standard practice developed over years of cruising, studying and experimenting. That
practice included anchoring "Bahamian Moor" as a general rule, the only exceptions to that being made in locations where there
were no currents and the bottom holds like crazy. One such locale is behind the outer banks of North Carolina, between
Norfolk, Virginia and Moorehead City, North Carolina.

Pivoting-fluke lightweight anchors (Danforth, Fortress, West) are good at what they do but they only do it in one direction. If
you want to wake up in the same place you went to sleep in, you had better not rely on an anchor to change direction, unseen,
unaided and usually in the middle of the night. Remember Murphy's Law, "if it can happen it will" and the sequel to that law, "at
the most inopportune time!"

Anchoring with multiple anchors is always a bother, no question about it. It is especially bothersome if you use additional
anchoring aids such as a kellet on your rodes to prevent snagging the rodes on your underwater appendages or to protect them
from the propellers of other boats, or just to increase the holding power and act as an aid to prevent anchor-sailing. It sure
would be nice to anchor on a single anchor reliable enough for sleeping on, especially if it could be used on a short scope. On
the other hand, Wayne Carpenter had told me that for his circumnavigation, even though he purposely equipped Kristina, his
diminutive Nor'sea 27, with a 45- pound plow and all-chain 3/8 rode that he believed would be massive overkill just to avoid
the multiple anchor problem, but he still dragged!

With much trepidation I slept my first night on the DELTA at 3: 1 scope. Short scope has considerable advantage, if the system
is appropriate. When you anchor on short scope, it feels very similar to being on a mooring as it controls the tendency towards
anchor-sailing. For the test and still in use unchanged, my total main anchor system consisted of the 22- pound DELTA, six feet
of 5/16 chain (as recommended by DELTA) and 150 feet of 5 / 8 Nylon 3-strand and a 25-foot length of " Nylon three strand
from which I form a bridle. No swivels, no gadgets. 

The rode has a stainless thimble at each end, to facilitate switching ends, adding more rode when necessary, and fastening the
bitter end.

Little by little, use after use, my confidence grew in this anchor. Anchoring in the Chesapeake is mostly a piece of cake. There
are very few areas with poor holding. Most of those areas are places that have been dredged or are scoured current races.
Currents are mild, usually not presenting a problem. Tidal range is moderate. The Northeast is pretty much the same except the
bottom is more likely to be silica sand than mud. Currents get stronger as you go north, as do tidal ranges. This, of course,
means paying a lot more attention to your anchoring.

From the southern terminus of the Chesapeake Bay, all the way to the terminus of the outer banks of North Carolina at
Beaufort, the bottom conditions and current conditions are favorable to secure anchoring. Once you reach Beaufort, things
begin to change rapidly.

The real test comes farther south. The closer you get to the tropics, the more irrational the bottom gets and the more likely you
are to have difficulty in anchoring. Now you get only occasional mud bottom. Mostly it's rubble, shells, grass or hardpan.
Currents pick up remarkably and tidal range peaks out at 13 feet on the Ogeechee River in Georgia. By the time you reach the
Fabulous Florida Keys and the Bahamas you have to add coral and limestone rock to the bottom, as well as swift
unpredictable currents.

Anchored for the night in any anchorage along the way you will go through one complete tidal cycle. That means you must
prepare for two complete changes in direction. Lying to a Bahamian moor where you toggle back and forth between pre-set
opposing anchors that do not move, you have little to worry about. Lying to a single anchor that is expected to migrate around
under water is very scary. Aside from the potential of fouling the rode at slack tide when the boat just casually drifts over the
anchor, there is the very real possibility (in many areas, probability) of pulling the anchor out and it's not resetting because of a
big ball of mud attached to it or other debris on the bottom, interfering with it. This is axiomatic with pivoting fluke lightweights.

when you are anchored in a area like coastal Georgia, with exceedingly swift currents and very foul muddy bottoms, anchoring
to a single anchor is a prescription for disaster. However, in Georgia, a dragging disaster simply puts you up on a mud bank or
rice paddy. In the Bahamas, it puts you against a jagged coral outcropping! It takes lots of guts to lay to a single anchor in the
Bahamas.

Time after time, where appropriate, we would launch our DELTA on about 3:1 scope figured from the actual attachment point
plus the tidal range. That meant if the water was six feet deep and the tide range was four feet and our freeboard is four feet,
then we would allow 45 feet of rode including the bridle. There were a few times, like the rivers in Georgia where ebb currents
often reach seven knots that simply are not places to take a chance on a single anchor. In those locations, I used the DELTA to
anchor against the stronger ebb current and one of my Fortress ones against the flood in a Bahamian Moor. In many locations,
however, where previously I had routinely laid out multiple anchors, I used the single DELTA on 3:1 scope. After 35 months
and well over 300 anchoring experiences in all kinds of weather and every conceivable anchoring circumstance, I am willing to
state that the anchor is a superior technology that I have come to trust implicitly. These are features I found about the anchor
from my 300 anchoring test. 

1. Because of the large throat dimension and the linear nature of the resultant force on the tip, the anchor will penetrate weeds
and grass (anchoring in grass beds is not recommended).

2. The DELTA set in its own length virtually every time. Because of the shape of the flukes the anchor always turned straight up
and penetrated the bottom evenly.

3. Because of the sharpened bottom of the shank and the linear resultant force on the tip, the anchor completely buried without
any hesitation. On several occasions, after lying to the anchor in strong breezes, the anchor had buried to a depth of three feet,
measured by the chain.

4. The anchor was easy to handle. Absence of the hinge meant fewer dings in the deck and in my shins! The smaller shank
dimension made it easier to stow. The anchor is positively self-launching.

It is over four years of almost continuous use that I own the anchor and it shows no signs of wear or deterioration. I also have
observed others using this anchor and can report that they, too, are pleased with the results.

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Delta Type Anchor

Anchoring tips...

One of the biggest problems we see, is that people drop their anchor where they want to end up, not where the anchor is.

Often, what you really need to do is anchor directly next to or behind another boat in a crowded anchorage and then motor back to get the 7 X 1 scope recommended. Also, you need to find a space where you have a pretty wide arc to swing as no two boats swing the same way. So, here's how...

• Come in to the anchorage area and be aware of: The wind, the current the state of the tide, the weather--especially will there be a major wind shift during the night. Know what the lowest tide will be and then motor in a circle in the area you plan to end up in to make sure there is enough depth even if the wind changes.
• Motor directly upwind the proper distance from where you want to end up and where you've checked out the depth.
• Stop completely, and then release the anchor. Remember, even if you're very close to another boat, this isn't where you'll end up. For fun, until your judgment gets better, try using your GPS to gage the distances involved. (Also, you may want to use the alarm system on your GPS or computer program.)
• Back up downwind paying out the rode until you get to your pre-determined spot. (It's better to let the rode out faster than you back up. At this point, you don't want to pull on the anchor until you're back at close to the 7X1 scope area or you'll just end up dragging. Don't put pressure on the anchor until the angle is right.
• Then, test it. Secure the rode, and back up hard to make sure the anchor doesn't drag. How hard? I usually back up with at least 2,000 to 2,500 RPM's on the engine for at least a minute. If you don't do this, you may spend some anxious moments during the night!
• After you're secure, watch the pattern of swinging and make sure you're not dragging. (Keep the engine(s) running until you're sure!) 
• Set any alarm aids you have: Depth finder, GPS, Computer?

Retrieving your anchor...

The main thing is to get someone on the bow who points in the direction of the anchor (following the line) while you motor forward, your assistant winds in the rode. Do not pull the boat forward using the windlass. They were not designed for this. If you blow the internal fuse, you won't have the use of the windlass for the rest of your cruise, and you will be charged a substantial damage amount for not following proper procedures.

More about anchoring: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/boating/7_4.htm

Choosing your anchor.

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