Buying a Fortress anchor... mistake or not?

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa · Post by **Dimitri-2000X-Tampa** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 8:11 pm

I have the G-11, it fits in the

locker and has never dragged in Florida sand or mud...pretty nice anchor. Although it would be also be nice to have a bull on a roller.

mike · Post by **mike** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:41 am

Miquel_Culzean wrote:I bought this year the FX-11. I still didn't have the opportunity to really try it.

In my 26X, it fits completely set up (with 15 meters chain & 45 meters rope), but the cover doesn't really close well. I am thinking in doing a littlke opening in the cover, and put an inox aerator to cover the hole, so that once we are at anchor, we can still close the locker with the rope.

Ahhhh... this sounds like it would indeed help the anchor fit into the locker. I think I'm going to go ahead and get the FX-11 today. If I can fit it in the locker, great. If not, I'll just use the locker for rode and keep the anchor on the rail.

--Mike

mike · Post by **mike** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:28 pm

I bought the FX-11 today... Boater's World said the $99.99 price on the shelf was old, and that the real price was $119.99. I gave them a bit of a hard time about it, then went to West Marine, who price matched it to a little less than that (I like West Marine better anyway... at least at mine, all of the people there are very knowledgeable, so I buy from them as much as possible).

Anyway, dclark is right, the anchor will not fit in the locker. I don't even think it would fit with a notch taken out of the front of the locker cover. However, this was with the "mud palms" installed... it looks like if these were not installed, it would probably fit. This could very well be the source of the confusion as to whether or not this anchor actually fits in the locker.

So anyway, I'll rail mount it, and just use the locker for rode. Is it ok to just bungee it securely to the rail, or should I get one of those rail mount attachments?

--Mike

Duane Dunn, Allegro · Post by **Duane Dunn, Allegro** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:17 pm

Just pick up the windline horizontal PM-1 mount at west marine. At $39 it's not cheap, but it makes hadling the anchor so easy. Who wants to mess with a bungee everytime while holding a muddy wet anchor. Make sure you put a good length of chain on, I'd recommend 15' and then seize the shackles with wire. They will unscrew themselves.

You will also nee to cut an opening in the front of the hatch so the rope and chain can pass through with the lid closed. I did a notch at the front, but I am going to just wack the whole tip of so I don't have to get the chains lined up with the notch. The lid is wood cored. You will need to epoxy up the exposed core when you cut it.

mike · Post by **mike** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:37 pm

Duane Dunn, Allegro wrote:Just pick up the windline horizontal PM-1 mount at west marine. At $39 it's not cheap, but it makes hadling the anchor so easy. Who wants to mess with a bungee everytime while holding a muddy wet anchor.

Will this mount work with a Fortress/Guardian that has the "mud palms" installed? I recall reading somewhere that it wouldn't, but I could be mistaken.

Make sure you put a good length of chain on, I'd recommend 15' and then seize the shackles with wire. They will unscrew themselves.

I think I've got 20ft. of chain, and 125ft. of 3/8 line (might need a bit longer).

You will also nee to cut an opening in the front of the hatch so the rope and chain can pass through with the lid closed. I did a notch at the front, but I am going to just wack the whole tip of so I don't have to get the chains lined up with the notch. The lid is wood cored. You will need to epoxy up the exposed core when you cut it.[/quote]
I was going to break out the jigsaw this evening and cut a notch, but the gnats were about to carry me away. I'll probably follow your advice and make a bigger opening. I noticed in the mods section, Heath used a clamshell vent to cover the section of cover he removed... looks pretty spiffy.

--Mike

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa · Post by **Dimitri-2000X-Tampa** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 9:22 pm

Perhaps a vent in the locker cover will solve the ventilation problem too. I swear, that anchor line will not dry out with the locker closed. The only way I can get it to dry is to keep the locker open for a day or two in the sun. I never had this problem on my former sailboat so I can only assume it is a ventilation issue.

Timm Miller · Post by **Timm Miller** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 12:31 am

It will not fit correctly with the mud palms on........but it will still set in sand and mud without the mud palms.....they just make it set faster.

Phil Marriott · Post by **Phil Marriott** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:22 am

Just my 2 cents worth.

A few years ago a well known NZ boatbuilder farewelled a million dollar yacht that he had just completed. The delivery crew took it up the coast from Christchurch, NZ. The last thing he said as they left was 'secure the anchor'.

A few miles up the coast, the unsecured / lightly secured anchor knocked loose as they ploughed through some small swells and smashed a large hole in the side.

The boatbuilder wound up with a lengthy repair job.

I'd be using more than a bunjy cord I think!

cheers
Phil.

craiglaforce · Post by **craiglaforce** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 3:47 am

That was why I mentioned that in addition to the PM rail mount I secure mine with a black rubber tarp strap. It would definitly hold the anchor in place even if the boat is inverted.

One book I read regarding making a boat seaworthy kept repeating the mantra, "what will it do if the boat is inverted?"

THings that you think are OK from common sense are not OK when the boat is inverted. It is worth considering what will happen with heavy anchors, batteries, fuel and water tanks etc. if the boat is tossed violently or inverted. Even in the routine knockdown that happens at least once a year I hear stuff crashing around in the cabin. One time a cheap film type camera flew across the cabin landed in the bilge under the galley sink (I removed the black insert) and the film popped out. Lots of fun though.

Duane Dunn, Allegro · Post by **Duane Dunn, Allegro** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 9:42 am

I have my PM-1 attached just a bit off center to starboard. This brings the shank of the G-16 right back to the first port side pulpit support rail. I attached a small stainless caribiner to the rail using a stainless pipe clamp. Once the anchor is set in the windline bracket, the shank is swung up a bit and the shackle attaching the chain drops right into the caribiner. This secures the anchor, it cannot be removed from the bracket, and it keeps the shank and chain clear of the deck as well. No messy fumbling with lines or bungees required.

The fortress has very small plates compared most danforths. I would want to make sure the windline bracket can adjust to hold it with or without the mud palms. The plates may be too narrow without the palms and too wide with them. The Guardian plates fit fine.

Timm Miller · Post by **Timm Miller** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 5:38 pm

With the mud palms on it won't go past the curve in the mud palms.....with them out it sits in there nicely, you have to adjust the bracket to the smallest setting.

mike · Post by **mike** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 8:06 am

Timm Miller wrote:With the mud palms on it won't go past the curve in the mud palms.....with them out it sits in there nicely, you have to adjust the bracket to the smallest setting.

I mounted it yesterday evening... even with the anchor not sliding all the way down into the slot, it seems like it's held in there sufficiently.

--Mike

waltpm · Post by **waltpm** » Thu May 06, 2004 6:59 pm

I have used a Fortress for the last 10 years and like it very much, mainly because of the light weight. It does have the drawback of not setting well in weeds. After a bad night in a weedy anchorage, I added a bulwagga to the boat. If you are going to trailer the boat and anchor in different types of bottoms you will need more than one type of anchor.

Greg · Post by **Greg** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 7:05 am

I purchased a 14 lb Delta anchor. It seemed to get decent reviews and the thing that impressed me to buy it was that it generally will set/reset itself within it's own length. I wanted something to work in most conditions and would reset quickly in case of a wind shift. I used it during our 2 week trip into the Adirondack mountains (lakes) and it worked well. Has anyone heard negatives about the Delta, other than the storage? Has anyone seen a good bow mount pict for the Delta?

mark,97x · Post by **mark,97x** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 7:48 am

have a fortress that fits in the locker(just fits) been the main anchor since the boat was new,works almost everywhere i have tried it,and really like the fact that it and the rode fit in the locker,,there is a notch in the locker to allow the rope rode to pass threw as to keep line off the deck,,this is the setup used 90% of time,,but i also have a cqr type ,2-hookers and a home made wreck anchor for those other times when more or less is needed,,so imho the fortress is a great anchor to use and keep with its rode in the locker for almost every use

others stored in plastic bins in the dark hole under the cockpit

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Buying a Fortress anchor... mistake or not?

Re: Buying a Fortress anchor

Mud Palms

Secure it well!

Mud palms

Re: Mud palms

fortress

Delta anchor