I’m a big fan of the Fortress anchors. Having said that, though, I don’t own one! I keep intending to purchase one as a secondary; the light weight and compact size (disassembled) make it an obvious choice for my C-Dory 22. But for a variety of reasons, very few Salish Sea cruisers use Danforth-style anchors as primaries, and I have yet to experience the need for a second anchor; my little Rocna just buries itself in the mud, and it’s all I can do to pull it free in the morning.
Anyway, on to the press release. I’ll see if I can dig up a translation of the anchor test report mentioned below.
For centuries it has been widely believed that a boat anchor had to be very heavy and made of steel in order to perform well. Voiles et Voiliers, a leading boating magazine in France, recently put this age-old theory to the test by conducting an extensive pull comparison between 12 different anchor models.
Included in this evaluation were a wide variety of traditional and cutting-edge steel anchors, along with a few relatively new aluminum models. The performance of each anchor was observed on the sea bottom by an underwater film crew, and the holding power was carefully measured and recorded aboard the testing vessel.
The Voiles et Voiliers crew was stunned by the performance of the aluminum Fortress model FX-37. This anchor held over 7,200 lbs., which was 3,000 lbs. greater than the second best anchor in the test. Just as astonishing was the fact that the 22 lb. Fortress FX-37 was 30% lighter in weight. The crew determined that its holding power was similar to what would be needed by a 40′ yacht during a hurricane.
Brian Sheehan, spokesman for Fortress Marine Anchors, commented, "We were not too surprised by these test results, particularly since we have an old, damaged FX-37 model in our lobby that was returned by a customer after Hurricane Andrew. This FX-37 held a 42′ Silverton in 140+ knot winds that lasted several hours. Now that was really surprising."
The Fortress FX-37 has been used as the primary anchor for many years aboard the US Coast Guard’s 40′ range of patrol boats. Most recently, it was selected for the brand new 45′ Response Boat Medium (RB-M).
The FX-37 from Fortress Anchors retails for approximately $500.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Tim,
I couldn’t find the original article in the current edition of the magazine that is available on line.
Any pointers?
Merv
In writing up this sort of thing it should be pointed out that the aluminium Fortress tested weighed 11 kg, equivalent to a roughly 25 kg steel anchor (the other contenders were steel anchors in the range of 15 kg).
Comparing steel and aluminium anchors of course is an apples and oranges exercise. Alloy anchors are lighter and more efficient, but also much weaker and more vulnerable to damage, offer inferior setting performance, and more costly.
The testers also rated the Fortress as “poor” with regard to “holding ability when boat swings”, commensurate with the Danforth type’s inability to reliably handle force veers.
More:
http://www.rocna.com/kb/Old_generation_anchors
There goes Craig Smith of Rocna, a 25 year old self-titled anchoring expert, spewing his nonsense about Fortress and Danforth type anchors again.
From Practical Sailor magazine’s Anchor Reset Tests report:
“In the best test group, those that did not break out and moved very little (from not measurable to no more than 6″), were the Bruce, the Fortress FX-16, the Supermax (with the adjustable shank) and the Spade.”
Of course, the hundreds of thousands of Fortress owners over the past 20 years already knew their Fortress performed well during a wind shift if it was properly set, particularly those owners who have used one during a hurricane, although Craig would have you believe that during a hurricane, the wind only blows in one direction!
Regarding boy wonder Craig Smith of Rocna’s ignorant comments about Fortress being made of a weaker material, maybe he would like to see a copy of the extensive US Navy anchor test report, in which it was duly noted that not only did the Fortress anchors provide far greater holding power than the steel anchors tested, but they held up better structurally than the steel Danforth anchors, due to “superior engineering.”
Concerning the equally ridiculous “apples to oranges” analogy, I guess it must be pretty embarrassing to Craig when a Rocna anchor that is 50% heavier than a Fortress anchor cannot provide greater holding power.
During the summer 2010 the Swedish Cruising Association completed an anchor holding power test off of their coast in a clay sea bottom. This association has been testing anchors for over 20 years (close to Craig’s age) and since about 1 in 7 Swedes own a boat, they take anchoring pretty seriously over there.
In their 5 star rating system, the 33lb Rocna anchor only had 2 stars, one of the worst anchors in the group, while the 22lb Fortress anchor had 5 stars.
Safe boating!
Craig , Brain it would be nice if both of you identified your self as representing anchor companies so I could weigh your remarks with the regard I give most salesman. Brain I have not idea what Craigs age has to do with anything. You must be suffereing form old man syndrome. Iam 45, so in no way defending any one based on age. My son things I’m going to pass away any time and my father calls me kid, go figure.
A 22# Fortress is the storm anchor for my 10,000# S-2 9.2C sailing vessel. With 40′ of 3/8 chain and 200′ 7/16 rode I always sleep well once it is properly set.