Choosing second anchor

S

Silver Lining

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I know this has been covered before, but our situation makes me uncertain of the best choice for a second anchor. The boat is a 50 ft Viking Sport Cruiser weighing just under 40,000 lbs wet. Our primary anchor is a Delta on rollers at the bow, I forget the exact weight, but is what came from the original boat manufacturer and looks like a reasonable size primary.

We need to get a second anchor and our cruising grounds are from the Delaware bay through Florida and the Bahamas. I would like an anchor not so heavy as it has to be carried by hand but it will be used when we want to set two anchors for comfort when diving, sleeping, or leaving the boat anchored while on a dinghy trip. Also, it would be nice if it was heavy enough for use in bad weather as may be encountered in going from MD to FL etc.

I have been thinking about a Fortress FX 37 or FX 55. The manufacturer recomends an FX 37 at 21 lbs. for our boat. The FX 55 cost more and weighs around 32 pounds. Fortress also makes a Guardian line which is very similar to the FX except the machining is not as refined and it has only one setting angle, but is otherwise made from the same designs and material. That model is the G 55 and weighs 29 lbs.

What do you guys think? Also, what is a reasonable chain length and rope length considering this anchor will have to be hand carried and retrieved.
 
if you already have delta, I think a danforth would be a good choice. The Fortress is probalby the best holding anchor in mud or sand.

I woudl NEVER consider an FX37 for a 50 footer.... especially since you're not sure of the size of your primary anchor. "what came with the boat" or "what is recommended" is a recipe for disaster in my opinion, dealers/builders always follow the minimum guidelines when it comes to ground tackle

I have an FX55 on my 53, it holds VERY well in mud and sand but like all danforth doesn't really get in grass and can get clogged with mud and grass and not reset. that said, it really digs in. Sunday, we had a strong thunderstorm move trhu, we didnt' move an inch. When we left, I had to power the anchor out with the engine to get it out of the mud.

Personally, on a 50 footer i'd prefer the FX85 instead of the FX55... yeah, it's alittle heavier but it's still light enough to be pulled out of an anchor locker.

You never know when you're going to get caught by weather... it will happen sooner or later and those few hundred dollars saved will mean nothing.
 
I agree that a Fortress is really the best choice for this purpose; disagree about the FX 85 which is huge and unwieldy for anything but emergency storm anchor use or a very over sized primary anchor, but I doubt it would work well in your pulpit. As a second anchor, that is, one that is deployed in addition to the main, either off the bow or as a stern anchor, the 37 is fine for a 50 foot 40,000 pound boat, even Bahamian moors. Since I take it you will be raising it by hand, you want it to be easy as possible, and weight is not the only factor with that. My guess is you will rarely deploy it any way, but "guess" is the operative word there.

On our 84,000 pound boat I use (very infrequently) a little 40 lb Danforth for that purpose, 20 feet of chain. It's still a PITA, which leads back to my point: the bigger a PITA it is to use the thing, the less it will be used. I have the original Danforth 60HT that came with my boat rigged and ready to deploy in case of emergency at the bow. I NEVER have used it in 7000NM of cruising back and forth from Key West to Nantucket, and maybe a 100 anchoring days, knowing that even using the capstan on top of the windlass, it will be difficult to pull up. That includes a few days in sustained 25 knot winds with gusts to 40. Yes, I'd like to have a two anchor pulpit/windlass some day, though the people I know that have them also rarely use them. I replaced the big Danforth as the primary with a 88 pound Delta since we anchor a lot in places where the boat is going to shift with the current 4 times a day. Personally, I take all the time necessary to make sure my primary is set really well, which at times has meant pulling it completely once or twice.

I do think the Danforth/Fortress is a better design in most of the Chesapeake, where you have softish mud and not much current-driven shift. So, if it isn't trouble for you to switch back and forth (and store the Delta), maybe go with a FX55 as primary in your home cruising grounds, and switch to the Delta when you go south. I have thought of doing so for trips to the Chesapeake, but never have, and have never wished (yet) that I did.

As always, I recommend Earl Hinz' "Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring" for those obsessed with such things, more for his discussion of technique than some of the tests by others he reports on, but still an essential part of any serious cruiser's library.

George
Hatteras 56MY
 
We have an FX-55 that we can let you have for a good price. It has a setting for mud that has a steeper angle. We will be heading South to work on the boat soon, if you want it let me know.
It did not hold for us in the Bahamas when we were in a grassy area, so we went with a 55# Delta. Our 35# CQR held well, but we want to have some insurance so we sleep a little better.
 
The first owner of my boat (50Klbs wet) left a fortress Fx-23 with a 250’ of rode on the boat. I thought it looked like a toy anchor. I have to say that that little sucker has incredible holding power- and it’s a great stern anchor

We were part of a raft up on the Hudson year’s back (Boatbum was along side of us) and that little anchor was one of the 2 stern anchors holding the group in place- I think at one time there was close to 20 boats

I would think the FX 37 would be a good second anchor
 
Yup. He did that. And the FX-55 would have stretched your anchor rode so he could have played dueling banjos on it. :D
 
Your responses highlight exactly the arguments that I have been working through myself. The FX 37 is easier to handle and would be deployed more readily. It probably would work adequately in good conditions, but a larger FX 55 would be a better solution for rougher weather. We do use two anchors whenever we leave the boat unattended, so it needs to be deployable in a reasonable fashion. Also anchoring at night, which we did not do on our previous boat, but will on the new boat, I am certain my wife will insist on using two anchors. I guess the optimal solution is to have both, but that is not going to happen any time soon and I think I would get a CQR or something other than an FX as a rough weather only anchor.

What do you guys consider a reasonable chain length and rode length? We anchor in typically 15 to 35 feet of water so I was thinkg 12 feet of chain would be a reasonable comprimise, not too heavy to handle by hand but still adequate to set the anchor. Maybe 150 ft of triple strand. I guess I am leaning towards the FX 55 as it is probably safer to go a little heavier and I think it will fit in the anchor locker on the bow and come in at just over 40 pounds with the chain.

In our previous trips to the bahamas I found I could set the delta using the boat most of the time but had to start the Danforth by hand with tanks or snorkel as often tiimes the grass or rocky bottom made it impossible to just drop and set the anchor.
 
Viking has a bad habit of undersizing their anchor rode and anchor weights. Carefully evaluate the original anchor...
 
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