"Edgar" wrote in message
...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
Yep. I'm mostly in the SF bay, but do take overnights in the bay and in
other nearby places. If you're careful about where you stop, you can
always get decent holding. My Bruce is in the same range. I think my old
boat shoe would hold well in bay mud. If I was going anywhere of
significance, I would upgrade the current Bruce. (I also have a backup
Danforth 13 in a lazz.)

What is your Danforth like? I imported my boat from USA and it came with
Danforth bower and kedge anchors.
The main anchor weighed 22 lb and had quite good area of flukes but I
immediately threw it out because the shank was cut from plate only 3/16"
thick.
This was supposed to be Ok for a 38' boat weighing 16000 lb!
. To make matters worse the shank was shaped like a very long triangle,
thinning down to only 1/2" wide at the point where you shackle on the
rode. By my calculation that 1/2" x 3/16" section has a breaking strain of
only just over 1 ton which is totally insufficient. Moreover, what
happens to such a thin shank when the anchor is dug well in and the tide
turns? . It has got to bend.
I have the thing at home and am reluctant to sell it on because some
unsuspecting person might rely on it for serious work. Yet it claims to be
a genuine Danforth.
IIRC Danforths were invented during the war to haul landing craft back off
the beach but I feel pretty certain that they used to be more
substantially made than this one. The smaller kedge has never been used
and therefore still bears a label claiming to be a genuine Danforth.
Something is wrong somewhere.



My main hook is a small Bruce. The Danforth is small also. I forget the
sizes.

I haven't actually used the Danforth on my boat for more than a stern hold
for an hour or so. I've used Danforths for years and they work fine in bay
mud.

I like the Bruce quite a bit, since if it does drag, it does't flip over.

I'm making the assumption that it's truly a real Danforth, but I'd have to
look again. I believe it's stamped, but not certain now that you mention it.

I've always thought they look kinda flimsy, but they seem to work. Of
course, my boat is 1/2 the weight. The biggest boat I've used Danforths on
as a primary was a Catalina 27, which is smaller than mine. My recollection
is that there are a couple of boats in the 36 foot range in our marina that
have them hanging off the front, so I suppose someone is using them. They
don't look particularly huge.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com