Steve B wrote:
I have retrieved lots of anchors scuba diving in Lake Mead and the Colorado
river. Some were easy, some stuck fast. I would suggest matching the
anchor to the terrain as the major factor. After that, it's just dumb luck.
I could see just how some people lost theirs, tracing their remnant of
anchor ropes. It was amazing that most of them just had to back up, but
probably didn't have, couldn't read, or couldn't see their compasses. A
couple took prybars, but most just came out when pulled in the right
direction. Lots of them had that slider ring.

Steve



They are both essentially the same design and from the same
manufacturer. The Fortress is nearly twice the price of the Guardian.
I anchor mostly in sand.

Here's the website: http://www.fortressanchors.com/

I'm covered in the chain/rope/scope department.

Bruce

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:33:41 -0500, wrote:


I'm looking for a new anchor for my 20' center console. Has anyone had
any real-world experience with the Fortress and the Guardian? I've read
the website but it doesn't help me decide if the Fortress is worth the
extra money.

To tell you the truth, I don't see why you would need the Fortress as
the Guardian is just as capable - it just doesn't have the extra
machining and that angle adjustment do-hickey thing which you
shouldn't need anyway.

You're still going to need about 6 to 8' of chain though so keep that
in mind - the chain makes the anchor a little uncomfortable to handle,
but it helps set the anchor and hold it in place.

It looks like the base Guardian anchor should be sufficient for a 20'
CC. I use a regular Danforth, 8' of chain and 150' of 3/8" braided
line and it holds on almost any type of bottom conditions.


Thanks! I have 20' of chain and 200' (maybe 250') of rope so that's not
an issue.

Bruce

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 21:40:03 -0800 (PST),
wrote:


On Jan 1, 11:41 pm, Tom Francis - SWSports
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:33:41 -0500, wrote:

I'm looking for a new anchor for my 20' center console. Has anyone had
any real-world experience with the Fortress and the Guardian? I've read
the website but it doesn't help me decide if the Fortress is worth the
extra money.

To tell you the truth, I don't see why you would need the Fortress as
the Guardian is just as capable - it just doesn't have the extra
machining and that angle adjustment do-hickey thing which you
shouldn't need anyway.

You're still going to need about 6 to 8' of chain though so keep that
in mind - the chain makes the anchor a little uncomfortable to handle,
but it helps set the anchor and hold it in place.

It looks like the base Guardian anchor should be sufficient for a 20'
CC. I use a regular Danforth, 8' of chain and 150' of 3/8" braided
line and it holds on almost any type of bottom conditions.

I use a regular Danforth, 8' of chain ..

Isn't your Rode supposed to be as long as your Boat? I've read OUR
Regs, and that's what it says. I just wonder where to store 20 FEET of
CHAIN in a 20 foot Runabout.... I guess the Battery Box will do. I do
have a anchor Storage forward, but with the Anchor, the chain, and all
that rope in there, it'd hold it all. The "lake " toolbox occupies it
for now.

Just my .02

That is the problem - 20' of chain is over kill in my opinion. For a
boat that size, 6' to 8' is more than sufficient. In theory, you
should have 1/8" of line thickness for every 10' of boat length, but
for a 20' boat, that's only a 1/4". 1/4" line is very difficult to
handle.

It's all a compromise for small boats - 20' of anchor chain is over
kill as is 3/8" braided line, but 8' of 1/4" chain and 150' of 3/8"
brained is sufficient for almost all situations you are going to have
to anchor in.

I have 1/2" braided line and 3/8" chain. I got the line at a marine
flea market for a great price.

Bruce

On Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:50:45 -0500, Gene
wrote:

Exactly..... why I installed a windlass......

I have one on the Grady. It's kind of overkill on the Ranger.

Rather than carry chain on my 21 footer, I used to carry a small
mushroom anchor with 10 ft. of 1/2 in. line wrapped around it. If I
thought I was going to need extra line on the anchor rode, I would hook
up the anchor to the end of the 10 ft. line and then attach the anchor
line to the small mushroom anchor (10 lt) That would keep the anchor
rode lying flat and was very easy to store. Didn't use it very often,
Lake St. Clair is not very deep.

Happy boating, Norm

N.L. Eckert wrote:
Rather than carry chain on my 21 footer, I used to carry a small
mushroom anchor with 10 ft. of 1/2 in. line wrapped around it. If I
thought I was going to need extra line on the anchor rode, I would hook
up the anchor to the end of the 10 ft. line and then attach the anchor
line to the small mushroom anchor (10 lt) That would keep the anchor
rode lying flat and was very easy to store. Didn't use it very often,
Lake St. Clair is not very deep.

Happy boating, Norm



There are circumstances in which Fortress/Guardian anchors are
troublesome. These include anchoring in areas with really strong
currents/winds and anchoring in areas with rocky bottoms or with bottoms
that have a lot of debris.

In a strong current, even with a short piece of chain attached, these
light anchors will "sail" for a considerable distance before they hit
bottom and catch. Thus, it becomes more difficult to anchor and have the
boat catch on that anchor anywhere near where you want it to be.

Also, the flukes on these lightweight anchors bend a hell of a lot
easier than the flukes on a galvanized anchor. If your anchor gets
caught hard on the bottom, releasing it may involve forces that bend the
flukes on a Fortress/Guardian anchor.