Primary Anchor? (demo poll)

I have a Fortress as well but have never deployed it.

Hayden, Excellent idea. Nice way to get collective feedback short and sweet. I primarily use a Bruce all the time as my overnight and lunch hook. However, if it were to get really snotty, I would deploy my plow. Both would be for great holding. We have had a few incidents where the wind switched 180 out at night using a danforth and ended up dragging. We have not used one since.

I hope this takes off....Thanks for sharing.
Pat

We cruise 24/7 in a lot of places we are unfamiliar with before we get there so tried to get a bullet proof ground tackle system. As I formerly worked at West Marine I could get about any of them for West Marine cost plus 25% as an employee before I started cruising. We adhere to the Steve Dashew philosphy: Get a large good storm anchor and make that your primary anchor... and you know you have the right anchor when others on your dock laugh at you! We elected to get a 65# SPADE with 3/8 System Seven chain. We also carry three other anchors, including a 35# Bruce, and an FX 55 and an FX37. In our last hurricane, we put out the SPade to the NW and back 50 feet from the spade shackled the Bruce 35 at the crown and end of the shank to the same chain, with another 100 feet of our 38 chain behind that. We put the FX55 out 200 feet on 3/4" GoldBraid to the NE, and put our FX37 out 100 feet to the South just to hold us waiting for the blow.

We used a combination of a CQR and Bruce initially when we moved aboard in 2003. The CQR was primary and the Bruce was never used. Switched to the Rocna in 2005 and would highly recommend it. There are several imitation versions (knocknas) but the Rocna is the anchor for us. Have used the anchor from Roque Island Maine to St Davids, Grenada and lots of places in between. No comparison.

I changed boats this year to an IP-370 from a Dufour 36. It came with a CQR. I have spent more nights this year at anchor in a wide variety of conditions than I did in total on my last boat. In saying that I have been thinking of changing it. I will watch this poll with interest.

Have only used the anchor a few times on Moondance. Have only used the Bruce with good results in sand (West coast of FL) and mud (Galveston Bay.

Great topic!
Our IP380 came with one plough anchor. Before, on our Malo, we had two Bruce anchors.
Have only tried our plough once, so don't really know what we think. But we do speculate as to what our secondary anchor should be. Like, how much space is there - i.e. which two anchors is there room for at the bow? We've been thinking Rocna. Any good advice?

Manson Supreme-best anchor ever used and self deploying

30Kg Rocna Primary
55lb Delta Secondary
35lb Fortress

I've had the Rocna since before they moved manufacturing to China. It has worked way better than the CQR on my last boat.

Charbonneau was owned and sailed for ten years by a Captain who used the best equipment. His anchors were a 66# Bruce and a 45# CQR. Who am I to argue with that kind of experience on the boat I'm now just learning to sail! In my first year and a half of anchoring from the Neuse to Marathon, the Bruce has never broken free..actually it seems to "burrow" deeper when conditions get rough.

I've been told the CQR isn't sharp enough to penetrate the Bahamas sea floor...got a big grinder that can make it pin-point sharp if necessary.

Being the second owners, our boat came with a Danforth on 20' of chain and 230' of rope and a Bruce with 300' of 3/8" chain. On the Chesapeake Bay we used the Danforth all the time and it worked great in the muddy bottom of most anchorages we encountered. That included several instances of 30 to 40 knot winds. Recently we tried anchoring in Mill Creek on the Great Wicomico and the Danforth wouldn't bite at all. The Bruce dug in on the second try and held us fine for 3 days. The bottom appeared to be thick with leaves over hard clay and shells. We'll probably invest in a 60 lb Rocna when we leave the Bay.

We use our Bruce in the Chesapeake and piggy back a Danforth 22 off of it with 15' of chain when in the Bahamas. The system has not failed yet.

Re two anchors backing up each other:

When we were threatened by a hurricane coming up the coast the first of Sept 2010 at Cape Cod we tried two anchors on one anchor chain and found it worked well. We had anchored in three directions but wanted extra holding from the direction that highest wind was expected to come from. In that direction we used 188 feet of chain on our big primary SPADE. But before deploying we shackled a 35 pound Bruce about 40 feet back from the SPADE. We took the chain off the Bruce and connected it with two shackles. We put one on the end of the shank where it traditionally is kept and put a second shackle at the base of the shank, so the anchor would stay parallel to the chain. I did this so there would be no chance of the chain getting under the shank of the Bruce.

Ed Kelly now having completed our Trans-Atlantic crossing, lying in Lymington, England