I bought a Fortress and the large box anchors at same time this past summer. Fortress is great but wished it was a little narrower. Box anchor doesn't need a chain and can reset if direction changes 180 degrees, but a 10-15 degree shift and it may or may not reset. Or put it this way- I'll sell the box for half price plus shipping.
Rick

Nothing quite like anchoring in with a small box holding tight. You can hammer on them all day and it still feels like it's ready for more.


Or am I in the wrong thread?

Nothing holds me better then my old 350 Chevy block when I tuss it over and have a line to it.
However, on the Misc, it really depands whre you anchor down, depth. etc. When I lived in Chicago and during the air and water show, I seen boaters bang into each other, so I always had to anchors down with chains and planty of line for the correct "attack" angle. The "reset" cmments are missleading. the anchors are not designed to "reset" but with the sliding "loop" is the methid of releasing opposite of the setting direction. It's for retraction not to reset. If you moving 180 you better reset your anchor on your own. By the time you moved 60 or 90 deg. your anchor is dragging fishing for sea weeds.

Why not just get the new stow away system from fortress.... light weight and nothing holds better. I'm in the Coast Guard and its what we use on all of our responce boats...


http://www.fortressanchors.com/stowaway-bags

Good luck with it... Oh and when in sandy bottom its usually a 3:1 ratio for depth to line... obviously it can be adjusted for wind and situation but its a good place to start. I hope this helps you.

I have a large box anchor, in North TX the lakes are generally mud/clay. It's over kill, it wedges down in that **** and it's a workout pulling it up mainly because you have 20lbs of mud still stuck to it. It takes a system to get it done efficiently but it holds like no other. Storing it makes it worth the PIA to bring it up, fits just about anywhere.

I don't have my Laveycraft anymore and my next boat isn't going to be as big, if you want buy, hit me up on a PM.

Good Luck

Thanks for all of the input guys. It sounds like most of you "love the box", unless you're a Chicago boater. I'm fairly sure that sticking with my fortress is going to be the best option. I'll have to fabricate some brackets to mount it in the bilge, making it a less intrusive inside the cockpit and wedging it undertakes rear seat

Just make sure that if you get someone else other then yourself throwing the anchor out that they know the end need to be tied to the boat! I watched my Danforth and 100' of line go overboard outside Diversey harbor one year during the air/water show when a buddy threw the anchor and didn't think to tie it up! I have it marked on my handheld GPS and maybe i'll go diving for it one day just for kicks....good thing I had a spare onboard that day!

I have never boated Chi-town but my vote is, keep the Fortress if you have it.

I have both the Small and Large Box anchor (there is NO medium size). I also have a Fortress FX-37, huge overkill I know.
The Fortress sets and holds very well, light to bring up and does not hold mud like the Box. Any of the Danforth style with dig down and hold on most bottom types. Box sets fast and holds well in sand or clay bottom. Does not do as well in silt and poor in weeds.

I keep the Large box in my anchor locker for general use.
The Fortress is stored broken down (w wrench included) ready for use in situations where I want to lock down. Often, this corresponds with times when I don't want the stern to swing so the Box is redeployed off the stern which is ideal with its short scope.

You can never have too much ground tackle of adequate size. Go ahead and get the Box, just don't get rid of the Fortress.

if you don't mind spending a little bit of money get an Ultra anchor, I got tired of my fortress pulling out on windy days and not being able to set in grass and it needed a lot of scope. I am using the smallest ultra anchor they make 11lb and I just drop it over the side and toss a little slack out and cleat it off it always hooks up instantly, I have about 6ft or 5/16" chain on it. It is the best anchor I have ever used by far. The recommended anchor for my boat is 2 sizes bigger 26lb but I think that must be for a hurricane!

I tossed it out one very windy day at the sandbar 25mph wind and out going tide in the same direction, the boat was drifting fast I purposely cleated it off then tossed it out to see how it would do, it stopped the boat like it was tied to a piling.

http://www.quickline.us/index.aspx
http://www.quickline.us/docs/AnchorCharacteristics.pdf