Stern anchoring revisited with our Fortress anchor - 2014

October 2014 - Paradise Village Marina in Banderas Bay Mexico

Our Fortress  FX-16 which is usually mounted on the stern.

 After stern anchoring some we decided we had the wrong equipment to do the job easily, mostly it is the anchor and rode. The other part was the dinghy hangs too low on the stern for the anchor rode to pass under it without chafing the dinghy. This we are correcting by raising the dinghy davits.

The anchor we use is a Fortress FX-16 which was our old Catalina 30' main anchor. It is rated for a 36' boat which our Islander Freeport is. However we do not need such a large anchor on the stern. Possibly for a storm a stern anchor or emergency anchor but not for normal use as we have used it as we have found out.

The Fortress  FX-16 is too big and berries its self good into the bottom and with the 6-12 ft of the correct size chain and rode it is not possible to haul out with a dinghy. (There are posts on the blog of the stern anchor rode specifics). Most of the time we found we stern anchored to keep the bow of our S\V Elgant'sea facing into the swell for a more comfortable anchor and to keep the chain from twisting up.

This means every time the swell changes the anchor needs to be moved to adjust for the swell. It could be every couple of or few days.

We do use a tag line with buoy to pull the anchor out with the dinghy but no go!

The larger stern anchors are good for tucking in at the Channel Islands off California or hiding from a Northerly in the Se of Cortex, but for ridding a swell ant anchor for a week, no so much. At least that's what we have experienced.

While riding anchor in La Cruz anchorage we watched Danny on S\V Cyclades a 50' or larger wooden catch change his stern anchor location quite often. I called him on the VHF and asked about his stern anchor. He uses a small Fortress and a tag line to pull it up.

So we ordered a Fortress FX-7 (4 lbs boats 16-27') which is the smallest they make. It is coming down with Ken and Nancy on S\V Gitane, they are driving down the end of this month with a truck load :)

This was taken when Erick stopped by our boat. He has a Fortress FX-7.