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Random Quote: If you dont stand for something..youll fall for anything!!"
My wife bought a Fortress anchor for me as a early Christmas gift and I was excited about not having to lug that 13 lb anchor up anymore, but when I tried to anchor up to one of my favorite grouper holes (about 30 feet by 20 feet on avg) it took about double the rode to get it to set compared to the old galv. one. I had to pull it up 3 times to get it to set and wasted about 1.5 hours hassleing with it that day. I brought it back to Westmarine and the clerk said " you are the first one to complain about a Fortress anchor" all I know is it did not work or set nearly as fast as the galv. one, they did refund my money with no problems. I think Fortress gets thier claims of the best anchor by using the max. rode, and if you are not pinpointing specific targets, that may be the case. Did not work for my needs. What are your opinions?
Fortress anchors work fine as long as you have plenty of chain, and from your account it sounds like you didn't have enough chain. ??? We use about 30' behind a FX-12 for my dad's 36' and it works great.
More chain is always good but the Fortress presents a unique problem in free-fall. One of the complaints often heard about Fortress is that they sink very slow, they are so light that they "flutter" down slowly often fouling your chain or even the rode on the way down. Once set they are very strong especially considering how light they are. The best way to deploy a Fortress is to drop it down slow by hand or windlass and then lay the chain down which is a PITA for deep or precision drops.
Fortress anchors work fine as long as you have plenty of chain, and from your account it sounds like you didn't have enough chain. ??? We use about 30' behind a FX-12 for my dad's 36' and it works great.
whats the point of a 7lb anchor compared to a 13lb anchor if you have to add double the chain & weight to accomplish the same thing? Then that $50- anchor compared to the Fortress @ $170- plus double the chain does not make sense to me! And I am pulling the same or more weight to retrieve it- Where is the benifit?
All that chain completely negates the advantage of the expemsive aluminum anchor. Even with a mile of chain, they suck on hardbottom. Great on soft bottom though.
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I'm not sure where you're at - but in Florida the Sea Claw anchor is available from a guide in the Englewood area. I picked mine up at a local boat dealer.
It works great on my 22ft bay boat, with or without chain, for the type of bottom we have around Tampa Bay. Works equally as well in the Keys.
Website says it works in sand, grass, mud or rocks.
It sticks the first time everytime - throw it out and hang on!
My experiences with Fortress are they are not worth the $$. I also had a much harder time getting it to hold in spots that my Danforth had no problem. And I went with the "up-size" on the fortress, much larger than my previous anchor
The sea-claw mentioned above is awesome. Sinks like a brick with no "fluttering" and sets first time every time. Rig one up breakaway style and it will be the last anchor you ever buy.
deepsleep
You need to use alot of heavy chain no matter what type of Danforth style anchor you use. Once set, the chain does the same thing for alum or steel. I recover a million(major exageration) anchors diving and one thing in common, short light chain, or long light chain, or even no chain. I have only recovered one Fortress ever. I still have it, works great for me with 15 ft of the heaviest chain I could get. Heavy chain is expensive, but the ticket to easy anchoring, and not loosing anchors due to them dragging and getting hung on stuff they won't come out of. I get more excited about recovering a anchor with good chain than any anchor itself. And the funny thing is, I have never found a anchor with completely acceptable chain(to me). I had to buy chain!
Another good thing about Fortress is: If you do hang it, you likely can detroy it and rip it out of the bottom. Fortress will basically replace a recovered anchor(certain models), no matter how destryed it is, for shipping cost. I've recieved virtually complete anchors(everything but maybe one piece) at least three times for shipping charges of around $8.
The weight of the anchor is not what sets the anchor. Unless you use no chain or very weak excuse for chain. If your using the correct chain for a steel anchor, the Fortress will work perfect (probably better). If you skimp on chain, with steel or alum anchor, it will soon be in my collection.
The most common recovered anchor is the sea claw for me. They are never bent up either. Steel danforth type anchors are very common, but usually bent.
disappointed with Fortress anchor 
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