Fortress Anchor

[Shookie]

@Shookie can vouch for me, but we had both 242’s on one Fx7. 6’ 1/4” chain in the current and wind at the coast in NC. Bottom conditions are important but you can adjust the Fortress. Get a stainless chain and you have a rust free setup. I have two, one for front and rear and keep the spare in their storage bag (they break down easy). In my opinion best anchor on the market.

Fortress SFX-7 Stowaway Bag f/FX-7 Amazon.com : Fortress SFX-7 Stowaway Bag f/FX-7 : Handheld And Pda Products And Accessories : Sports & Outdoors

You forgot to mention the stern rope snapped! Anchor didn’t move, but the waves and current were so rough that the rope snapped. Luckily we were right there....

 

[ncnmra]

I have a digger anchor, and really like it. It holds great, and easily fits alongside the totally useless Yamaha anchor in the front locker.

Digger Anchor | Bass Pro Shops

Buy the Digger Anchor and more quality Fishing, Hunting and Outdoor gear at Bass Pro Shops.

www.basspro.com

 

[sysinu]

I have an FX-11. Holds great. The trick with any of these anchors is to have a good amount of chain.

I have FX-11 out the bow (I cut the stock down a bit) and then a Large Box Anchor out the back. Box anchor is HEAVY.

 

[props2you]

MGoMike said:
How much chain are you guys using for your Fortress FX-7? I saw one person went with 15’. Is that the general consensus or do others go with less?

I have 10’ on mine and even that might be overkill for my conditions, but I have never had issues with it holding. Great anchor.




The rode is what does the "heavy lifting" by keeping your anchor on the bottom. I'm at 50% length of my boat at 12ft 1/4" SS chain, my wife throws and it sticks, never had an issue!

 

[sysinu]

The rode is what does the "heavy lifting" by keeping your anchor on the bottom. I'm at 50% length of my boat at 12ft 1/4" SS chain, my wife throws and it sticks, never had an issue!

Exactly this. I have 12' of 5/8" chain. It's heavy as can be, but it does the trick.

Also note... I have a
Manson Supreme: Galvanized Anchor, 15lb., 18' to 25' Boat Length, 20.25"L x 11.75"W x 12"H
Fortress FX-11 with a trimmed stock (so it fits well in the bow anchor locker)
Slide Anchor Large Box Anchor
2x Slide Anchor Large shore spike


The Manson supreme is unreal. But it's a total pig. (heavy, hard to clean, etc) This is very much like the plow style Mantus.

Fortress FX-11 is completely worthless without chain. It's super light, you need to have proper rode and proper scope, but once it sets, it's great. It also cleans extremely easy.

Slide Anchor Large Box Anchor is nice, but like the Manson Supreme, it's a pig. Stupid heavy, and I always get nervous when I get it up to the boat to clean it. Because it's so heavy and big, holding it near the water close enough for me to clean it has me worried that I'm going to bash into my boat and screw up my gelcoat.

Slide Anchor Large Shore Spikes are the best in my opinion. These are my favorite. I had one early on that would get jammed, which sucked until I got it fixed - but other than that, I love using these more than any other anchor... that said... you can't really use these under water ;-).


There are a lot of Mantus fans on this forum and I think there's also a rep/reseller for their product as well. It gets great reviews. I bought my FX-11 before I found out about Mantus and my FX-11 does everything that I want... so I have no reason to look at anything else for that use case at this point.


My testing went: Manson -> FX-11 -> Large Box.

I'm contemplating getting a SS small box anchor just to see if it does what I want... but I am concerned that it's going to be too lightweight for my needs (I guess I could just add 10# of chain to it...).

 

[props2you]

Fortress FX-11 is completely worthless without chain. It's super light, you need to have proper rode and proper scope, but once it sets, it's great. It also cleans extremely easy.

As @sysinu clarify's and don't think should be overlooked, and really should be point #1. I've see way too many boaters go out stop where they want to stay and drop anchor, then say the anchor doesn't work, doesn't hold.... HUH?!?! Anchor works fine, just need to know how to use it!!

Anchoring is an art, between scope, rode and wind and all the other factors that contribute to a boat's anchor hold. But, by far is that most boaters do not allow enough scope and complain their anchor sucks.

Proper scope is key to any anchor!!

 

[Pokes1789]

I have a couple of fluke style anchors that didn’t exactly work all the time including the Yamaha coated one.

I went to the box anchor and never worry about not setting and it fits in my anchor locker.
It is a little heavy and you have to snap it together but I got used to it, did I say no chain required!

I have heard good things about the fortress and I almost bought it. Ultimately it’s whatever works for where you anchor.

What size did you get for it to fit in the locker?