Best Boat Anchors, Bruce, Danforth, Delta and Plow

Best Boat Anchors, Bruce, Danforth, Delta, and Plow

The Best Boat Anchors

Captain Cody walks around the marina showing examples of anchors people use on different style boats. Popular anchors include the following.

Bruce anchor or claw anchor is the same anchor design. The claw is just the generic name for the anchor. This is the best anchor in my opinion for any type of bottom or size of boat.

The CQR or Plow anchor is popular on sailboats. This anchor has great holding strength which is important when you are consistently anchoring up for the night and going to sleep.

The delta or wing anchor is great when anchoring in any bottom. It is popular with boats ranging from 20-50 feet.

The Danforth or Fluke anchor is popular with small boats under 20 feet in length. You will see in this video people use them for large boats as well. This is an anchor that is low cost and works good in soft bottoms such as sand, mud or clay. It does not work good on rocky bottoms and will get stuck and break. The anchor also tends to drift as it is falling which can make anchoring at deep depths difficult.

I hope this video helps you select the best boat anchor.

Thanks for watching,

Captain Cody

[Greatlakessailing]

The danforth was invented for maximum holding power. A steel one will bury itself very deep in sand and mud. They have a hard time on stone, but most do. The appropriate danforth, sized properly, will out hold every anchor on the market with the correct scope. As far as the boat size, the only limit is the size you buy. A 100lb galvanized danforth has no problem holding a 60' boat in all weather conditions.

[icannevergetthistowork]

I presently have a 32 foot boat and my previous boat was a 40 foot steel boat. Both use a Danforth and spent many nights anchored out with no problems. I boat on lake Erie.

[luisc]

you are incorect my friend i have drag so bad on my cqr anchor in heavy currants or storms and have had bad expiriance rehooking after it pops out and danforth has never faild me even in storms and it has pop out and hook very fast so did not drag at all even in storms

[searchingforsea]

I would be mindful of advising those overnight anchoring (e.g., sailboats) to have quick releases setup on their Bruce anchors since in rough conditions, the quick release could break and the boat might end up on the shore after dragging.

[weebluegaffer]

I have yet to see anyone have the anchor chain attached to the trip hole in the UK or outside fishermen on youtube. I would never do it I could not sleep knowing it was set up like that. The hole at the back of the anchor is for a separate trip line not you main chain/warp.
Better to loose an anchor than your boat.

[mikenagy]

Well the anchor discussion has pretty much ended by Steve on Panope. Look him up on the internet, he has dozens of actual trials of every type of anchor out there and some you haven't heard of. He tests these anchors for holding, reset, and in different bottoms using different scope. Some of the conclusions I have drawn are that probably 70 percent of boats out there have a bad anchor, not enough chain, or large enough chain. The old style anchors like Bruce or CQR are pretty much useless but will hold if conditions are perfect. The modern roll bar anchors are much better especially when resetting. The Rocna Vulcan with no roll bar, is excellent as well. If you want the science of which anchors are good, check Panope out.

[falsedragon]

Never fished saltwater, but I have spent countless hours on most of the Columbia, with the reach and McNary being my fav. The Grouser Fluke System (I think that's what they call the so-called Columbia River Anchor) works really well but seems to break away almost every time. I like the screwable zip ties. The ones with the little hole for a screw. That holds, while another regular zip ties through the hole, in order to retrieve it after breaking.

[robertparkinson]

CQR the anchor for me, never dragged it yet Touch wood.

[SOLDOZER]

I have a Bruce, dont use the safety method and its never got stuck. If its dug in good I just run over the anchor or spin the boat 180 degrees and yank it out.

[johntodd]

The Danforth anchor you thought was aluminum, is actually a Magnesium alloy. They’re made by Fortress. They’re like 1/2the weight of the galvanized version, and just as strong. I’ve been using a 7 lbs on a 24’ boat with ho problems.

[davidbolduc]

I live on the East coast and was wondering why you put so much emphasis on anchor retrieval and then at the end I realized you were anchoring in really deep water. Nice video. Thx

[mcguireb]

I plan on doing some over night anchoring on the Mississippi. I don't want to spend a small fortune on an anchor. There is a good probability of various snags that will want to keep my anchor down there. Would a separate line tied to the retrieval hole work instead of rigging the breakaway?

[johnkosowski]

In sand or mud, there is no better anchor than the fluke anchor such as a fortress. Every boat should have an aluminum fluke for a backup. The reason for aluminum is that weight is not relevant for a fluke. Flukes don't perform well in weeds, however, Your "safety chain" method is great for anchoring temporarily, but I would never leave my boat at anchor like that. Best to just have a retrieval line on the same location.

[leeclifton]

What if you are anchoring your boat and leaving it to go ashore hunting or whatever? Could the breakaway function cause your boat to come loose not in the desired manner while you are away?

[mrhotdog]

Great video. What type of cord did you use for the breakaway. I think you referred to it as "ganyan", but I cant find it anywhere on google.

[codyledoux]

Wow quiet the anchor controversy!! I love all the "pros" that know better than all the Alaskan guides for Alaskan waters!!

Anywho great videos Cody, I'm in Southeast AK, and just bought a 220 SeaRunner and bought a couple of the fluke anchors at a lawn sale but I dont feel like they're that great.

What size/weight Bruce anchor would you suggest for a 22' Hewescraft with an extended transom?? Thanks bud great videos

[v]

Great info, learned a lot. We use bruce anchors at work - and they are certainly not tied up right. We pull them out by hand, lost a couple in some deep water with a strong current. My 27 foot Catalina came with two danforth types, I plan on switching now.

[davesmith]

As you demonstrated ow to tie the chain onto your anchor I noticed that there is slack chain towards the head. Is that deliberate and if so why?

[jdaniels]

Thanks for the helpful and educational videos of real anchors, as deployed by "real captains", and your demo of your anchor drop in 400' of water and the anchor ball.

[crunchycrispybacon]

Do you know if the anchor still holds after the rope is broken?