Fortress FX-16 Anchor
- Brand:
- Fortress
- Part no:
- FX-16
Image: Fisheries Supply
Where to buy
Specifications
- Size
- FX-16
Fortress's FX-16, made, as Fortress says of all its anchors, from a hardened aluminum-magnesium alloy. Fortress says its 45-degree fluke setting gives a superior hold in soft mud and silt, and sizes its anchors for boats of average windage and proportions in 30 knots of wind, average bottom conditions and moderate protection from open seas, one or two sizes larger for storm conditions. For rode it calls for three-strand nylon, at least 6 ft of chain for every 25 ft of depth and at least 5:1 scope.
Our take
The FX-16 is a 10 lb aluminum anchor that disassembles, so a spare or storm anchor takes little room to carry. The maker sizes it for 33 to 38 ft boats on hard sand, so treat that as a guide and judge it against your own boat and the bottoms you anchor in.
From our buying guide
The Coast Guard does not regulate anchors, so no anchor carries its approval. Each maker sizes on its own assumptions, so a size on one chart does not translate to another.
Check before you buy:
- You know what wind the maker's chart assumes. Rocna's assumes 50 knots and Fortress's 30 knots.
- It fits your bow, since makers say some designs fit bow rollers, bow pulpits or bowsprits better.
- The type suits your bottom. A Coast Guard Auxiliary article says the right type depends a lot on your boat, your anchoring and the make-up of the bottom.