Anchor question

[InPursuit]

I bought a 2005 26' Seaswirl Striper that comes with a bow pulpit. I have never used or even owned a Danforth anchor before because I've always relied on the Columbia River style anchors. Most, if not all, of my anchoring was done in the CR either up in the gorge or down in the salt. I've heard that the Danforth works well in sand but what about up in the gorge or in the Willamette here I would run into river rock?

G-Dubb

[5 Salt]

I too would be anxious to hear the answer to this one as I have also recently purchased a walkaround with danforth anchor.

[johnnydeep]

I have a 28' Bayliner that weighs 9,000lbs with a pulpit and a 25lb claw(with 30' of 1/4"chain) with a 22lb danforth (w/ 40' of 1/4" chain) as a backup
In my experience (Which does NOT include rivers) the Danforth works ok in the lakes and ocean on sandy bottoms, if there is millfoil or grass on the bottom a danforth will cut into it and give you a good set, but you have to stick to a 5 or 7 to one scope to get a good set (30' of water you need 150' to 210' of line, more chain can cut this back somewhat). If you want to change your style of anchor I would suggest a bruce or claw anchor http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...01/212/11206/5 , its what I use after bending several danforths on rocks in the sound...The downside is that you would probably have to change your anchor roller to accomadate a claw type anchor, they usually will not work with a danforth style anchor roller/pulpit without modification at the least(although it may be as simple as putting a bungee cord on it to keep it from moving), and in grass and millfoil they can be impossible to get to set. Although I have never used one of the river anchors I have seen them and my uneducated guess would be that it might work with an anchor roller but I don't know about a bow pulpit.
In keeping with the "if it works don't change it" theory, my suggestion would be that if you have been using a river anchor and it works for you and how you use your boat then that would be the most important critera and stick with a river anchor and figure out how to make it work on your pulpit/roller. If you plan on doing more and want to change to another anchor or get a backup then you would have to make a decision based on your planned use.
West marine also has "west advisor" on their website, I would have included a link to it but their site has changed and I could not find the article that I was looking for that was very concise and easy to understand... what I did find is here and less than what I wanted but may help you decide on a different anchor or find a roller that will work with how you want to set things up

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/sto...catalogId=10001

[BigWaterBigFish]

Excellent post by Johnny - danforths are great as light and easy to set with proper amount of chain and proper amount of rode played out but will not hold or get stuck in the rocky bottom of the columbia upriver - some engineering with some hardware for holding the anchor out and steady might do the trick given the size/length of pulpit on the newer Stripers, alternative is to carry it stowed and then run up front and swap it out when you are near the anchor point.

[Onokai]

I have used danforths for over 40 years on the ocean. Sand /rock/kelp. I know very little about fresh water applications but know that danforths will work well. The only other anchor for your pulpit is a Bruce which also work super. The key is lots of chain then a long chunk of samson braid nylon for scope. As a diver I always check my sets so i know how they set-. Mark