Will a Fortress FX7 anchor fit?

[fourmasons]

Thanks A7, good to be here. I’ve been lurking since Spring 2020, lot’s of great info and advice here, especially on recent mods like B58’s.
I’ve used that cellphone mount/charger on a R6 at the marina and it’s great, as advertised. I plan on using Bruce’s mounting system for the Scanstrut charger on my R5, maybe a nice Father’s Day gift!
Lest we drift to far with the (my) thread creep, swapped out my old vinyl covered anchor chain for a much heavier gauge stainless steel chain and hardware. Huge improvement with my FX7, the chain weight really helps keep it from ‘sailing’ while setting anchor.

[bruceb58]

I think if I had the older style docking lights that protruded into the locker area, I might consider switching to the LED versions that are a lot smaller.

Food for thought for down the road.

[AsLan7]

Thanks A7, good to be here. I’ve been lurking since Spring 2020, lot’s of great info and advice here, especially on recent mods like B58’s.
I’ve used that cellphone mount/charger on a R6 at the marina and it’s great, as advertised. I plan on using Bruce’s mounting system for the Scanstrut charger on my R5, maybe a nice Father’s Day gift!
Lest we drift to far with the (my) thread creep, swapped out my old vinyl covered anchor chain for a much heavier gauge stainless steel chain and hardware. Huge improvement with my FX7, the chain weight really helps keep it from ‘sailing’ while setting anchor.

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Great stuff FM. Thanks for uploading those pics as well. Like so many folks on the site it is comforting to see such clean anchor lockers and well taken care of boats.
We currently use the vinyl coated chain which works well with our sandy bottom beaches here in Erie. That's a nice tidbit to know about the stainless chain though.

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[bruceb58]

Lest we drift to far with the (my) thread creep, swapped out my old vinyl covered anchor chain for a much heavier gauge stainless steel chain and hardware. Huge improvement with my FX7, the chain weight really helps keep it from ‘sailing’ while setting anchor.

What size chain and what length did you end up using? I was actually thinking of switching to stainless chain.

[fourmasons]

1/4” chain, 8’ long, 5/16” shackles, all #316 S/S.
Of course it adds to the weight of the entire anchor package, but it’s much more manageable than the original galvanized steel Danforth and steel chain I initially had on my SeaRay 220 and Cobalt 240. I swapped out for the FX-7 with the vinyl covered chain back when the 240 was fairly new. The vinyl does help in protecting the gel coat when deploying and retrieving the anchor, it just doesn’t have the heft I like. Brought the FX-7 over to the R5 when we bought it in 2014 and went with the S/S chain and shackles a few years ago. Fairly shallow in the St Johns River, not more than 40’ +/- in the channel. I rarely anchor in more than 10’, so 100’ of 5/8” braided line to go with the 8’ chain works great for me.

[dustinm]

Very informative

[bruceb58]

My chain length is 25' which I feel is on the short side. There are a couple rules of thumb. One is 1.5 times the wind speed and one is boat length plus wind speed. I have never had a problem with 25' so might just stick with that. Since I don't boat in the ocean anymore, it's not critical. If it gets windy, I just drive back to my dock