We have Danforth anchors on our houseboat, but we use them as a last resort.
First choice for an anchor is no anchor at all. A Volkswagen-sized rock is better than the best anchor. In addition to the greater stability, the lack of digging is a big sell.
As a second choice, if I am on a sand beach with no rocks and have no better choice than to use an anchor, I will reach for a box anchor. They are lesser known than their more famous Danforth cousins, but are better suited to how we dig anchors into sand at Powell. If you haven't seen one, they look like this:
As a last choice, I suppose if it came down to cancelling the trip or anchoring with a Danforth I would grudgingly use one, but they sit in the bottom of our anchor box, rarely -- if ever -- used.
The same design of a Danforth that makes them great at dragging along the bottom of the ocean and grabbing a rock causes issues when you try to dig them into sand. If you aim the flukes too low, the back of the anchor will lift and flip out of the sand. If the flukes are aimed too high, pulling on the anchor line will cause them to move upward like an airplane wing, rising up and out of the sand. If by some chance you get the angle of attack just right, you stand a good chance of bending the little "axle" in the middle of the Danforth that allows it to pivot. You will see a good example of the start of this on one of the Danforths in Dave's photo.
It seems like I am saying that a Danforth is a bad anchor. Actually, I think they are a fine anchor. They are just ill-suited to the way we dig anchors into sand at Powell. The flukes on a box anchor are equally angled up and down and oppose each other. That makes them tend to stay put when you dig them into sand. A Danforth would be better suited at hooking over a rock, but if you have a rock big enough to hook a Danforth over, I would rather skip the anchor and just tie around the big rock.
I know that what I am saying borders on blasphemy. After all, the Danforth is the image that jumps into all our heads when we think of anchors. But for the unique needs of Powell, there is a more excellent way. That's my take after 48 years at Powell, for what that's worth.
