Fortress Commando Small Craft Anchoring System - Lightweight Aluminum Boat Anchor for Kayaks, Canoes & Dinghies | Perfect for Fishing, Camping & Marine Adventures

Pros : Holds Like Crazy Once Hooked UpCons : Reliability Issues In UseBest Uses : Small BoatsI have a small "Commando" G-5 and a larger one for my other boat, a 26 foot power boat which is notably heavy for her size.The flukes assemble to the stock, crown and shank with a slip together setup. Everything is held in place with machine screws through the flukes squeezing clamps around the stock. (The stock is the horizontal bar across the bottom of the flukes)If the clamps are not extremely tight that stock can slide sideways out of the clamps and ultimately spontainious disassembly could occur! I was shocked after sitting on the g-5 for an afternoon to pull it up and find I was only inches from this occurance! The stock had already slid most of the way out! A few more hours and my boat definately would have been on the beach. It was only a small Boston Whaler and I was only a few feet away up on the beach so that wouldn't have been a tragedy, but if the wind were offshore and had carried the boat away it really could have su*ked! I intend to modify mine by drilling two holes through the stock that will attach to some tabs I'll have welded to the flukes where the old clamps went.... This should be a design change made at the factory! They wouldn't have to weld the tabs, ( They brag that they don't weaken the structure with welds) but could incorporate them into the fluke design.** An anchor that can fall apart unexpectedly while in use and on the bottom is a pretty scary proposition!**NEXT, although the anchor holds like crazy once it sets, the close fit between the crown and the shank means it often gets clogged with coarse sand or mud. This jambs the crown from moving which prevents the flukes from falling (pivoting) properly into position to hook up. I've experienced this a bunch of times now. That is OK under normal circumstances where you can make two or three trys to hook up,... just haul up the anchor, (its nice and light) clear the jamb, and try again... but it's not cool if you are in a situation where you need an anchor that works RIGHT NOW the first time! This jamming has happened with both the little G5 and the bigger anchor repeatedly. Maybe 25% of the time for each.This anchor is convenient, light weight, and it does hold very, very well once hooked up, so I like it a lot, but in view of the above shortcomings I wouldn't trust it as my primary anchor. I would also be very wary of using [this type or brand of anchor] for larger boats where these sorts of failures are a bigger problem. Even simply failing to hook on the first try because the flukes are jammed is a bigger PITA if you have a big boat, a large anchor, and a lot of rode.P.S. If I lost you with anchor nomenclature just google "Parts of an anchor" for a good diagram of a Danforth-style anchor.BTW: the kit bag is nice and the setup comes with 100 feet of line, some chain, and a shackle.Since this is a small boat anchor you probably won't want or need 100 feet of line most of the time you use it, so cut that line into convenient lengths. Coiling 50 feet of line is somehow 10 times easier than coiling 100 feet of line, and if you need all 100 feet you can always bend the two pieces back together with a good knot. The chain is too light to be of any use for weight, only to prevent chafe if you anchor in rocky spots. I don't so I set mine aside. You will want to add a stainless swivel to help prevent the rode from making hockels (those tight twisted loops) when you deploy or recover it. Don't forget to safety wire your shackles!Peter