Did a lot of Willard’s come with forfjord anchors
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nwboater
Senior Member
My 1978 W40 “Northstar” came with a #40 Forfjord which was original to the boat. I did not have great success with that anchor so switched to a #55 Rocna which took care of us for a decade in all manner of Southeast Alaska and PNW anchorages. I sold the Forfjord to an Alaska fisherman for $400 (today a new #40 model sells for $1,200 through Fisheries!).
widebodywillard
Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2021
- Messages
- 5
- Vessel Name
- Sanderling
- Vessel Make
- Willard 40 Widebody Vega
Our 1974 40' Willard had the original "factory anchor option" which included a #6 Forfjord anchor which weighs 66 pounds. The option also included 600' of 5/16" chain and an Ideal anchor windless. We've replaced the chain with heavier 3/8" chain and a larger Lofrans windless but we're still using the old Forfjord anchor. I make sure the boat is moving backwards when the anchor hits the bottom so that the chain pays out and doesn't wrap around a fluke or the shank and this seems to work. Not that it means anything but most of the fishing boats in Alaska use Forfjord anchors but since they're made in Seattle maybe it's a PNW thing.
Tom and Nancy Loners, Wrangell AK.
40' Willard, "Sanderling"
Tom and Nancy Loners, Wrangell AK.
40' Willard, "Sanderling"
Nomad Willy
Guru
I’m a long time Willard owner and have never heard of a Willard w a ForFjord anchor.
Not a fan of the FF anchor. Had one in Alaska. In Rocky Pass near a river I deployed the FF but could only drag it around. Never did hook up. Threw out the anchor that was the original on our W30 .. a 13lb Danforth w a forged shank.
Set immediately and held w my usual 1400rpm backdown.
In SE Alaska most of the commercial fishermen do use (or at least carry around) the ForFjord anchor. Many also use the Bruce type or one of several other anchors that look like a Bruce but are simple cast steel. They vary a bit in shape. Lots of skippers swear the actual Bruce brand claw is far superior to the copies. On average they are most likely inferior but I think at least one may be as good or possibly even better. Just my opinion. Many skippers use claw anchors and are quite happy w them. Frankly I think the ForFjords are about the same performance as the average Claw.
Steve G did some testing of the ForFjord and it was mostly negative. I’d prefer a Claw of equal weight.
The anchor on the right was my 13lb forged shank plate steel Danforth.
The 22lb Donforth w forged shank and forged fluke (left) is the highest performance Danforth that was made.
Not a fan of the FF anchor. Had one in Alaska. In Rocky Pass near a river I deployed the FF but could only drag it around. Never did hook up. Threw out the anchor that was the original on our W30 .. a 13lb Danforth w a forged shank.
Set immediately and held w my usual 1400rpm backdown.
In SE Alaska most of the commercial fishermen do use (or at least carry around) the ForFjord anchor. Many also use the Bruce type or one of several other anchors that look like a Bruce but are simple cast steel. They vary a bit in shape. Lots of skippers swear the actual Bruce brand claw is far superior to the copies. On average they are most likely inferior but I think at least one may be as good or possibly even better. Just my opinion. Many skippers use claw anchors and are quite happy w them. Frankly I think the ForFjords are about the same performance as the average Claw.
Steve G did some testing of the ForFjord and it was mostly negative. I’d prefer a Claw of equal weight.
The anchor on the right was my 13lb forged shank plate steel Danforth.
The 22lb Donforth w forged shank and forged fluke (left) is the highest performance Danforth that was made.
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mvweebles
Guru
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2019
- Messages
- 7,796
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Weebles
- Vessel Make
- 1970 Willard 36 Trawler
The W36 was setup for a Fordjord. I've zoomed the pic in the OP and you can see not much else will fit properly. Given the W36 was designed by Bill Garden in the 1950s, a noted PNW Naval architect, it makes sense since it was the modern anchor of the day.
Peter
Russell Clifton
Guru
Our previous Defever had a Fordjord anchor and it worked perfectly. Our current Defever has a Rocna and I would not trade it for anything! ( Although we have only rode out 50mph winds so far)
