My 10 year old Chain counter stopped working as I was leaving Gibraltar.
The electrician in Martinique found that the front sensor was dead and
replaced it. Three months later, it stopped working again and this time the
electrician in Rhode Island found (for a fee of $400) that the counter was
at fault and could not figure out how to fix it (I have not yet received the
second bill). I bought a new Italian chain counter for about $160 and it
works, although I must find a way to stop it from counting the electrical
impulses from the jib motor. In the US, Defender has several brands for
sale. As long as it works by sending a signal for each rotation of the
gipsy, one can put the new sensor inside the Amel fitting on the windless
and use the same wires, which makes the installation easy. The European
chandleries also sell a variety of counters. The new counter does not look
bad and I would have saved a lot of money and time if I had not tried to fix
the original one after I left France.



Good luck and fair winds,



Miles Bidwell on board LADYBUG, Camden, Maine

SM 216