A chain counter without installation: clip it on to anchor, take it off afterwards
What a permanently fitted chain counter involves – sensor, magnet, cable, electrician – and why AnkerSepp needs none of it: clip it on before anchoring, take it off afterwards, on a charter yacht too.
The short answer
A conventional chain counter is installed: a sensor on the anchor windlass, a magnet in the gypsy, a cable from the bow to the helm, a display in the dashboard. The units cost from a few hundred euros to over €2,000 at retail, and there is usually a marine electrician's time on top.
AnkerSepp takes the other route: the device is clipped onto the windlass you already have and locked with a quarter turn. No drilling, no cables, no changes to the boat's wiring – and it shows the chain paid out in metres, right at the windlass. That makes a chain counter possible where installing one is out of the question: on a charter yacht, on a boat you do not want to drill, and on your next boat when you change.
AnkerSepp is not meant to be mounted permanently. You clip it on before anchoring and take it off again afterwards.
How a conventional chain counter works
Almost all fitted chain counters work the same way: a small magnet sits in the windlass gypsy and a sensor on the housing. Each time the gypsy turns, the magnet passes the sensor and produces a pulse. The display at the helm counts the pulses and converts them into metres.
For that to work, the windlass has to be prepared for it or retrofitted, and a cable has to run between bow and helm. Units that also control the windlass are wired into its relays as well.
What fitting one involves
A fitted chain counter is not an accessory you simply plug in. The typical sequence:
- Magnet in the gypsy and sensor on the windlass housing, unless already there.
- Run a sensor cable from the bow to the helm – through the anchor locker, bulkheads and linings.
- Fit the display, usually by cutting a hole in the dashboard.
- Connect power, and for units that control the windlass, the windlass wiring too.
- Calibrate to chain and gypsy and set the zero point.
The makers recommend professional installation. On a motorboat with a short run from bow to helm that is a few hours; on a sailing yacht whose cable has to get from the anchor locker to the cockpit, it is easily a day. And whatever is installed stays with the boat.
The alternative: clip it on
AnkerSepp is pushed onto the existing electric anchor windlass and locked with a quarter turn. One press of the button and the display reads zero. As the chain runs out, it counts along, metre by metre; when the windlass hauls the chain back in, it counts back down. It comes off again as quickly as it went on.
That is exactly how it is meant to be used: AnkerSepp does not stay on the windlass. You clip it on before anchoring, read the length as the chain goes out, and take it off again once the anchor holds – and the same when weighing anchor. In between it is stowed below, instead of sitting in sun, salt water and weather all season.
The footage on the home page shows what that looks like in real use: clipped on, switched on, paying out and hauling in.
The advantages in detail
No installation
No magnet in the gypsy, no sensor on the housing, no hole in the dashboard. Nothing is drilled, screwed or glued, and nothing is left behind on the boat.
No cables, no electrician
The most laborious part of an installation is usually not the unit but the route to it: the cable from the anchor locker to the helm. With AnkerSepp there is no such route – and no hours of a professional's time to pay for it.
The windlass controls stay as they are
AnkerSepp is not connected to relays, switches or the boat's electrics. The windlass is operated just as before – with the foot switch, a switch or the remote. Nothing changes in the wiring that holds the anchor.
Usable on a charter yacht
On a charter yacht you may not drill or run cables, and fitted chain counters are rare. AnkerSepp comes along with you, clips on for anchoring and comes off again afterwards – nothing is left on the yacht. For anyone on a different boat every year, that is the way to a chain counter of their own.
It moves with you when you change boats
A fitted counter belongs to the boat – it stays behind when you sell, and on the next boat you start again. AnkerSepp comes with you. It also moves between two boats, your own and a chartered one, in seconds.
The display is where the chain runs
Standing at the bow while anchoring, working the windlass with a foot switch or remote, you look at the chain, not at the helm. That is exactly where AnkerSepp shows the length: at the windlass. Whoever is at the bow no longer needs anyone to call out how much is out.
Conventional chain counter and AnkerSepp compared
| Conventional chain counter | AnkerSepp | |
|---|---|---|
| Fitting | sensor, magnet, display unit | clip on, quarter turn |
| On the boat | permanently fitted | only while anchoring |
| Drilling | usually needed | no |
| Cables | from bow to helm | none |
| Changes to the windlass controls | yes, for units that control it | no |
| Professional installation | recommended | not needed |
| On a charter yacht | not possible | yes |
| When you change boats | stays on the old boat | comes with you |
| Display | at the helm | at the windlass |
Who AnkerSepp is for
- Charter skippers who take over a different boat every season and still want to know how much chain is out.
- Owners who do not want to drill – because of the work, the cable run, or because the boat should stay as it is.
- Crews who anchor from the bow, with a foot switch or remote, while someone else steers.
- Anyone who uses more than one boat, their own and the occasional charter.
And the marks on the chain?
Marking the chain pays off in any case, with or without a counter – as a second, independent method. How best to do it is in Marking anchor chain: six methods compared. And how much chain to lay in the first place is in How much anchor chain for which depth?.
When will AnkerSepp be available?
AnkerSepp is in development, and the prototype is in use on real boats. Which windlasses it fits we are checking model by model – join the waitlist, tell us your windlass model, and you will hear the price and delivery date first.