Do you leave your screecher hoisted?

[Letterkenny]

Originally Posted by DragonflyBob

YES! It’s not good seamanship to leave a furled screacher, Code Zero, or gennaker up if not in use for all of the reasons listed here and above. The Code Zero on our Dragonfly 32 is 67 m2 and the sail weighs about 70 lbs. When we lower it, my sailing partner controls the halyard and I flake the furled sail into its sail bag that is set up on the trampoline. If we are in open water, we put the boat on autopilot sailing at about 155 TWD for the furling and lowering of the sail. It takes 3-4 minutes total to have the sail down and in the bag and probably a couple more to tidy and secure the sheets and halyard.

Yea I’ll take laziness. If it’s rigged, I’m more likely to use it. It would take at least 20 mins to take it out, wrestle it to the bow, hoist it, and then run all the sheets. Then all again putting it away.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

Yea I’ll take laziness. If it’s rigged, I’m more likely to use it. It would take at least 20 mins to take it out, wrestle it to the bow, hoist it, and then run all the sheets. Then all again putting it away.

This sounds more like a gennaker than a screecher, ours is very light and only good for winds under 10 knots.
Do you run it from a bow sprit? Limited foredeck space on a mono makes hoisting and stowing a bit of chore.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

Yea I’ll take laziness. If it’s rigged, I’m more likely to use it. It would take at least 20 mins to take it out, wrestle it to the bow, hoist it, and then run all the sheets. Then all again putting it away.

I’m with you, lazy I guess. 3 different cats with 3 screechers and never felt the need to take them down unless expecting a tropical system, then all sails were removed. Seems dangerous to wrestle a sail up and down on a bowsprit when not needed.

[Letterkenny]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

This sounds more like a gennaker than a screecher, ours is very light and only good for winds under 10 knots.
Do you run it from a bow sprit? Limited foredeck space on a mono makes hoisting and stowing a bit of chore.

It’s a code zero with an added UV strip. Talked with my sailmaker and was potentially going to have a J0 for my bow spirit but then I’d likely never use the code I already had so figured I’d just use this until I need to change.

Originally Posted by smj

I’m with you, lazy I guess. 3 different cats with 3 screechers and never felt the need to take them down unless expecting a tropical system, then all sails were removed. Seems dangerous to wrestle a sail up and down on a bowsprit when not needed.

Yea just isn’t worth it. I’ve done the proper coiling and still get twists. It is a newer halyard but rather not have the issue. My problem is that it would get stuck and I couldn’t take down the sail without going up the mast.

[toolbar]

Originally Posted by smj

I’m with you, lazy I guess. 3 different cats with 3 screechers and never felt the need to take them down unless expecting a tropical system, then all sails were removed. Seems dangerous to wrestle a sail up and down on a bowsprit when not needed.

I guess it really depends on the cut of the sail. Too deep and you will have no end of trouble with the upper parts unfurling. Who designed your Screecher for the TRT?

Our rebuild is finally coming to an end. Time to think about new projects. :-)

Paul

[smj]

Originally Posted by toolbar

I guess it really depends on the cut of the sail. Too deep and you will have no end of trouble with the upper parts unfurling. Who designed your Screecher for the TRT?

Our rebuild is finally coming to an end. Time to think about new projects. :-)

Paul

No screecher on the TRT, never felt the need for more power!
Please send pics of the rebuild.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Our screecher is a big, heavy Dacron beast that is the only original sail on this 21 year old boat. We hoist it straight out of the sail locker but generally drop it onto the trampolines so that it can come down faster. Then we feed it into the sail locker - it needs to be folded 6 times to fit.

We leave it up when we’re expecting the next day to have reaching or downwind conditions or if we’re expecting to use it within the next 2 or 3 days - basically laziness. If there is going to be any upwind or stronger wind or were not planning to move for a few days or more then we take it down. It does have UV strips on leach and foot but they’re so old I bet they’re not doing much if anything anymore.

The halyard is 2:1 (definitely required on our size of boat (16m cat with 120m^2 sail)). We had a bit of problem with halyard twisting, though mousing and pulling the halyard all the way out every 6 months and detwisting it keeps it pretty fair. Also, keep at least one wrap on the winch when dropping and that helps to remove the winch twist from hoisting.

We are about to install Wichard swivels (https://marine.wichard.com/en/stainl...allen-head-pin) at the fixed end of all our 2:1 halyards: main, gennaker, staysail. We installed swivels on our 2:1 and 3:1 dinghy lift lines to test the concept and they work a treat to keep twists out of the line. So now the halyards get the same treatment.

2:1 halyard means you have a block eg for the main that can swivel. the wichard swivel goes then at the end where you connect the halyard to the mast top. correct? my block sometimes doesn't swivel but that sounds like the right solution....need to exchange the main halyard anyhow soon, so i can add that.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

This sounds more like a gennaker than a screecher, ours is very light and only good for winds under 10 knots.
Do you run it from a bow sprit? Limited foredeck space on a mono makes hoisting and stowing a bit of chore.

on my old mono i had a long tailor made bag on the lifelines, so when i didn't need the screecher i just took it down, folded in half into the bag with all lines and swivel/furler stayed connected and closed the zipper. to hoist open zipper and pull on the halyard to hoist it.Quick and easy without hassle.
on the cat FP Lavezzi i use the 105sqm parasailor with a barber hauler as Screecher/code0. I also added 2 backstays to support the mast better and as i have no square top main they don't enterfere with the main at all.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

2:1 halyard means you have a block eg for the main that can swivel. the wichard swivel goes then at the end where you connect the halyard to the mast top. correct? my block sometimes doesn't swivel but that sounds like the right solution....need to exchange the main halyard anyhow soon, so i can add that.

The block on a 2:1 halyard should NEVER swivel - that is a recipe for disaster (and more twisting). Only use blocks that don’t swivel, such as these ones from Selden https://support.seldenmast.com/en/products/line_management/2-1_blocks.html or Tylaska https://tylaska.com/product/halyard-shackles/. Note that specialty halyard 2:1 blocks do not swivel! If you don’t want to buy a new block then lock the swivel. If you can’t do that, buy a proper 2:1 block.

The Wichard swivel https://marine.wichard.com/en/stainless-steel-hardware/swivels is attached to the mast crane pin to which the end of the main halyard is normally attached. The top of the halyard is instead attached to the other end of the Wichard swivel. Any twists that made their way into the halyard will rotate out as the sail is hoisted and the halyard lengths from mast to block and back get shorter. This is more of an issue for loose luff sails (such as a gennaker) but can be a problem for main halyards as well.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

on the cat FP Lavezzi i use the 105sqm parasailor with a barber hauler as Screecher/code0. I also added 2 backstays to support the mast better and as i have no square top main they don't enterfere with the main at all.

A screecher is primarily an upwind sail, apparent wind from ahead of the beam, interested to know how a parasail could function as such even with a barber hauler.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

A screecher is primarily an upwind sail, apparent wind from ahead of the beam, interested to know how a parasail could function as such even with a barber hauler.

It works till to around max 70 degrees with the parasailor, they claim 60 but thats not working, at least with my rig.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by fxykty

The block on a 2:1 halyard should NEVER swivel - that is a recipe for disaster (and more twisting). Only use blocks that don’t swivel, such as these ones from Selden https://support.seldenmast.com/en/pr...-1_blocks.html or Tylaska https://tylaska.com/product/halyard-shackles/. Note that specialty halyard 2:1 blocks do not swivel! If you don’t want to buy a new block then lock the swivel. If you can’t do that, buy a proper 2:1 block.

The Wichard swivel https://marine.wichard.com/en/stainl...rdware/swivels is attached to the mast crane pin to which the end of the main halyard is normally attached. The top of the halyard is instead attached to the other end of the Wichard swivel. Any twists that made their way into the halyard will rotate out as the sail is hoisted and the halyard lengths from mast to block and back get shorter. This is more of an issue for loose luff sails (such as a gennaker) but can be a problem for main halyards as well.

Thanks, makes sense...never thought about that/paid attention, just used as is setup from manufacturer. Why didn't my surveyor brought that up...he advised to add cars lashed to reefing eyes as batten are to far apart, correct the reefing points as wrong and other sail stuff but not that, mhh....
Former first owner was a motorboater where the mast and sails where considered decoration and only deployed in perfect conditions to look beautiful
Will change block as it cannot be locked when changing the halyard.

[Icarus]

Certainly not

[peter loveridge]

I don't have a screecher but I do have a large (at least for my 30 foot boat) drifter.It is on a short bowsprit on a furler. I leave it up. I am single handed and in my late 70's. There are practicalities to this, As for a sacrificial strip, the local branch of North Sails told me to just mark off where the strip would usually be and paint that area, by roller with exterior latex paint. And I don't want to hear the usual virulent replies about this unconventional approach unless you have direct experience of same.

[SVFaith]

Originally Posted by LAGO

My screecher is 97m2 on a continuous line furler. it is quite a big roll and heavy to handle on deck. So I leave it aloft. I'm sure this big fat roll is messing up the airflow over the Genoa And in lumpy seas the roll flops back and forth violently and will one day break at the tack or head. I have changed the shackles. I tighten the halyard to reduce movement of the sail.

My question is: Do you leave your screecher hoisted?
Thanks

I would probably drop it on the deck in a turle bag when sailing. For at the dock/morring if you want to leave it up ATN can make a nice cover for it when at rest to reduce sun damage.