However, we are reluctant to use it after a bad experience where we could not furl in and recover the sail after the winds suddenly picked up. We almost ended up in the fish farms and rocks in Greece were then dropping the halyard which made things even worse. Finally we securing the flapping sail with ropes bit by bit.
This experience made me no fan of the screacher and I am even contemplating, if the sail could be modified, e.g. attaching the luff of the sail permanently to the furling headstay.
I would appreciate any handling and operational tips, tricks and details how to operate the screecher.
This is how we do it..
To take it down we run both engines at a about 2300 rpm then put the jib out a little.
In this configuration we turn down wind. And put a bit more jib out .
The apparent wind will be down to about 8 kts and the jib will start to blanket the code 0.
As soon as the code 0 starts to luff, we release the sheet a bit and furl like crazy, keeping the sheet slack, but not letting it flog too much.
When it’s furled the best we can, (sometimes it hourglasses), we lock the sheets and go forward.
Someone opens the forward hatch and once it’s open, the other person lowers the halyard. A little. The first person takes the furled sail and pulls it across to the hatch. It can then be lowered directly into the hatch. The top is unclipped and the halyard is secured to the safety rail. To stop it from flapping. The halyard person goes forward to the proder and unleashes the tack cleat. The other person pulls the furler in and takes the sail off the bottom.
Thank you for that tip, very useful. Do you furl in with the electric winch configured or hand winch at the aft?
We’ve tried it both ways. The electric winch obviously is quicker, but I don’t know if this method of furling is safe or is it better to hand furl with crank handle? Would love to hear how others rig to furl.
During our handover at KYC they showed me the configuration for furling the “Code-G” Screecher using the starboard electric winch - there is even a rub bar at the right spot to protect the gel coat.
As with all use of the electric winches care does need to be taken that nothing jams. I tend to only put one wrap on the winch so it can slip if things go wrong. I tend to avoid the cardio-workout manually furling - especially if the wind has picked up..
- it seems to be some sort of rusty/lichen that’s embedded in the plastic!