From: Bob Drew, Hylas 46

Dear Dave,

In mid June of 2004 we departed from Branford, CT bound for Ireland via the Azores. We were equipped with our new Schaefer in boom furling and a beautiful and efficient six full batten mainsail and of course Schaefer furlers for the genoa and staysail.

Knight Hawk is a 53' Frank MacLear designed, custom built, full powered auxiliary cutter. She is fiberglass built and displaces 85,000 lbs. A rugged boat requires rugged equipment, and that is why we chose Schaefer in boom furling and jib furlers. I am a marine surveyor and have had experience with the other in boom furling systems on the market. Our choice was Schaefer because of the superior design, engineering and construction.

On the transatlantic crossing to the Azores we encountered 25-35 kt. winds quartering and from astern. The Schaefer boom and it's unique luff foil makes it easy to reduce or raise sail from almost any point of sail. An electric halyard winch makes mainsail handling much easier.

Knight Hawk's cruising overseas include Ireland, Scotland, the Shetlands, the North Sea, and above the Arctic Circle in Norway. Almost 10,000 miles that include idyllic cruising, Scottish weather, the Caledonian Canal, several ocean gales, and horrific weather of the East coast of England. Through it all, our Schaefer in boom furling and our jib furlers performed flawlessly.

Thank you and all the folks at Schaefer Marine,

Bob Drew
www.yachtknighthawk.com

From: Hugh & Kim Sutherland, 53' Frank MacLear design

"We commissioned "MoonStar" H46 #65 last March. Brad Storm installed our Schaefer in-boom furling system and it has worked flawlessly from the start. It is quality, robust, easy to operate, forgiving and truly convenient. So is Brad!"

From: Vic, Hylas 46

As you know, we installed the Schaefer boom furler on our new Hylas 46 last year. It has proven to be one of the best pieces of equipment that we selected for the boat. We just finished a two month cruise of Maine and the Northeast, and the furler performed flawlessly. I would recommend it to anyone. Here are some of the things that we like most about the furler:

1. Safety – We were on our cruise with another couple who was sailing their boat with a Dutchman system. It was great to be able to furl or reef the sail from the safety of the cockpit without having to go forward. Every time I watched my friend head forward to reef, finish flaking the sail, put on sail ties, etc., we were grateful for the boom furler.
2. Convenience – We previously had in-mast furling and a conventional sail with lazy jacks on our previous boats. There is no question that Molly and I prefer having furling of some kind. It really goes beyond convenience. You will sail more when the sail is easy to deploy and stow. We are able to take short hour-long evening sails when we have furling because you spend so little time getting the sail up and down. More importantly, we sail more when the wind is fluky. On a conventional rig if you get the sail stowed and start motoring, you are less likely to take the effort to go back to sailing when the wind picks up a bit. With furling it is easy to switch back and forth from motoring to sailing as the wind conditions change.
3. The sail – Our biggest problem with the in-mast furler was the sail it required: no roach and no battens. With our boom furler we have a beautiful sail with full battens and plenty of roach. It makes sailing in light air on the Chesapeake a pleasure. We really feel we have the best of both worlds: the convenience and safety of furling combined with the sail shape that you previously could only get from a conventional rig.
4. Reefing – We love the fact that we can reef off the wind. Some other Hylas owners have boom furling (competitors to Schaefer) that can only be reefed or furled with the boat dead into the wind. Not only is this a waste of time if you are reefing, it can be dangerous if you have to turn into the wind in big seas. We just ease the mainsheet to take the load off the sail, let the genny keep the boat moving, reef the main, and then tighten up the sheet. We lose very little time and we never have to turn into the wind or leave the cockpit.
5. Reliability – The Schaefer unit is bulletproof and we haven’t had any trouble with it at all. The learning curve on working the unit is very short. Once you put the sail up and a down a couple of times and get used to the amount of tension to put on the furling line or halyard, you are done. I really like the fact that if something did fail, we only have to drop the halyard to get the sail down. We never had our in-mast furler hang-up (although I know those who have), but if we did, I have no idea how we would have gotten that sail down in a sea way. We have also not had any wear on the luff tape or bolt rope, and the batten pockets still look like new. Schaefer clearly got it right with the articulating foil and the way the battens are captured by that foil as the sail goes up and down. There is no sign of wear anywhere on the rig.

We really have no negatives or areas for improvement with the rig. It works great and we are very pleased with it, and with Schaefer’s service.

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From: Mark Partridge, Tartan 4400

The system is FLAWLESS. We are in the San Diego Boatshow this week with the boat, and people are very impressed!

I can give you an unequivocal answer...I LOVE the Schaefer system...and will never own a boat without it again. I had it installed last August, and have done a lot of sailing with it as I sail year round. Right after installation I headed north for three months of cruising and other than a short period in December have been sailing right up to this week, now with a short hiatus for a watermaker installation and bottom paint.

I either single-hand or cruise short-handed on my Sceptre 41...as I did in the past with my old ketch. I found myself getting more and more fatigued (guess that correlates with getting older!) while raising and lowering my mainsail, and reefing could be a real pain. And, for safety sake, I was starting to think seriously about never having to go on the foredeck. I did not have to go forward to raise or drop my sail, but in order to secure the sail after reefing, or dropping it, I did. And during "nasties" it was not fun. Also, the sail is 306sqft, and if it didn't drop nicely onto the boom, well, it wore me out getting it back on and under the cover.

I researched in-boom furlers, and decided that the Schaefer system was by far the best. And my research proved correct. It is beautifully engineered, over-built in fact. And has worked flawlessly. They say to luff the sail to reef, but I have experimented and reefed on all points of sail with no problem...and of course, effortlessly. Raising and lowering the sail has zero fatigue factor...and keeps me in the cockpit nice and safe. The way I reef now is to stay on my heading, letting my headsail carry the load. Then I travel over the main, and ease the sheet taking the load off of the main. Then I reef it, travel back over and trim...all without losing boat speed by heading into the wind and letting the sail luff...This works especially well because of the articulated track that is exclusive to Schaefer. The other big plus of the furler is the fact that you have infinite reef points.

I do have an electric winch for the main (I had that previously) but I am able to raise the sail, and reef without it. Actually easier than with my old sail and track! There is virtually no friction due to the design. I still have a full batten main, with a high roach...actually a bit more sail area than I had before...but you wouldn't know it when it comes to raising or reefing it!

If you are in the Pacific NW and would like to take a look at the system on my boat, you are more than welcome!

After two years, all of our Schaefer gear is working perfectly, and folks from all over the world stop by the boat to ask about the boom.

Every time we take the boat out, we are reminded that the decisions we made about our boom, our headsail furler, and our traveler were the right ones. The performance of our Schaefer systems consistently exceed our expectations, and they make our old boat perform and look great.

I am VERY pleased with the way the system worked. It was certainly put to the test.

Looking a buoy data from east of our position, the seas were reported at 30+ feet and the wind speed as 45 Knots with gusts to 55 Knots. These buoys were east of the storm center and we were approximately at almost the exact storm center. We saw sustained winds at between 50 and 53 Knots and seas that were at least ½ our mast height which would be 30 feet. I am guessing the seas were 40 feet.

Most of the trip we sailed with one reef (batten) rolled into the boom with winds in the 17 to 20 Knot range. We did sail with full main when the winds were less than 15 Knots. At 20 Knots we rolled the second batten in the boom and above 25 we rolled the 3rd batten in the boom. When winds got to 30 Knots, we rolled the fourth batten in the boom. At no time did we experience any problems.

As the storm built, we rolled the 5th batten in the boom when the winds got above 40 Knots leaving just a small section of main out to balance the staysail while we tried to hove to.

For almost two years I have waited for your Gamma size Boom Furler to be developed and made available. During that time I ordered, received and commissioned a Beneteau 473 with a classic (standard) mast and a Harken Battslide system. The system works quite well, but of course, the mainsail is quite large and requires effort to raise, lower, reef and cover as I single hand the boat (even with my wife aboard). My last boat, a Beneteau 440 had in the mast furling which worked well but was, of course, lacking in efficiency of sail.

I looked at the various boom furlers on the market and rejected all but one and decided to wait until yours was available for comparison. I was indeed rewarded with my choice of your system. The concept of putting the drum at the boom end is brilliant. In making the comparison, I considered the following items.

1. Concept of design and execution.
2. Efficiency of sail shape and size. I wanted additional roach to make up for a conservative SA/D design.
3. A fully battened sail.
4. Ease of operation.
5. Excellence of build.
6. US manufacture if possible.
7. A manufacturer that stands behind their products.

As to build, the system is everything I could ask for. I especially like the use of very solid parts. The use of a single extrusion for the boom instead of several parts assembled together gives me great confidence. So, too, the use of machined ends of the boom instead of castings. Every part is of very high quality including the articulating sail track, boom vang and fittings, and especially the gooseneck, which is massive.

In the fall of 2002, we installed your Gamma boom furler aboard our 42' Endeavor, "Luana." After the installation was completed, we set sail from the Chesapeake Bay to Mexico, Belize, and Honduras for the winter. We returned "Luana" to the Chesapeake in June, 2003.

After roughly six thousand miles of cruising and heavy use of the Gamma boom furler, I would like to congratulate everyone at Schaefer on a superbly designed and manufactured system. Our cruise was a good test for this system and everything worked flawlessly. What a joy to have infinite mainsail area adjustment on the ocean without having to go on deck or furl the jib. With the solid vang, a perfect furl is achieved every time without concern for control of boom angle.

Another benefit we have begun to appreciate is that the solid vang, in conjunction with a preventer, "calms" the boom and sail motion when sailing downwind in light air on the ocean. No more banging boom, and the sail is less likely to slat.

"I just wanted to tell you guys how pleased I am with the whole system."

"The system is performing flawlessly and the putaway is essentially non existent."

"The proof of the pudding was a couple of weeks ago when the afternoon wind came up to a steady 37 knots with a steep chop on the Bay. Being able to raise, lower and reef the mainsail at will without going forward was a real winner particularly since we had to beat into it for a few miles back to the marina."

"We have historically been lazy sailors, typically starting out with a deeply reefed main so that we wouldn't have to go forward and reef as the normally strong afternoon winds came up. The system provides such easy flexibility for reefing that the whole sailing experience has become better than ever. And the fixed vang provides a nice flat sail for optimum sailing. Previously we never bothered to adjust the vang to properly flatten the sail."

"All in all I couldn't be more satisfied and thank you again for all the post installation support. As in many things I wonder why I didn't do this before."

"We have a new larger Schaefer Gamma Boom furling system on our Valiant 42 and I could not be happier. My wife and I were interested in boom furling primarily for ease in reefing, since we intend to do most of our sailing off-shore with just the two of us on board.

We have been able to test the system in up to 30 knots. It has more than exceeded our expectations. It was easy to furl, shook out like a dream and we could do everything from the cockpit while still maintaining great shape to our sail. It's easy to see that your track system really does have a major impact on keeping the friction down and the sail shape true. We went with the right system!"

"Keep in mind that we have elected to sail the first season without a power winch, to see if we really needed one. I'm happy to report that we have decided we don't, and we will continue to put the sails up and down manually. But… in another 10 years, we still have the option to add it, as Old Man Time takes his toll."

"I also should add that everyone at Schaefer has been great responding to any questions I've had along the way."

"Thanks again and best of luck with a really innovate product!"

"We recently fitted a new tape drive Spectra Platinum racing/cruising mainsail to a new Schaefer boom furler on a Jeanneau 52.2. Having built sails for all the other available boom furling systems on the market, I am pleased to report that the Schaefer system has proven itself as the smoothest operating and most trouble free yet. I am especially impressed how wrinkle-free the sail remains whether full or reefed, and how easily the sail rolls in and out. The sail is a fully roached racing cut, with no design compromise for the boom furling. You can have your cake and eat it, too. Well done, Schaefer!"

"I recently purchased a Schaefer Gamma Boom system for my Catalina 42."
"I have had experience with most all of the other furling boom manufacturer's furling boom and the Schaefer boom furling system was the only one that worked right out of the box, perfectly, the first time we went sailing. Clearly, the amount of time you spent investigating other manufacturer's units and designing and building prototypes paid off. It is a beautifully engineered and manufactured piece of gear."

"I was especially impressed when we were able to reef the sail hard on the wind in 22 to 25 knots of breeze. I do not think there is another boom furling system that can do that."

"Also, we stowed the sail going down wind. I am not sure if these are modes of use that you would recommend to customers, but it is wonderful that you have designed that capability in because, undoubtedly, the boom will be used this way."

"Congratulations on a great piece of gear!"

"The boom furler works great...it is everything we hoped it would be and more, even without an electric winch and a smaller halyard.

The new sail looks better than the old sail and with the added roach, the sail area has increased.

The boom furler is really an outstanding piece of engineering design work. The furler looks great and works exceptionally well. It would seem that all cruisers and aging racers should not be without one. When we have been out this summer, everyone looks up at the sail and just says WOW! Whether the sail is fully up, or reefed down, it could not be better!"

"We have used our new Schaefer Boom Furler since April of 2002. The service and help we received for both installation and operation have been outstanding.

Like so many others have said, the need to go on deck and furl becomes more daunting as age takes its toll.

Alida, our "new" old Pearson 35, is now safe and easy to enjoy with the addition of this excellent system. The first sail up is always the main. Balancing the boat becomes fun instead of a hit or miss effort under windy conditions.

Recommended without qualifications to anyone who wants a thoroughly engineered system, properly built, and sold by competent people."

"Just wanted to let you know we are enjoying more frequent sails on "Passion" now that we have Schaefer's boom furler.

Each and every time we go out, we discover better and easier ways to use it. One nice thing is that I find I can hoist the main without a winch as long as I do it at the mast. Also, we are able to almost completely furl it without a winch.

Even better, the sail cover is such a pleasure to deal with compared to the previous cover."

"After six charters, each of a week's duration, we are very happy with the Schaefer system. No problems at all with any of the charter groups."

From: Ted Kirchner, Waquiez 35, Marion, MA

"We are enjoying the boom furling system more as we are becoming more experienced and getting better at taking advantage of its capabilities.

I continue to be amazed with the interest your boom furling system draws, we seem to have a curious visitor every time we pick up a mooring or drop a hook. I think you may have a tiger by the tail!

No thanks are needed in this day and age where so many businesses are only after the buck; it has been my pleasure in buying such a fine product from you. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of you and really appreciate your continued sincere interest, that I remain pleased with your system. So it is me who should say, "Thank you!"

"After a year of sailing with the Schaefer boom furler, we now day sail with just the mainsail, which is a switch as before we would day sail with the jib. Love it!"

From: Christoph W. Geel, M.D., Hunter 34, Syracuse, NY

"The in-boom furler system works terrific and facilitates the hoisting as well as reefing of the sail in a very easy way. I have to congratulate Schaefer Marine for an excellent product and top engineering job.
Thank you again for introducing me to the installer, who was an unbelievably good technician and teacher. With people like him as your rigging specialist, you have introduced me to a very fine man and he made a deep impression at our marina. I would not be surprised if more orders would be placed for the two of you.

I hope that we can hook up and exchange sailing stories and experiences. In the meantime, thank you and your staff for the valued support and assistance."

"As you know, the installation was completed early this year. I found your installation instructions to be clear and concise. All of the materials used in your system are of the highest quality. Also, the Sailmaker Guide was very clear and I sent copies of it to several sailmakers when I asked for quotes to construct a main sail to fit the boom furler.

My wife and I just completed a month of sea trials off the coast of California ranging from San Francisco to Morro Bay and return. We found the boom furler easy to raise and lower when underway. Being able to reef from the cockpit was our major reason for looking to purchase a good boom furling system.

I wanted to avoid an in-mast furling system due to possible mechanical problems that could keep the sail from being furled or taken down in an emergency. I closely examined several competitive boom-furling products. Yours was the cleanest and simplest for furling. It requires no large hole in the mast, does not need a complicated chain driven furling drum and avoids the need for a universal joint of any kind. In fact, the articulating sail track works very well and certainly does allow easy raising and furling, even off the wind. I was a bit concerned that the sail track might create abundant wind noise when berthed, at anchor or on a mooring. We encountered a bit of wind at almost every place we stopped, and we did not experience any increased wind noise above that which we consider normal.

I also found Schaefer Marine's "after the sale" service to be excellent. Every question or concern was promptly and pleasantly responded to. Your organization was very helpful. I was so pleased with your product and service that I decided to also add an 1100-66 Schaefer Marine furler to my staysail. It, too, was a clean and easy installation."

"Stowing the main was a controlled and effortless procedure. I luffed the main, released the main halyard, and winched down the main until it completely disappeared into the boom. The picture of the mainsail rolling up on the mandrel was as elegant as it had been while reefing."

"Onboard Serengeti, we rely upon Schaefer Marine's quality construction, dependability, and unsurpassed customer service."

From: Paul Carreau, Rigging Forman, Concordia Company

"The owner is 73 years old, very active sailor, trying to simplify and add an element of safety to the boat. I was impressed with the ease of the boom installation and Schaefer's quality. Great system!"

From: Stanton Bubbin, Plymouth MA

"I purchased my 1980 Bristol Channel Cutter in 1995. I mostly single-hand
the boat."

"This product has given me a new lease on life. I'm 79 years old, active, but my kids did not want me to leave the cockpit to reef the mainsail. On the first sail after the Schaefer boom installation, I reefed once in 20 knots and again in 35 knots of wind. A-1 perfect"

"All I have is praise for the system. It is a well designed product, as all of your products are. I have now three Schaefer furlers on the boat"

"If you guys had developed this system ten years ago, you would own the market!"

"I anchored next to another boat with a competitive boom furler made in the southern hemisphere, and we compared features and the operation. He agreed, my system was superior in every way. Well done again, Schaefer!"

From: Joel Pincus, Hood 38 Sloop, Long Island, NY

"I visited the Annapolis Boat Show last year and saw your new mainsail boom furler for the first time. The Schaefer system seemed to improve substantially over the best features of the other systems that I had come to the show to investigate."

"Your good looking furling boom seemed ideal for my boat, and I ordered it because it was a heavy duty, well designed system and the installation did not require drilling a two inch hole through my mast. I liked the fact that the system came with a luff receptacle track that rotated with the boom and was solidly supported at close intervals on the mast."

"You applied the furling drum at the end of the boom, to solve the problem of getting enough room for the batten ends at the luff to descend smoothly into the boom without the necessity of heading the boat absolutely dead into the wind."

"These design features work very well on my boat, and after using your boom furler this season, I am truly delighted with it."

"I have recommended it enthusiastically to my friends because it has been absolutely reliable and has made sailing a lot easier. It has substantially enhanced the pleasure I get from my boat "

"It is important that I am able to get the sail down flawlessly from my cockpit when I need to do it, and I have been able to furl and reef very quickly and smoothly in the coarse of quite a bit of sailing under varied wind conditions "

"I was even able to tie for a first in my club's annual cruise race. I think you have a winner!"

From: Henry & Mercedes Heck, Catalina 34, Washington, NC

"We have been very pleased with the ease and performance of the Schaefer boom furler on our Catalina 34. It is so nice to be able to lower the sail neatly and smoothly. It's effortless and fast - a real delight."

"Our major reason for buying an in-boom furler (the Schaefer system) was the safety issue. Also, the ability to drop the sail if the mechanism fails. Obviously one does not have this possibility with an in-mast furler. We would probably not have purchased a mechanical furling system if the in-mast furler were the only option available. A secondary reason, though also an important one, was the fact that the mainsail is fully battened on the in-boom furling system. Therefore, sail shape and durability are expected to be better than with an unbattened system. Certainly, this is true for sail shape in our experience."

"Mark and I appreciate the personalized service from Schaefer."

"We are really enjoying the system. The more we use it, the more we like it."

"What a pleasure (and luxury) to furl, unfurl, reef and unreef the mainsail from the comfort and safety of the cockpit. Also, we greatly appreciate the attentive and prompt service."

'We have been out, the last few weekends, in a variety of conditions and the system performed very well reefing and unreefing. It is so easy now that it encourages us to have the proper mount of sail up at all times, which makes for more enjoyable, and safer sailing."

'Furling and unfurling the sail is so convenient, that we are already finding that we are sailing in more situations than we would with a standard type main."

"The design and construction are first rate!"

"I've used a Schaefer roller furling headstay system for years and it's proved to be very reliable. I was excited to learn that Schaefer had developed an in-the-boom roller furling for the main. In the past, roller furling never interested me because the resulting sail was so inadequate."

"I ordered it last spring in time to be installed by the start of the season. Right from the beginning, it worked beautifully. As you know, a new main was also required. It must he constructed very precisely, I ordered it from Jasper & Bailey in Newport, RI. They did a superb job, and the sail fit perfectly."

"A roller furling main has many advantages. When you take it down, you avoid the traditional hassle of furling. However, the real advantage comes in being able to take a reef underway easily without needing to come into the wind or even get out of the cockpit."

"I am 74 years old, but not ready to give up sailing. One day my wife and I started out headed for Woods Hole in 8 to 10 knots with all sails up. It was delightful. But before long, it was blowing 15 to 20 and gusting higher so I cranked her down to the first batten. That did wonders, but the wind kept on increasing, so I cranked her down again to the second batten and we had a lovely sail. When it came time to take the sails down, I rolled up the Genoa easily as usual and then finished cranking in the main without a problem."

"Two 70 years olds can handle the boat in anything. What a comfort. Actually, anyone who sails with a limited crew should be delighted with this system. The fully battened main is as good as any main I've ever had. We've had a great summer and the Schaefer furling system has performed beautifully. I think anyone who really loves to sail will love it."

"The ease of operation of the Schaefer system has greatly benefited my wife and myself as 90% of the time we are sailing single-handed or short-handed."

"Everything leading back to the cockpit means there is no stumbling around the deck lowering the reef and lowering the sail. My wife, by herself, raises and lowers the sail now and has a lot of fun doing it."

"I am in my late 60's and anticipate being able to sail for another ten years."

"In my opinion, the Schaefer system works perfectly and is extremely easy to use. Anyone who is older or sails short-handed, I recommend it highly."

"In sailing with the Schaefer boom furler, I enjoyed just furling the sail slightly to flatten the sail, as the wind picked up."

"I found how the feeder and the scoop overlapped insuring a flawless reef and furl, refreshing over the other systems. This feature seems to me to be a hidden secret."

"I was very impressed with reefing the Schaefer system "off the wind." You did not have to head up into the wind in a deep sea, to reef."

"This particular system of Schaefer's did not require an electric winch. With virtually no friction, Torlon bearings and Schaefer's unique race design, I could just hand over hand reef and furl."

"Once again, it looks like Schaefer has come along and designed a better system, waiting to observe the weaknesses of the other boom furling systems."