Screecher

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A screecher [1] [2] is a sail that combines the features of a spinnaker and a reacher.

Its similarity with a spinnaker is that it is not attached to a stay along its luff, and typically has a slightly larger curvature than a genoa. Luff shape and tension is maintained by the halyard and a bolt rope which is woven into the sail itself, and it is this stiff tensioned rope which allows the sail to be furled on itself. In addition, many screechers are gybed by allowing the sail to fly free and pass in front of the bolt rope and invert, much in the same way that an asymmetrical spinnaker is gybed. Tacking with a screecher may require furling and re-setting. The similarity with a genoa is that it is typically a white sail, and the clews always overlap the mast.

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Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the water, on ice (iceboat) or on land over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation.

Shackle

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Jibe Basic sailing maneuver, where ship turns its stern through the wind

A jibe (US) or gybe (Britain) is a sailing maneuver whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, so that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other. For square-rigged ships, this maneuver is called wearing ship.

Staysail

A staysail ("stays'l") is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast.

Genoa (sail) Type of large jib or staysail

A genoa sail is a type of large jib or staysail that extends past the mast and so overlaps the main sail when viewed from the side, sometimes eliminating it. It was originally called an "overlapping jib" and later a genoa jib. It is used on single-masted sloops and twin-masted boats such as yawls and ketches. Its larger surface area increases the speed of the craft in light to moderate winds; in high wind, a smaller jib is usually substituted, and downwind a spinnaker may be used.

Spinnaker Sail designed for sailing off the wind

A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90–180° off bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of lightweight fabric, usually nylon, and is often brightly coloured. It may be optimised for a particular range of wind angles, as either a reaching or a running spinnaker, by the shaping of the panels and seams.

Mainsail

A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel.

Running rigging

Running rigging is the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering, shaping and controlling the sails on a sailing vessel—as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and bowsprit. Running rigging varies between vessels that are rigged fore and aft and those that are square-rigged.

Sail components Features that define a (ship) sails shape and function

Sail components include the features that define a sail's shape and function, plus its constituent parts from which it is manufactured. A sail may be classified in a variety of ways, including by its orientation to the vessel and its shape,. Sails are typically constructed out of flexible material that is shaped by various means, while in use, to offer an appropriate airfoil, according to the strength and apparent direction of the wind. A variety of features and fittings allow the sail to be attached to lines and spars.

Boom (sailing) In sailing, a spar along the bottom edge of a fore and aft rigged sail

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Fractional rig

A fractional rig on a sailing vessel consists of a foresail, such as a jib or genoa sail, that does not reach all the way to the top of the mast.

Parrel beads

Parrel beads are an element of sailing rigging. They act as roller bearings on a parrel, which is a rope or wire strop that typically fastens one spar to another along which it must have some freedom of movement. An example of this is at the jaws of a gaff on a gaff rigged or gunter rigged craft. This allows the gaff to slide up and down the mast as sail is hoisted or lowered, and allows some rotation around the mast as the sail is sheeted in and out to allow for different wind directions. Another example is on the tack of a spinnaker rigged over a furled jib.

Junk rig

The junk rig, also known as the Chinese lugsail or sampan rig, is a type of sail rig in which rigid members, called battens, span the full width of the sail and extend the sail forward of the mast.

Roller furling

Roller furling is a method of furling a yacht's staysail by rolling the sail around a stay. Roller furling is typically used for foresails such as jibs or genoas.

An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing downwind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", or "A-sail" it can be described as a cross between a genoa jib and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but, the asymmetrical spinnaker is not attached to the forestay over the full length of its luff, being rigged like a spinnaker. The asymmetrical spinnaker has a larger camber than a genoa, making it optimal for generating lift at larger angles of attack, but the camber is significantly less than that of a spinnaker.

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MG14 is a two-person skiff with a high-performance development hull, single trapeze and asymmetrical spinnaker.

Ljungström rig

Ljungström rig is the name for the sailing rig designed by Swedish engineer Fredrik Ljungström with double main sails and rotating mast, but without boom, foresail, forestay and shroud. The early models of the Ljungström sailboat had a stern stay but this was omitted around 1945, before the model 12.

Sail Fabric or other surface supported by a mast to allow wind propulsion

A sail is a tensile structure—made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments—usually in a three- or four-sided shape.

Lug sail

The lug sail, or lugsail, is a fore-and-aft, four-cornered sail that is suspended from a spar, called a yard. When raised, the sail area overlaps the mast. For "standing lug" rigs, the sail may remain on the same side of the mast on both the port and starboard tacks. For "dipping lug" rigs, the sail is lowered partially or totally to be brought around to the leeward side of the mast in order to optimize the efficiency of the sail on both tacks.

A solent refers to a sail and rigging system on sailboats, typically sloops. Sailors, particularly French sailors, often refer to a 100% jib as a Solent, because its smaller size is preferable when sailing in the strong winds found in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and Britain. The common use of roller-furling headsails, or genoas, on modern cruising yachts allows the jib to be reduced in size, but partially-furled sails lack the efficiency of a sail that is actually cut to a smaller size. Accordingly, it is preferable to fly a separate, smaller jib—the solent—instead.

References

  1. "Add a Screecher: TurboCharge your Cat – Time For a Catamaran Adventure".
  2. Calvert, David. "Sails for the Modern Cruising Multihull". Sail Magazine.