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

"My 1100 is one of the things on my boat that I Don't have ANY issues with. It's one of the best investments I've ever made on my boat!" - Dave Ward, Chicago Illinois

The Schaefer 3000 Furler has been on my boat since 1992 and has seen very close to 50,000 ocean sailing miles with no (none, nada, zip, zilch, zero) problems. Not only is it problem free it still looks good. The 2100 system I recently installed on the inner forestay promises to be just as good! This is, in my opinion, the best furling unit on the market at any price. - Bert Coalson, St. Petersburg FL

I just wanted to say that I love the Schaefer Roller Furling on my new boat. The Schaefer makes genoa reduction easy and makes it easy to sail alone or with novice sailing friends. At first, I was a little timid in using it with less than a full sail. I guess I thought it would be damaged or something. Having seen it perform so well, I now constantly fiddle with it for the best trim I can get. I will definitely look to Schaefer for my future hardware needs" - Tim Ozmun Gulfport MS

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. "

"Greetings from the Southern Ocean. I have to once again commend you on your excellent furlers. The furlers have continued to perform perfectly, and in the extreme cold down here they are indispensable. Last week I injured my back in a knock down and I'm gradually on the mend. The furlers allow me to adjust sails to suit conditions.. a big problem if I did not have them on board or had less efficient equipment."

"The Schaefer Furler is beautiful to look at, it looks right and it's a beautiful piece of machinery. Never any problems whatsoever. Rolls great."

"The #1 big sail using the 2100 up front never needs a winch on a broad reach; you just don't need to winch it."

"Tell everyone at Schaefer their furlers work great in a hurricane!"

"My preference is and will remain Schaefer Furlers only… on my future boats cruising or racing."

"A beautifully made piece of equipment." Michael Wilson, Sausalito, CA

"In our 6800 miles averaging 9.3 knots, we never gave the Schaefer gear a second thought - which is exactly what is needed far offshore." Richard B. Wilson, Skipper of "Great American", Boston, MA

Only one brand was given a perfect rating by all who sailed with it. Schaefer did not have a critic in the fleet, and comments from owners were all favorable.

"When I decided to have a boat built for the next BOC I selected the Schaefer 3000 for the two head stays. These units have proven to be the best I have ever seen - overbuilt but extremely simple." Jean-Pierre Mouligne, 45' BOC Boat 1994. Newport, RI