I went through a similar situation with my dad. He wasn't the best dad but as we have both gotten older he has acknowledged he did not always do the right thing. Since I do not know all that has happened between you it makes it a little difficult to say whether or not you should try to have a relationship. One thing I can tell you is waiting for him to make the first move is silly the reason you are in this situation is because you are waiting around for him to do something. My Dad and I did not speak for 4 years it has taken a lot of work but our relationship is the best it has been. Any relationship is work. Past is past you can not expect him to go back and fix his bad parenting. You both need to move past it and work on rebuilding your relationship if that means you need the help of a therapist than do it.

"Dear daddy, I write you in spite of fears of silence.
You cleaned up, found jesus, things are good also I hear."

Obligatory!

I would just straight out tell him that you want to have a positive relationship with your sisters and just do your best to stay in contact with them. Let them know that you are always there for them; write them letters, etc.

I also went through a similar situation, my parents after 17 years (my real father died when i was 3, this one adopted me) divorced, My 3 sisters and myself always called him dad, he was always there for us, but after the divorce, he just drifted away got remarried, didnt call me, i had to call him, he never came to see me we always had to go to him, it was never on my terms, always his. We didnt talk for a year and finally tearfully i called him and we had it out, his version of things was different than mine. We are now pretty estranged, I talk to him maybe once every couple of months, I dont get a call for birthdays, or holidays, but when i call him he always says "you can come over anytime!" like its my decision......I have stopped blaming myself, carrying that guilt, mourning over the loss of another father, i cannot make him into something he doesnt want to be anymore.

sometimes you just have to let go, mourn and move on.

I think that you should seriously consider counselling to work out some of your feelings about him. As for reconnecting, I agree with dearsugar on that it partly depends on whether he was abusive to you. Did he still continue to be that way when you last talked to him? Because if he was/is abusive, it may not be in your best interest to have a relationship with him. But since you have not said whether he was or not, I will assume he wasn't. I think that if you decide to talk to him again, you have to set your boundaries, right away. What are you comfortable with? What are you comfortable talking about? What are you not comfortable talking about? Decide this now, so you can know and set your boundaries when you need to. Remember also that you are an adult now, so you have the power in this situation to make all of the choices about what you want your relationship with him to be like, and how often you want to see him. He no longer has power over you. You are being the more mature person here for even wanting to inititate contact with him again, remember that. Perhaps you can have a somewhat shallow relationship with him, just in order to maintain contact with your sisters. It is up to you. You don't need to hash everything out again if you are not comfortable with that. I really think that counselling could help you. Good luck to you.

No one should ever put themselves in an abusive situation. If he cant talk to you like an adult without the verbal abuse then you should burn your bridges. Id rather not have a father than have to be put through that.It is not fair to you. Which makes me wonder how he talks to your sisters? Reguardless, Id try really hard to keep in touch with my sisters even if you have to communicate through email or snail mail. If he can carry on an adult conversation without the verbal abuse or raising his voice by all means, try and patch your relationship, otherwise, get away and stay away for your mental sanity!