Boat Forum / Cruising / March 2006

Try http://www.sailrite.com/

The machines he's talking about cost approx $1500.00
Fot the amount of sail repair you will encounter, I'd think getting
friendy with a good sailmaker may be more practical.

Sailrite sells a very nice zig-zag, walking foot (the cloth is pulled
from both the top and bottom) machine for $600 to $950, depending on
options.  This is sufficient for most basic canvas work, I've made a
storm sail, a riding sail, and various bits of canvas, plus assorted
repairs.  This is not a true heavy duty machine that a canvas shop
would have, but its a good alternative thats a lot better than most
home machines for canvas work.  Its sort of portable, and can be hand
cranked.

Several EBAY vendors sell the same machine for less - you might be
able to get one for $350, but then you don't get the various fixes by
Sailrite, and you miss out on great support.  I went the EBAY route,
then got accessories (such as the big flywheel) from Sailrite.

However, if you've never used a sewing machine, you're probably better
off saving your money to pay the sail loft.  Or at least you should
get a friend to help you with a small project to see if you have the
knack.

i haven't tried to sew sails yet but i do have some experience sewing
other things.  i learned a lot about sewing just by reading the
instruction manual for a cheap sewing machine i bought.  then i learned
even more by taking some sewing lessons with the recreational
department of the city i live near.  women at the fabric store know a
hell of a lot about this too and can help out.  you do need special
machines to sew heavier things, and also special needles sometimes ...
for instance, if you want to sew leather you need a heavy duty machine,
and i suspect the same is true for canvas since it's pretty thick and
can be multiple layers near the edges of the sails.  if it were me i'd
think twice before buying something that was sold specifically as a
sewing machine for sail making.  there are plenty of heavy duty
"normal" sewing machines out there that you could use to sew canvas and
they would have a lot of extra features above and beyond a simple
zigzag sewing machine, i think it would be a better value than a "sail
makers" sewing machine.

Most repairs can be affected with a special grade (tubes) of "fast
Cure" 3M 5200  adhesive caulk.  All you need is the dacron  sail tape
in either 3" or 4" widths, a yard or two of Sunbrella in the typical
common colors, etc. etc. and some masking tape.  I dont bother to carry
a sewing machine anymore, just a few tubes of Fast Cure 3M 5200 and
some 'remnants' of sail, etc. cloth, heavy waxed sail twine, sailmakers
hand needles and a 'sewing palm'.

If you have no experience in using such a machine, its best to 'start
out small' with a 'home zig zag machine' and make smalll repairs on
light weight cloth, etc. before investing in a 'good' sailmakers type
of machine .... no matter what the cost from ebay, etc.
<g>

Becoming independant and self sustaining, thats what cruising is about
IMO and a sewing machine helps a lot.
I talked to a retired sewing machine mechanic/distributor and he
advised me to look for a Pfaff 360. A few months later I bought a
Pfaff 360 in very good shape for 150 euro's. In the old days sewing
machines were manufactered like they had to last for decades and guess
what, they do.
Needle pressure and zizag stitches are a must for sailcloth and that
can easily be tested. I bought sailcloth and thread at the local
sailmaker.

The only thing is that the arm off the Pfaff or any other heavy duty
"family-machine" is a bit short for big sails. When the damage is
located in the centre of my 55m2 main I probably can't reach the spot
and I will have to make the repair manually and look for a sailmaker
lateron. IMO chances are you will have more damage and wear at the
edges/eyes/top, etc.

Fair winds, Len.

Try an outfit called Harbor Freight Tools. We just bought an industrial
strength sewing machine and table for about $500. Some assembly required. If
this thing can't sew it, it can't be sewn. The all up gadget weighs about 250
pounds. The motor is enormous.

We made a sail cover from a Sailright kit a couple of years ago. It's a
beautiful job but it killed the domestic sewing machine we had then. And some
years before that we rebuilt our dodger with a rented industrial strength
tabletop machine. It wasn't easy. The new machine should make fast work of
any job. And yes, it can run at 5,500 stitches per minute but the speed is
inifinitely controllable. Just needs a little practice.

I would start with an old singer or similar. You can always
upgrade, if necessary.
You can get one in good working condition for about $50.
Mine easily sews through a double layer of Sunbrella and
two layers of sail cloth on a furling jib's edge. More layers
towards the eye were difficult.
Get a model with zigzag and reverse, ~1940s or 50s. Older
ones only do straight stitches, newer ones are flimsy.
Mod. 99, 66, 201, pretty much every old black and gold
machine will do.

Hi Thomas,

My wife and I bought a new chinese industrial machine off of
EBAY for ~$300.  We were doing a couple of covers out of
Sunbrella, and her hi-end Pfaff machine was not cutting it.
 Fifteen years ago we completely reupholstered our old boat
using her Singer machine, and it was not as good as the Pfaff.

The industrial machine will sew practically anything you can
feed through it.  When we got it we experimented and were up
to over 8 layers of heavy Sunbrella without even making it
breathe hard.  BTW, we are using Tenara thread which is a
heavy Teflon thread (impervious to UV).  We could never get
the Pfaff tension set right for this thread, and finally
gave up and bought the industrial machine.  Believe me, it
was not for lack of trying.  Also, the Pfaff motor was
really working hard punching through four layers of
Sunbrella, and pulling the heavy thread.

The chinese machine is not nearly as nice as the Pfaff in
terms of fit and finish, but it sure can sew.

YMMV

Don W.