[C38] Sailrite sewing machine

[Mike]

If your looking at doing any sail work along with a walking foot machine you will also need one that does a zigzag stiching. A zigzag stich is also usefull when doing any sewing that will be used on project that will be under a load because it makes a stronger stich than a straight erich. That's why when you look at your stiching on your sails they are always a zigzag stich.
Mike Barber



-----Original Message-----
From: saintpeg at earthlink.net
To: listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
Sent: Sun, Jan 23, 2011 10:45 am
Subject: Re: [C38] Sailrite sewing machine



Max,

As a recent (3 yrs) owner of a C38 I don't usually have much to contribute
in the way of technical info -- but as a lifelong sewer I can confidently
chime in on this one!!

I bought a Sailrite machine (the LSZ-1, the one that does straight & zigzag
stitches) -- an older version that Sailrite has since made a number of
technical improvements to. Got it used from a dock friend, another home
sewer, who hated it & was happy to unload it. Her problem with it was its
fussiness, it is a machine that demands careful adjustment of the thread
tension before it will sew properly. I put a little time into fiddling with
it during a 'test drive', learned its quirks & figured out how to work with
it. I think I got a deal & would gladly recommend it.

It works well with up to nine layers of Sunbrella (though it needs a little
manual assistance getting through that much fabric -- more below). You
definitely need the walking foot for the kind of sewing we do for our boats
-- my German home machine could manage most of the canvaswork except for
the fact that it doesn't have a walking foot. When I finally get around to
ordering a cruising spinnaker kit, I know this machine will have no problem
helping me crank it out. Rory & I are still chewing over the idea of a
stackpack, but it won't have any problem sewing that either.

One upgrade that I plan to buy for my machine is the 'Monster Wheel' - a
heavyweight balance wheel that helps drive the needle through multiple
layers of fabric, or through heavy material like sailcloth (it also helps
you sew when you can't plug in to shore power). I have to help my machine
along with manual turning of the original-equipment balance wheel when I
try to sew through many layers of canvas. I made an anchor riding sail from
one of Sailrite's kits, easy project, the LSZ-1 breezed right through it.
But when I tried a bit of repair work on our genoa it gagged on the heavy
Dacron sailcloth, couldn't put a needle through it. So you do need the
extra weight behind the drive mechanism if you plan to do your own
sailwork. 

Good luck --

Peggy
No Name Yet, #231
San Francisc

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