SAILRITE CLONE

AngusMcDoon said:
I bought my Sailrite a few years ago from Solent Sewing for about £800 but they don't have machines on their website now, only spares. Have they ceased being the UK Sailrite dealer?
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We got ours from them 10 years ago , we been very pleased with it ,I can't say how much work been done on it not only for us but for many cruisers, only propblem we had was the foot peddle stop working , sailrite send out a new one from the US free of charge .
 
gregcope said:
@fearmhuir Thanks for the links and guidance. I have been looking for guidance like this for a while.
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If you do take the plunge, you will find that the Sailrite site has videos about all aspects of setup, maintenance, and valuable 'how to' videos from the basics of setup and sewing to advanced projects.
If you need any further information, please pm me.
 
Graham376 said:
For those who own earlier Sailrites - I'v just been looking at the US site and see there's a modified stitch length control which seems much better, looks like it may fit the clone as well - Sailrite - Fabric, Canvas, and Sewing Machines Since 1969
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Yes, I am pretty sure the Sailrite stitch length attachment will fit ok, as will all of the other sewing attachments they sell. I was going to rush off and buy the stitch length attachment, but will wait for a while until I see how the existing one works. From my reading of their site, the main thing it does is ensure that the stitch length in forward and reverse stays the same, which gives a neater finish, and a scale of stitch lengths. For the moment, I test stitch to get a stitch length I want, and mark the adjustment lever, then reverse stitch alongside the forward stitch until the stitches match, and then mark that position, which works for the moment. At over £50 delivered, the plate is expensive, and I have spent that money on good quality thread from Solent.
I haven't investigated it too much, but there are quite a few attachments for 'Sailrite' machines available from China - I haven't compared prices, or what is available yet, but if I do purchase from that source I will report back here.
Just as an aside, I used 'Sailrite clone' as a thread heading, but AFAIK that is actually incorrect. This type of machine was originally manufactured in China (maybe for Consew?), and was subsequently branded under various names, one of those being Sailrite in the US, another Barracuda in Canada. So I think if anything Sailrite is just another clone distributor, but they have made a good business out of it, with a lot of useful information freely available. It is a pity that they have now priced themselves out of a lot of peoples budgets.
 
fearmhuir said:
Yes, I am pretty sure the Sailrite stitch length attachment will fit ok, as will all of the other sewing attachments they sell. I was going to rush off and buy the stitch length attachment, but will wait for a while until I see how the existing one works.
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I found the left and right zipper feet proved very useful when making the cockpit tent but I find the binding guide not so useful, often just as easy to wrap by hand for small jobs. Some info here about accessories and I like the material guide, very easy to make with some wood (or a piece of wife's plastic cutting board when she's not looking) and a couple of rare earth magnets.
 
fearmhuir said:
For several year now, I have been repairing canvas on my boat with a Singer 201K machine. It can be coaxed to cope with all but heavy sewing, but coaxed is the operative word.
Reading posts here at various times, I decided to investigate a 'proper' canvas sewing machine.
First up was a Sailrite, which I used for a few days about five years ago, and was very impressed. However, looking at the costs landed in UK, these worked out at $1095, plus $185 for shipping. On top of that add 20% VAT and import duty at 1.5% gives a total of $1559, which a couple of weeks ago was £1350 which was way, way over my budget.
So I had a look at all the alternative clones that were available.
I registered for alibaba.com, and searched there and found several sources but eventually settled on the listing below:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.0.0.73cd7808CEaJpj

The total for the machine, the large balance wheel, and a wooden box came to $670, which I paid through Alibaba, which guarantees payment, and have a return policy.
So the $670 was assessed at £637 and duty and vat came to £137, a total of £774. I then waited for a week in deep trepidation.
Two boxes arrived by FedEx, and both were very well packed, with the sewing machine and balance wheel in a wooden box. Having read some warnings and horror stories I set up the machine, and on initial inspection was pleased. It looked identical in every way to the Sailrite I had used before.
Reading a post here, I opened up the top end to liberally oil and 'run in' for a day before use. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was liberal amounts of oil already there. I checked underneath, and the same there. I also had a close look, and the quality of the castings, the linkages, the walking foot setup were all of good quality, without a pressed steel fitting in sight.
The machine came with some thread on the bobbin, and a length through the upper tension unit, with a small test piece which had been test sewn. I loaded new thread, and did some sewing and was pleasantly surprised that it worked straight from the box.
I have attached some pics of the box (pretty good quality), the machine itself, and some test sewing - the thick multilayer on the left is eight layers of sunbrlla, and it sailed through it.
The machine I received is pretty much identical to the Sailrite I used five years ago - identical in fact. Nowadays, Sailrite have some improvements - the stitch length plate is improved, and there is a pin to give direct drive without the clutch, but the wheel I bought has an allen screw that can be screwed down to give full drive.
With the large balance wheel, the speed is quite slow, which suits me as I am not a great machinist. It is easy to 'rock' the machine back and forward, a half stitch at a time which is ideal for corners. The large balance wheel comes with a handle for use if there is no power.
So, the machine I received is everything I had hoped it would be. If it had been rubbish, it would have cost me around £150 to return to China for a refund.
Now, I have started a big job - remaking a complete sailcover with lazyjacks, sprayhood and cockpit cover using the original tattered covers as patterns, so the machine will have paid for itself a couple of times when I am finished.

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Sailrite has been a long time favourite of mine for all things required to renew both saloon upholstery, a great range of materials, and covers from Sunbrella, a one stop shop for everything you can possibly need. Add to that around about 1000 'how to videos' covering a very wide range of skills, and a 'chat' option during their open hours, which I found invaluable.
Having said that I have never bought a sewing machine, as unless I was never going to get the use out of it to justify the capital .
Instead I searched the net being offered a variety of @ semi industrial machines until I came across The Sewing Machine Man.
I called and explained the purpose of the machine I was looking for, he immediately replied, 'I bet you have been offered semi-industrials' which he explained there was no such animal. A machine is either domestic or industrial, with some domestics being better than others. He offered me a machine, not a modern one, of American/Japanese origins, with which he said you can sew 6 layers of denim without any problems, and went on to send me a video of the machine doing just that. He asked me £100.00 for it with a guaranteed return if unhappy.
When it arrived I gave it the once over, as an engineer very impressed with the quality of the workings. Never having used one before I followed instructions of loading the reels etc and was soon after some practice getting my hand, eye and foot on the power working together. Since then never looked back, its hardest task with Sunbrella several layers together in places was a doddle and a most enjoyable experience. I am about to use it again, as I am refurbishing a recent purchase, actually waiting for samples from Sailrite of materials. Can recommend Sewing Machine Man to anyone as a very satisfied customer.
 
Freedom35 said:
Sailrite has been a long time favourite of mine for all things required to renew both saloon upholstery, a great range of materials, and covers from Sunbrella, a one stop shop for everything you can possibly need. Add to that around about 1000 'how to videos' covering a very wide range of skills, and a 'chat' option during their open hours, which I found invaluable.
Having said that I have never bought a sewing machine, as unless I was never going to get the use out of it to justify the capital .
Instead I searched the net being offered a variety of @ semi industrial machines until I came across The Sewing Machine Man.
I called and explained the purpose of the machine I was looking for, he immediately replied, 'I bet you have been offered semi-industrials' which he explained there was no such animal. A machine is either domestic or industrial, with some domestics being better than others. He offered me a machine, not a modern one, of American/Japanese origins, with which he said you can sew 6 layers of denim without any problems, and went on to send me a video of the machine doing just that. He asked me £100.00 for it with a guaranteed return if unhappy.
When it arrived I gave it the once over, as an engineer very impressed with the quality of the workings. Never having used one before I followed instructions of loading the reels etc and was soon after some practice getting my hand, eye and foot on the power working together. Since then never looked back, its hardest task with Sunbrella several layers together in places was a doddle and a most enjoyable experience. I am about to use it again, as I am refurbishing a recent purchase, actually waiting for samples from Sailrite of materials. Can recommend Sewing Machine Man to anyone as a very satisfied customer.
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I have just looked to make sure he is still around, and here he is, the same machine I purchased its a heavy duty machine.
New Home heavy-duty upholstery sewing machine Model 1860 | eBay
 
A clone of a chinese made machine ? I have to ask why when for less money than a sailrite one could buy a used industrial bernina, pfaff, juki , brother etc?
 
fearmhuir said:
I saw a couple like this when I was looking, but they didn't have a walking foot, which was essential for me, particularly when trying to sew windows, which I could never get to feed consistently on my Singer.
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Perhaps the sewing machine man could help he has on several occasions for me, maybe give him a call. I am pretty sure you would not be disappointed with the machine.
 
Thanks but at the cost of PTFE, think I'll stick with polyester. Just spoken to Solent Sewing, they recommend Sunstop or Invincible UV treated anti-wick threads which should last as long a I will be still be sailing:)

Solent say they still stock all Sailrite spares and accessories but machines now have to be bought from US.
 
Rappey said:
have to ask why when for less money than a sailrite one could buy a used industrial bernina, pfaff, juki , brother etc?
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I looked on ebay yesterday and my above comment is no longer valid as the prices have rocketed for industrial machines ?
 
Graham376 said:
Thanks but at the cost of PTFE, think I'll stick with polyester. Just spoken to Solent Sewing, they recommend Sunstop or Invincible UV treated anti-wick threads which should last as long a I will be still be sailing:)

Solent say they still stock all Sailrite spares and accessories but machines now have to be bought from US.
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.

If thinking of buying direct from Sailrite beware of the shipping cost trap (see post #15)
 
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