Sewing machine

PabloPicasso

PabloPicasso

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What type (and cost) of sewing machine is needed for repairing canvas and sails?

Where to look to find a good used one?
 
I bought a 1970s(?) Pfaff 261 - classed at the time as semi-industrial - through eBay.
I got it very cheaply as it had a couple of issues (easily fixed) but for around £200 you would get something similar in good order.
This machine has now sewn two spray hoods, two cockpit enclosures and numerous smaller projects sewing through multiple layers of acrylic canvas with no problem.
I’ve not had to try it on sails yet but I’d be surprised if it struggled.
 
The Sailrite type or other industrial machines are probably better if a. you plan to do a lot with them, and b. You have space to use and store them.
However, the semi industrial types like mine or certain Singers etc. can be surprisingly good. My first machine - a Frister and Rossman Cub which I keep on board - is tiny, but it really is a mighty atom.
The main thing with domestic machines is that for this type of use they need to be heavy so the more modern, plastic bodied types which, although powerful, tend to flex and so struggle with heavy fabric and also slide about.
 
If you want to sew a boom cover or Bimini then the cast Singers are fine. If you want to repair the head, clew, tack of a sail you need something much heavier duty. We use my Mother's, 1939, domestic hand operated, Singer for light marine application but its not got enough oomph for serious sail work.

You can pick up old cast Signers quite easily, nobody makes nor repairs clothes any more.

Jonathan
 
PabloPicasso said:
What type (and cost) of sewing machine is needed for repairing canvas and sails?

Where to look to find a good used one?
Click to expand...
If you want to sew sails then you need a machine capable of large zigzag stitching. If you want to sew canvas projects then you can very successfully use a Singer 201k. They will sew multiple layers of webbing, acrylic canvas, window material, etc. Look on Ebay where you will often find them for less than £100. We have two. A 70 year old cast iron one, we purchased in 2012 that has sewn miles of thread doing projects on our boat. We just swapped it for an aluminium version that is a lighter but has the same robust mechanics. This one was in perfect working order and cost £25 off Ebay.

We don't sew sails. We just take them to the sailmaker. We just had the genoa repaired, some stitching repaired on the inner jib, a new bat car and webbing sewn to the batten pockets for £125. It isn't worth it for us to carry a machine capable of doing this work for the cost of professional sail repairs. The sail maker used heavier thread than we can use on the singer. We can't sensibly go above V92. This is a little light duty for our sails
 
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The most important thing, IMHO, about Sailrite and other industrial machines is the walking foot. It makes the feed very consistent and the stitches and tension good. I have a Janome semi-industrial with a walking foot and it'll cruise through 6 layers of canvas or the thinnest silk.
 
Given the cost of having canvas work done professionally it is always worth having a go oneself .
A second hand Sailrite you know will do the work and retain a useful resale value but it is ( yet more) monies tied up in a bit of kit used infrequently.

I have used heavy duty domestics with good needles but I wouldn’t go back to them. Sorry,possibly not what the OP wants to hear.
The difficulty is in finding the heavy duty ZigZag and long arm capabilities
 
Neeves said:
If you want to sew a boom cover or Bimini then the cast Singers are fine. If you want to repair the head, clew, tack of a sail you need something much heavier duty. We use my Mother's, 1939, domestic hand operated, Singer for light marine application but its not got enough oomph for serious sail work.

You can pick up old cast Signers quite easily, nobody makes nor repairs clothes any more.

Jonathan
Click to expand...

I agree, no portable machine has the power to repair yacht sails at the corners. There is a huge difference between the power and transmission on industrial machines.
Solent Sewing Machines used to have a video showing one of their larger machines sewing together two pieces of 6mm plywood.

For canvass work many machines will do the job though most electrics will need a bit of hand assistance when the material is stacked. I like the simple, older Husqvarna's because they are free arm and useful for other domestic work and also have a slow gear which gives a novice a bit more control and power, they are not invincible though.

Something like this:

Pardon our interruption...

.
 
doug748 said:
I agree, no portable machine has the power to repair yacht sails at the corners. There is a huge difference between the power and transmission on industrial machines.
Solent Sewing Machines used to have a video showing one of their larger machines sewing together two pieces of 6mm plywood.

For canvass work many machines will do the job though most electrics will need a bit of hand assistance when the material is stacked. I like the simple, older Husqvarna's because they are free arm and useful for other domestic work and also have a slow gear which gives a novice a bit more control and power, they are not invincible though.

Something like this:

Pardon our interruption...

.
Click to expand...
In 2020 we got to the Azores from the Caribbean with a very worn genoa. It had 27,000nm on it. We were hoping it would get us home. The pressed in s/s clew was pulling out of the 5 layers of 10oz cloth. To do an emergency repair, we sewed 3 pieces of webbing through the eye and stitched them through the 5 layers of cloth . This was done on a Singer 201K. We broke several cheap needles doing it but it worked and got us home. I wouldn't routinely do sail repairs with this machine but in an emergency, if straight stitch will do it, the singer will sew it.
We carry a 90w and a 180w motor. The 90w motor is use for sewing canvas and webbing but if we needed to punch through several layers of sail cloth, we can stick the 180w motor on. Its a bit agricultural with this motor but far easy to persuade it through thick fabric
 
fredrussell said:
There are industrial sewing machines, and there are domestic sewing machines. There is no such thing as a semi-industrial machine. Who would use them? People with a unit on a semi-industrial estate?
Click to expand...
If you read this link you can see the history of the singer 201 machine. It mentions that they were introduced as the first domestic machine but also used professionally.https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/201/
Lots of suggestions that they were used to sew the leather seats in Rolls Royce cars in the 1950s. Since many of them came built into a table as they were not really that portable due to their extreme weight, you can see why they occasionally get referred to as semi industrial.
However you want to describe them, they are a great addition to a liveaboard cruising boat. Not expensive, robust, compact compared to a Sailrite and very capable
 
geem said:
In 2020 we got to the Azores from the Caribbean with a very worn genoa. It had 27,000nm on it. We were hoping it would get us home. The pressed in s/s clew was pulling out of the 5 layers of 10oz cloth. To do an emergency repair, we sewed 3 pieces of webbing through the eye and stitched them through the 5 layers of cloth . This was done on a Singer 201K. We broke several cheap needles doing it but it worked and got us home. I wouldn't routinely do sail repairs with this machine but in an emergency, if straight stitch will do it, the singer will sew it.
We carry a 90w and a 180w motor. The 90w motor is use for sewing canvas and webbing but if we needed to punch through several layers of sail cloth, we can stick the 180w motor on. Its a bit agricultural with this motor but far easy to persuade it through thick fabric
Click to expand...

Indeed, could be very useful for improvised repairs, will also do light stuff in the body of the sail if it can be got through the machine.

.
 
Before I owned and carried a sewing machine I used doubled twine, a sailmakers needle, a pencil to draw the zigzags and a heated nail or nail punch to make the holes through the layers of cloth and webbing
 
geem said:
If you read this link you can see the history of the singer 201 machine. It mentions that they were introduced as the first domestic machine but also used professionally.https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/201/
Lots of suggestions that they were used to sew the leather seats in Rolls Royce cars in the 1950s. Since many of them came built into a table as they were not really that portable due to their extreme weight, you can see why they occasionally get referred to as semi industrial.
However you want to describe them, they are a great addition to a liveaboard cruising boat. Not expensive, robust, compact compared to a Sailrite and very capable
Click to expand...
Indeed. Have a MUCH loved 201k and it’s been used for many boaty projects. I was just saying that the ‘semi-industrial’ thing is just a modern invention.
 
I brought a Singer 328 to make a cockpit tent, cockpit cover, sail cover and staysail cover. I then brought a hand crank and an electric Singer 201. Comparing the 328 to the 201 the 328 can deal with multiple layers better than the 201. I have sewn up to 8 layers of Salueda canvas on the 328, just about managed it. Used V69 thread. The good thing about the 328 is it can do zig zag and various other stitches by changing the fashion cams plus it's all metal gearing. It would not be able to sew a clew on a sail but great for canvas work and leather reinforcing. Max stitch length is 4mm. About £100 on ebay but can be cheaper/ more expensive.
 
fredrussell said:
There are industrial sewing machines, and there are domestic sewing machines. There is no such thing as a semi-industrial machine. Who would use them? People with a unit on a semi-industrial estate?
Click to expand...
I bought my Pfaff from a lady who had inherited it from her aunt but had no use for it.
Her aunt had earned her living with it as a home-worker for a clothing manufacturer.
 
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