I have saved enough Sunbrella to make a regulation sail cover. However,
because I have Dutchman sail flaking system (which I'm not totally happy
with. Subject or an earlier Post!), I want to make a 'trial cover and give
it a couple seasons to see how everything works out.

I have already made a cover out of the 'blue tarp' and albeit crappy
looking, it has served for two winters. This material and the opening for
the Dutchman lines has let enough rain water in and settle into the sail
folds. Thus I have greenish stains to clean off each spring.

I have my own sail/canvas machine and can knock out a cover in a day if
don't have to worry about mistakes or wasting expensive Sunbrella.

(besides, I usually end up making everything twice. )

Does anyone have any experience with covers made out of the (relatively)
superior silver tarp material??

The only possible problem I could imagine, is the in-ability to breath. I
always make my covers loose so that air circulates under and around the sail
folds.

Is there any problem with stain or dye transfer with these silver tarps??

Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

There might be. The pigment used to make those is just aluminum powder,
but there are a lot of additives to make it work. If you can get a
small piece first, rub it against the mast or boom to see if anything
transfers. Over time, you may get some transfer if the wind whips it up
against metal. Don't buy the silver for "reflective" properties. The
best for that is a good quality white tarp. Search for "Armorlon" for
one supplier of good stuff.

I'll look around for a source of the white tarps. I can't remember ever
seeing them in the local retail stores.

However, not that you mention it. I met a boat owner, several years ago who
had made a full boat cover from white tarps and she claimed it had lasted
about 6 years and was still solid enough to use for a pattern for a
replacement one.

Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions
"Keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
There might be. The pigment used to make those is just aluminum powder,
but there are a lot of additives to make it work. If you can get a
small piece first, rub it against the mast or boom to see if anything
transfers. Over time, you may get some transfer if the wind whips it up
against metal. Don't buy the silver for "reflective" properties. The
best for that is a good quality white tarp. Search for "Armorlon" for
one supplier of good stuff.

Steve wrote:

I have saved enough Sunbrella to make a regulation sail cover. However,
because I have Dutchman sail flaking system (which I'm not totally happy
with. Subject or an earlier Post!), I want to make a 'trial cover and give
it a couple seasons to see how everything works out.

Not a bad idea.

I have my own sail/canvas machine and can knock out a cover in a day if
don't have to worry about mistakes or wasting expensive Sunbrella.

Have you ever used Tenara (PTFE) thread? We're starting to make a full
boat cover for our C27, but having a devil of a time getting the Tenara
to run on her Pfaff. The problem seems to be that we can't set the upper
tension high enough. It is supposed to be great stuff though, and guaranteed
for lifetime against UV degradation.

Does anyone have any experience with covers made out of the (relatively)
superior silver tarp material??

Nope.

Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

I have never used any of this thread. I'm using the V-69 and V-92, as sold
by SailRite in my Ultrafeed machine. However, my previous machine was a
Pfaff 130 (I think). I seem to remember problems with thread tension also,
even with lighter treated threads.

If your spool of thread is 'off machine' you can gain some additional
tension/friction by threading it through the several holes in the machine
spool pegs (if you don't have those with holes, check with a machine repair
shop).

Since I'm not really into machine repair or adjustment I can only recommend
you as someone who is. If you purchased your thread from Sailrite, you could
call Matt for machine adjustment advice. He is always very helpful.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

"Don W" wrote in message
t...


Steve wrote:

I have saved enough Sunbrella to make a regulation sail cover. However,
because I have Dutchman sail flaking system (which I'm not totally happy
with. Subject or an earlier Post!), I want to make a 'trial cover and
give it a couple seasons to see how everything works out.

Not a bad idea.

I have my own sail/canvas machine and can knock out a cover in a day if
don't have to worry about mistakes or wasting expensive Sunbrella.

Have you ever used Tenara (PTFE) thread? We're starting to make a full
boat cover for our C27, but having a devil of a time getting the Tenara
to run on her Pfaff. The problem seems to be that we can't set the upper
tension high enough. It is supposed to be great stuff though, and
guaranteed
for lifetime against UV degradation.

Does anyone have any experience with covers made out of the (relatively)
superior silver tarp material??

Nope.

Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

"Don W" wrote in message
t...


Steve wrote:

I have saved enough Sunbrella to make a regulation sail cover. However,
because I have Dutchman sail flaking system (which I'm not totally happy
with. Subject or an earlier Post!), I want to make a 'trial cover and
give it a couple seasons to see how everything works out.

Not a bad idea.

I have my own sail/canvas machine and can knock out a cover in a day if
don't have to worry about mistakes or wasting expensive Sunbrella.

Have you ever used Tenara (PTFE) thread? We're starting to make a full
boat cover for our C27, but having a devil of a time getting the Tenara
to run on her Pfaff. The problem seems to be that we can't set the upper
tension high enough. It is supposed to be great stuff though, and
guaranteed
for lifetime against UV degradation.

It is great stuff. We have started to have many customers willing to pay a
bit
more for Terara (Gortex) thread. It used to be a pain to work with but in
the
past couple of years they seem to have changed the product a bit so no
real problem. I wish they would start making hembobs with it. Our primary
machine is a Pfaff and it runs fine with no change of adjustment necessary
when
changing from regular polyester to Tenara. Another of our machines is a Juki
and no problems there either. You might make a call to you local sewing
machine mechanic and ask about the problem you are having.

Does anyone have any experience with covers made out of the (relatively)
superior silver tarp material??

Nope.

Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Doug,

What model Pfaff and Juki are you using? We were just talking yesterday about
buying an industrial machine, but don't want to spend the money and still
not be able to sew the Tenara.

Our Pfaff is a 1222E with a walking foot and has handled everything we threw
at it until we threw the Tenara thread into the mix. With the bobbin tension
set to minimum and the needle tension set to maximum it just starts to make
a reasonable stich, but you can tell that the upper tension is still not
quite high enough. I suppose it's because the PTFE thread is fairly slick.

Also, do they make industrial machines that don't use a bobbin, and can take
the lower thread right off of a spool? It seems like that would be an advantage
compared to winding bobbins all of the time.

We're in the learning and shopping mode now, and would appreciate your advice.

Don W.

Doug Dotson wrote:

"Don W" wrote in message
t...


Steve wrote:


I have saved enough Sunbrella to make a regulation sail cover. However,
because I have Dutchman sail flaking system (which I'm not totally happy
with. Subject or an earlier Post!), I want to make a 'trial cover and
give it a couple seasons to see how everything works out.

Not a bad idea.


I have my own sail/canvas machine and can knock out a cover in a day if
don't have to worry about mistakes or wasting expensive Sunbrella.

Have you ever used Tenara (PTFE) thread? We're starting to make a full
boat cover for our C27, but having a devil of a time getting the Tenara
to run on her Pfaff. The problem seems to be that we can't set the upper
tension high enough. It is supposed to be great stuff though, and
guaranteed
for lifetime against UV degradation.


It is great stuff. We have started to have many customers willing to pay a
bit
more for Terara (Gortex) thread. It used to be a pain to work with but in
the
past couple of years they seem to have changed the product a bit so no
real problem. I wish they would start making hembobs with it. Our primary
machine is a Pfaff and it runs fine with no change of adjustment necessary
when
changing from regular polyester to Tenara. Another of our machines is a Juki
and no problems there either. You might make a call to you local sewing
machine mechanic and ask about the problem you are having.


Does anyone have any experience with covers made out of the (relatively)
superior silver tarp material??

Nope.


Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

"Don W" wrote in message
.. .
Doug,

What model Pfaff and Juki are you using? We were just talking yesterday
about
buying an industrial machine, but don't want to spend the money and still
not be able to sew the Tenara.

The Pfaff is so old the numbers have worn off. Looking at a brass plate on
the
front of the machine the number 545 begins a long string of numbers. This
might
be the model number. The Juki is an LU-563N.

Our Pfaff is a 1222E with a walking foot and has handled everything we
threw
at it until we threw the Tenara thread into the mix. With the bobbin
tension
set to minimum and the needle tension set to maximum it just starts to
make
a reasonable stich, but you can tell that the upper tension is still not
quite high enough. I suppose it's because the PTFE thread is fairly
slick.

It is slick, that's for sure.

Also, do they make industrial machines that don't use a bobbin, and can
take
the lower thread right off of a spool? It seems like that would be an
advantage
compared to winding bobbins all of the time.

I don;t know, but I doubt it. If you look at how the bobbin works is seems
unlikely.
We have a serger that has 4 thread spools and no bobbin. It also has 2
needles.
I can't pretent to understand how it works.

We're in the learning and shopping mode now, and would appreciate your
advice.

The only way I can think of to tension the top thread more than the machine
provides
for is to wrap it around something before it gets into the machine. The
stands that
holds the thread spools has a loop above it that you can run the thread
through a
couple of times. You might try the hold the thread between your fingers to
see if
additional tension helps.

Don W.

Doug Dotson wrote:

"Don W" wrote in message
t...


Steve wrote:


I have saved enough Sunbrella to make a regulation sail cover. However,
because I have Dutchman sail flaking system (which I'm not totally happy
with. Subject or an earlier Post!), I want to make a 'trial cover and
give it a couple seasons to see how everything works out.

Not a bad idea.


I have my own sail/canvas machine and can knock out a cover in a day if
don't have to worry about mistakes or wasting expensive Sunbrella.

Have you ever used Tenara (PTFE) thread? We're starting to make a full
boat cover for our C27, but having a devil of a time getting the Tenara
to run on her Pfaff. The problem seems to be that we can't set the upper
tension high enough. It is supposed to be great stuff though, and
guaranteed
for lifetime against UV degradation.


It is great stuff. We have started to have many customers willing to pay
a bit
more for Terara (Gortex) thread. It used to be a pain to work with but in
the
past couple of years they seem to have changed the product a bit so no
real problem. I wish they would start making hembobs with it. Our primary
machine is a Pfaff and it runs fine with no change of adjustment
necessary when
changing from regular polyester to Tenara. Another of our machines is a
Juki
and no problems there either. You might make a call to you local sewing
machine mechanic and ask about the problem you are having.


Does anyone have any experience with covers made out of the (relatively)
superior silver tarp material??

Nope.


Thanks,

Steve
s/v Good Intentions