Thomas Wentworth wrote:
I have been reading Don Casey's book about repair, and upkeep of sailing
yachts. He recommends getting a sewing machine so that sails, covers,
dodgers, etc can be repaired, made etc by the boat owner.

I don't know anything about sewing machines.

Where would I get one? How much should one cost? What brands are good? Is
this something I can get on ebay?

Any help ?

Thanks,

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.