I noticed a small rip in the dodger, so, rather than give it to a
company to repair, thought 'Hey, I can do that'.

Nothing is as simple as it seems, however.

First, the sewing machine had to be mastered, oiled, prepared.

Then the rudiments of sewing learnt.

The Dodger was an easy repair (straight line stitching), but then I saw
the winch covers are wind/sun worn and needed replacing.

Those are not so easy as they are 'round'!

But I love a challenge, specially one that requires accuracy and an
element of engineering.

Took two days but I now have a matched pair of winch covers.

Now to try sail bags!

--
Molesworth

"Molesworth" wrote in message
...
I noticed a small rip in the dodger, so, rather than give it to a
company to repair, thought 'Hey, I can do that'.

Nothing is as simple as it seems, however.

First, the sewing machine had to be mastered, oiled, prepared.

Then the rudiments of sewing learnt.

The Dodger was an easy repair (straight line stitching), but then I saw
the winch covers are wind/sun worn and needed replacing.

Those are not so easy as they are 'round'!

But I love a challenge, specially one that requires accuracy and an
element of engineering.

Took two days but I now have a matched pair of winch covers.

Now to try sail bags!

--
Molesworth


Most boat sewing is done with the item turned inside out. That's the trick
to making it easy.

Wilbur Hubbard

On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:46:05 -0500, Molesworth
wrote:

I noticed a small rip in the dodger, so, rather than give it to a
company to repair, thought 'Hey, I can do that'.

Nothing is as simple as it seems, however.

First, the sewing machine had to be mastered, oiled, prepared.

Then the rudiments of sewing learnt.

The Dodger was an easy repair (straight line stitching), but then I saw
the winch covers are wind/sun worn and needed replacing.

Those are not so easy as they are 'round'!

But I love a challenge, specially one that requires accuracy and an
element of engineering.

Took two days but I now have a matched pair of winch covers.

Now to try sail bags!

--
Molesworth

Don't think we don't realise the abyss of maleness that you had to
negotiate in order to toil at the sewing until it came right. We can
indeed tell the stisfaction, the gratification, the thankfulness when
it's all over, even.....

Brian W

Molesworth wrote:

I noticed a small rip in the dodger, so, rather than give it to a
company to repair, thought 'Hey, I can do that'.

Nothing is as simple as it seems, however.

First, the sewing machine had to be mastered, oiled, prepared.

Then the rudiments of sewing learnt.

Early in our marriage, Bob was restoring a 1932 Plymouth. He wanted
to reupholster it. So he rented a sewing machine because we didn't
have one. The rental place had a fit when they learned that he was
taking it aboard a ship, but I guess he talked them into it, and on
that cruise he taught himself to sew and did the upholstery.

He's bought himself a machine like the SailRite, and just lately he's
been repairing the side curtains for the bimini. If he wants the
sails repaired though, he goes up to the Amish guy who makes truck
tarps, and pays for a half hour or so on his industrial machine which
is pneumatic (they don't have electricity). Now THAT'S a machine.

The Dodger was an easy repair (straight line stitching), but then I saw
the winch covers are wind/sun worn and needed replacing.

Those are not so easy as they are 'round'!

But I love a challenge, specially one that requires accuracy and an
element of engineering.

Took two days but I now have a matched pair of winch covers.

Now to try sail bags!

--
Molesworth

Small rips is sails, dodgers, etc. can easily be taken care of by a
small patch on the 'inside' and both 'mating' surfaces applied with
'fast cure' 3M 5200 (sold in small tubes). Just be sure to use
masking tape on the precise edges of the patch to prevent any 5200
that squeezes out from contacting 'other' than the patch when you
apply pressure to the repair.

I dont cart around my heavy sewing machine anymore when traveling.
Just some sailcloth & sunbrella scraps, etc. and a few tubes of fast
cure 5200. Its flexible enough for a 'very permanent' sail repair.
Ive done a full seam panel repair on a 9.8 oz. dacron sail ... still
good to go and doesnt lpok 'repaired' after 5 years.

On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:58:00 -0400, wrote:

A sewing machine is just one more power tool.

Unless it is foot operated, as was the one that I learned to sew on.
Electric is finer than frog fur, when you are plugged in at the dock,
but AC might be scarce on the high seas. You wouldn't need a very big
inverter, however.

Casady

On the subject of sewing and sunbrella in particular, how do you cut
the stuff and work with it without the edges unraveling?
I thought about trying a soldering iron to cut it.
Gordon

Gordon wrote in news:Ho-
:

On the subject of sewing and sunbrella in particular, how do you cut
the stuff and work with it without the edges unraveling?
I thought about trying a soldering iron to cut it.
Gordon

You need a hot knife or similar device. A soldering iron might work, but
it would be a pain to work with. You need something with a blade.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

On Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:02:29 -0500, Geoff Schultz
wrote:

Gordon wrote in news:Ho-
:

On the subject of sewing and sunbrella in particular, how do you cut
the stuff and work with it without the edges unraveling?
I thought about trying a soldering iron to cut it.
Gordon

You need a hot knife or similar device. A soldering iron might work, but
it would be a pain to work with. You need something with a blade.


You can get a hot knife attachment for gun type soldering irons. I
bought one last summer and it works reasonably well.

In article ,
Gordon wrote:

On the subject of sewing and sunbrella in particular, how do you cut
the stuff and work with it without the edges unraveling?
I thought about trying a soldering iron to cut it.
Gordon

All I see are hems..

--
Molesworth