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

Brian Whatcott wrote:
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

Speak for yourself. I spent fifty years in the sewing business and honestly
don't know what all the fuss is about!

Dennis.

On Jun 9, 3:24 am, "Dennis Pogson"
wrote:
Brian Whatcott wrote:
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

Speak for yourself. I spent fifty years in the sewing business and honestly
don't know what all the fuss is about!

Dennis.

Right now, I am trying to sew a custom shade for my Tolman Skiff. I
have not used the machine since two years ago when I sewed my MiniCup
sails. It is a very heavy duty "Dressmaker" brand with massive steel
cogs. It is an impressive piece of compact machinery but I'd like to
know its age. It kinda looks modern but the original owners
certificate indicates 1931. My wife hates this machine that I got for
nearly nothing at a garage sale 25yrs ago. It is simply too heavy to
be easy to use. It needs to be permanently mounted although it has a
carrying case.

On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:25:28 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:


Right now, I am trying to sew a custom shade for my Tolman Skiff. I
have not used the machine since two years ago when I sewed my MiniCup
sails. It is a very heavy duty "Dressmaker" brand with massive steel
cogs. It is an impressive piece of compact machinery but I'd like to
know its age. It kinda looks modern but the original owners
certificate indicates 1931. My wife hates this machine that I got for
nearly nothing at a garage sale 25yrs ago. It is simply too heavy to
be easy to use. It needs to be permanently mounted although it has a
carrying case.


Zig-zag stitch - that's the ticket! Highly desirable for sails
and wing covers..
I did a sun roof from 12 ounce canvas for my open top horse trailer,
as well as a wrap round transparent front cover for it, from heavy
duty wally world pvc sheet. Using the SAME SETTINGS, I also took off
the collar of a new poplin dress shirt to stiitch it on rotated 180
degrees to make a dressage shirt. Now that's a sewing machine I can
warm to.

Brian W

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.