I was also wondering if I could use the domestic sewing machine of my wife
or do I need to buy a purpose built machine for sailmaking ?

Maybe. Depending on the types of sails you want to build and your wife's
sewing machine.

Lighter fabric sails (like spinnakers, light genny's or dinghy sails) will
be easier to sew through multiple layers of fabric. Sewing through heavy
canvas could easily burn up your wife's machine.

If your wife's machine is a modern, "specialty" machine, you might be better
off shopping for an old, cheap machine at a garage sale or sewing machine
repair shop. Some of the old Pfaff or Brother machines are very close in
"beefiness" to a smaller commercial machine. Look around, you may find a
real -bargain-. In general terms, the heavier the machine, the better.
Modern machines use plastic gears that won't hold up to hours of pushing a
needle through heavy canvas. Older machines used metal gears, thus are much
heavier. The early machines sold by Sailrite were modified home-duty
machines, and they still sell parts to "beef up" certain older model
machines. If you can find a heavy machine, in good shape that does a zig
zag stitch, you're probably set. First thing to do after you buy it is take
it to a sewing machine repair shop to adjust and lube. This will save you
many hours of frustration later. I found a nice old Brother machine at a
repair shop for less than $100, and many years later bought a Sailrite
"Yachtsman" machine. The two machines were very similar and I did alot of
canvas work with both of them.

Incidently, the biggest differences between a sailmaker's machine and a home
(or even commercial) machine a

- bobbin size, sailmakers machines have two spools, not one spool on top and
a tiny bobbin on the bottom
- "throat" size, a long and high space so you can fit the rolled up sail
through
- multi-stepped zig zag stitch, spreads the load better and better chafe
resistance
- very high speed and beefy
- cost, a typical sailmakers machine will cost many times more than a
complete suit of sails.

Hope this helps,

--
Paul

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