Okie Dokie......
The economy isn’t as good as the media portrays, and my new sails will have to wait for better times.
That means that my old sails will have to do, and I mean old! The best that I can determine is that they are 1977 vintage. Despite their age, the sails are in pretty good shape. Each year since 1992, these rags have been washed with freshwater (November), dried, folded neatly, and stored in the closest (climate controlled) until it was time to go sailing again in the spring.
And, they have been to the sail maker (there’s a good one in Northern Virginia) every few years for mending and tweaking.
But alas, the threads are giving out. First, it was the Westsail “W” flopping in the wind, then the hull number lettering, and now other seams seem to be sketchy. { Other “seams seems” - get it?!? } It’s always the thread, isn’t it?
Now, I’m the type of WestSailor who does everything on his own. Ask Bud about some of my projects, successes, and failures! Not all come out as planned, but most save me money and give me enjoyment of doing it myself. After all Westsail is spelled : D-I-Y !
Anticipating the day when when canvas, cushions, and sails will need repair, I stumbled upon a PHAFF walking foot sewing machine. This sucker will sew through the palm of your hand and half way up your forearm if you are not careful. I took the original 1/2 hp motor off and replaced it with a 3/4 hp servo motor that I can throttle back to a reasonable sewing speed. Even though I know nothing about sewing, I managed to sew a deck quilt to cover CAPRICA’s hatches. Multiple layers of canvas and nylon tie-straps are nothing to the PFAFF sewing monster.
But - my kick-ass sewing machine only sews straight stitches. At the maximum setting it sews a 5mm straight stitch measured between needle piercings.
My questions are:
1. Should I try to re-sew the seams of my sails? When I say, “re-sew” I mean stitch over the existing seams and thread. Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to re-stitch every seam. Even though this is an industrial strength machine, there isn’t enough room under the head to accommodate all the fabric. But, I should be able to sew the foot, leach and luff seams, and some of the panels that fit under the head.
If the answer to 1. is, “No and Hell NO!” then there is no need to read on,
Otherwise:
2. Given that I straight stitch, should I sew down the middle of the original zig-zags? Or do I run a stitch down each side of the original zig-zags? That would be two stitches per original seam.
3. If I’m still sewing at this point, how do people know when the bobbin thingie run out of thread? Obviously, it’s when the stitching ceases to be stitches. But that seams (I mean “seems”) to occur at the worst location. Any tricks to share?
Crazy Idea? Bad Idea? Waste of time and effort? Please chime in. There’s always 3M 5200 for a good repair!
Ed & Karen on CAPRICA #687