Who sews?

[zool]

Im doing it all, Canvas, Upholstery (interior and ext), drapes, window curtains, dash pad, ect. I figure, if I have to dismantle it all anyway, or find a mobile service and pay, I may as well finish the job myself.

Plus you can experiment with different stitches (Clean Seam ; Double-Stitched Seam ; Flat-Felled Seam ; French Seam ; Lapped Seam ; Piping ; ect) to see what looks best.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

View attachment 117987 Anybody here have guidance on installing double zippers on a canvas top to facilitate hanging different panels at the same time? On my first boat 30 years ago, a 28 Sundancer with a full delta camper top, we had the ability to have three panels on the boat. An Isenglass panel, a screen and a solid curtain. As I remember there were three zippers installed but I don't remember if they were just simply stacked and sewn together or staggered or shingled to avoid interference. Does this ring a bell or does anyone have this accommodation installed on their boat? I am building an enclosure of a 36 express bridge boat and the owner wants to be able to install solid curtains and/or sunscreens in addition to the clear vinyl. I am thinking of just stacking the zippers but installing them with the start boxes on opposite ends to avoid unsightly zipper congestion if that makes sense.
I am being asked to build an enclosure for the boat pictured here. I was referred by another canvas shop that can not accommodate the customer's time frame. This will be a challenge to build something that is functional yet appealing to the eye due to the proximity of the hard top to the top of the windshield. Ill post pics of the finished project.

Almost finished with this custom enclosure project. First one that I had to design and pattern completely from scratch. I had to build an attaching platform for the top to secure to so opted for a ply wood headliner for the top and covered with black Sunbrella to match the top. It looks a bit odd but will provide protection from the elements for winter fishing for the guy. Just finishing an aft panel closin off the cockpit with a big picture window in it. It will be a while till I take on another enclosure though, too many projects to finish on the Trevi for the upcoming season.

 

[Smashpjp]

Looks Great, I just picked up LSZ-1 this year and replaced all the windows with Regalite this winter. Stamoid canvas after being cleaned was in great shape. Figured this would get me another 5 years.

You can tell the old vs new difference on the Center Window. Only real screw up I had, was I needed to extend the zippers outward on the rear Center pieces to give it a bit of give. That and had to move a snap or two. I also have the material to build Sunscreens/ Bug screens with Phifertex for the Front. On the front windshield installed Gypsy snaps so sunscreen can go on top or standalone and will make a curtain with it for the rear.

All n all, the Machine, supplies and material came in $300 cheaper than the lowest 3K quote I received. Plus I was looking at mid June for shops to finish at earliest and get bonus sunscreen/bug nets. Couple weeks of evenings in the basement, maybe 50 hrs overall for a newb.

Currently making some polar fleece wraps for the window panels for storage.

LSZ-1 is a beast and I would tackle a whole enclosure when I refresh or next boat.

 

[spikedaddy99]

Just periodontal tissues, but you probably don't want pictures.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Has anyone tried sewing polycarbonate sheet 040 or 060 Makralon? I have always known it to be heat bonded to canvas but Tuffak has a sewing procedure guide. I am replacing windows on a 400SD for a buddy windows only. I am replacing 60 Strataglass with 40 Crystal Clear vinyl as the Strataglass was shot after 4 years. I was concerned that my machine would not sew thru Poly but I am replacing the windows using the overlay process where you sew the new glass over the old and cut out the old thus retaining the frame shape. My machine is having no trouble at all sewing through the 60 gauge Strata, 40 gauge vinyl and three layers of fabric as I always add a 1 inch finishing tape over the inside vinyl margin to hide the border. I am now thinking of trying the Poly 40. Tuffak claims that it has been improved to last longer that before. Interested in any feed back on sewing the Poly.
Thanks

 

[Smashpjp]

Has anyone tried sewing polycarbonate sheet 040 or 060 Makralon? I have always known it to be heat bonded to canvas but Tuffak has a sewing procedure guide. I am replacing windows on a 400SD for a buddy windows only. I am replacing 60 Strataglass with 40 Crystal Clear vinyl as the Strataglass was shot after 4 years. I was concerned that my machine would not sew thru Poly but I am replacing the windows using the overlay process where you sew the new glass over the old and cut out the old thus retaining the frame shape. My machine is having no trouble at all sewing through the 60 gauge Strata, 40 gauge vinyl and three layers of fabric as I always add a 1 inch finishing tape over the inside vinyl margin to hide the border. I am now thinking of trying the Poly 40. Tuffak claims that it has been improved to last longer that before. Interested in any feed back on sewing the Poly.
Thanks

I did the overlay process as well with 60 strata old and placed 40 regalite over with about 3 layers of Stamoid. The thickness was most of my issue with the LSZ-1. I had to play with the tension more to avoid fraying on this thickness but I am pretty sure if you could get it under the needle, it would sew it. That Tuffak stuff recommends size 22 or 23 needles. For size 20 they want diamond tipped.

I also have the worker B power pack and it can feed very very slow...

I wish I would have thought of the finishing edge binding on the new vinyl. I have exposed border now on the inside panels. Lesson learned.

 

[ttmott]

Has anyone tried sewing polycarbonate sheet 040 or 060 Makralon? I have always known it to be heat bonded to canvas but Tuffak has a sewing procedure guide. I am replacing windows on a 400SD for a buddy windows only. I am replacing 60 Strataglass with 40 Crystal Clear vinyl as the Strataglass was shot after 4 years. I was concerned that my machine would not sew thru Poly but I am replacing the windows using the overlay process where you sew the new glass over the old and cut out the old thus retaining the frame shape. My machine is having no trouble at all sewing through the 60 gauge Strata, 40 gauge vinyl and three layers of fabric as I always add a 1 inch finishing tape over the inside vinyl margin to hide the border. I am now thinking of trying the Poly 40. Tuffak claims that it has been improved to last longer that before. Interested in any feed back on sewing the Poly.
Thanks

I opted against the overlay method primarily due to the issues I was having using Tenara thread and the old glass curling. The DI needles did help in general however. The old glass was 40ga and the new is 40ga. The curling of the old material simply looked bad and was very difficult to feed and keep straight in the machine. I followed the method that Sailrite has in their videos. I ended up tearing that apart and indexing the old glass to the canvas then ripping all of the glass to canvas seams, completely removing the old glass, and then transferring my index marks from the old glass to the new and installing the new glass matching the marks on the canvas. It works great. Shapie on the old glass, chalk on the canvas, and grease pencil on the new glass; don't get those confused..... Also, I had a condition where the existing canvas was stretched too hard and tearing the zipper out so with the indexing method I was able to move the edge over as in the below pictures. Then after all done using 202 to clean the goop from the seam stick, grease pencil from the new glass.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Looks good Tom, I did the same for the first panel I replaced on this project and decided to save time whigh seems to amount to about an hour per panel for some reason, I would overlay. The 60 strata is still pliable so I have seen no curling and it scores and separates way easier than I expected. Truth be known, these panels probably could have been polished out but the labor would probably exceed the replacement costs. Polishing really only makes sense for the DIYer IMO and the owner of this boat would not be doing that.
There is a large Plastics supplier here in Sacramento so I will see if I can get some of the 40 poly and do some test sewing. I may do the corner panels in poly to avoid the waviness. Ill post my results.
Nor-Cal Roberts boat was done in Tuffak and it really looks sweet!

 

[JimFromMD]

Has anyone tried sewing polycarbonate sheet 040 or 060 Makralon? I have always known it to be heat bonded to canvas but Tuffak has a sewing procedure guide. I am replacing windows on a 400SD for a buddy windows only. I am replacing 60 Strataglass with 40 Crystal Clear vinyl as the Strataglass was shot after 4 years. I was concerned that my machine would not sew thru Poly but I am replacing the windows using the overlay process where you sew the new glass over the old and cut out the old thus retaining the frame shape. My machine is having no trouble at all sewing through the 60 gauge Strata, 40 gauge vinyl and three layers of fabric as I always add a 1 inch finishing tape over the inside vinyl margin to hide the border. I am now thinking of trying the Poly 40. Tuffak claims that it has been improved to last longer that before. Interested in any feed back on sewing the Poly.
Thanks

Any images of how you installed the inside finishing tape?

 

[Carpediem44DB]

On the right is a new vinyl window with a 1 inch Sunbrella binding tape sewn along the edge of the window. On the left 5 year old Strataglass that I am replacing with no trim.
Cd

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Am I crazy? I really want to do this 400 SD in Tuffak Marine 5 or AR. The local Canvas installer uses almost exclusively, the AR and does not think the delta is worth it for the claimed longevity performance of the marine 5. I got a scrap of the AR to do some test sewing with my Brother. I need to buy the special Tripoint needles and Tenara thread to see if my machine will sew it but a quick attempt with the #20 needle I generally use, It would be a struggle. I am considering getting into a Juki or something similar with better power and speed control but figuring out which machine to get looks quite daunting.
I am not sure if any of you guys have taken on sewing the polycarbonate products, but if you have I'd love to get guidance on machine choice. I know the first step is decide on how deep I want to go on a machine as $$ solves all.
CD

 

[Smashpjp]

Am I crazy? I really want to do this 400 SD in Tuffak Marine 5 or AR. The local Canvas installer uses almost exclusively, the AR and does not think the delta is worth it for the claimed longevity performance of the marine 5. I got a scrap of the AR to do some test sewing with my Brother. I need to buy the special Tripoint needles and Tenara thread to see if my machine will sew it but a quick attempt with the #20 needle I generally use, It would be a struggle. I am considering getting into a Juki or something similar with better power and speed control but figuring out which machine to get looks quite daunting.
I am not sure if any of you guys have taken on sewing the polycarbonate products, but if you have I'd love to get guidance on machine choice. I know the first step is decide on how deep I want to go on a machine as $$ solves all.
CD

Call Sailrite. Im sure they will be helpful, but bias. It may require a clutch setup, but the new worker B may get job done.

 

[ttmott]

Am I crazy? I really want to do this 400 SD in Tuffak Marine 5 or AR. The local Canvas installer uses almost exclusively, the AR and does not think the delta is worth it for the claimed longevity performance of the marine 5. I got a scrap of the AR to do some test sewing with my Brother. I need to buy the special Tripoint needles and Tenara thread to see if my machine will sew it but a quick attempt with the #20 needle I generally use, It would be a struggle. I am considering getting into a Juki or something similar with better power and speed control but figuring out which machine to get looks quite daunting.
I am not sure if any of you guys have taken on sewing the polycarbonate products, but if you have I'd love to get guidance on machine choice. I know the first step is decide on how deep I want to go on a machine as $$ solves all.
CD

On the machine - I wouldn't get an oscillating hook machine again but rather I would get a rotary hook machine. Tenara thread is difficult to get right using a oscillating hook machine; too many skipped stitches; I know.
On the needle - you need a DI or SCARF7 needle to do the harder plastics and thicker vinyls; these needles cut in.
Early lessons for me on my projects.

 

[JimFromMD]

Call Sailrite. Im sure they will be helpful, but bias. It may require a clutch setup, but the new worker B may get job done.

I just jumped in the deep end with a LSZ-1 with Worker B upgrade. picking up today. I didn’t have a dedicated space for a table/motor setup.

 

[ttmott]

I just jumped in the deep end with a LSZ-1 with Worker B upgrade. picking up today. I didn’t have a dedicated space for a table/motor setup.

You should talk to Sailrite again on powering the machine. Except for the oscillating hook and lack of low speed power my LSZ machine is great. But that ability to move at a one or two stitches a second through any canvas/vinyl is really important and unless you have the servo motor the machine simply can't do it; rather, you have to really get down on the throttle for that first stitch then the machine runs away once the needle punches through - just simply can't control it well enough, not good for me as an amateur. I spend more time manually spinning the flywheel to get the corners and details done. I do understand the lack of space and not being able to have a dedicated sewing table.....
As an edit - it looks like that motor upgrade you are getting sticks out into the throat of the machine; you will need every bit of that throat as there isn't much to start with.

 

[markrsimon]

But that ability to move at a one or two stitches a second through any canvas/vinyl is really important and unless you have the servo motor…

+1 on the advice of needing a servo motor. Being able to do stitch by stitch with power behind it - is night and day. Especially helpful when your doing upholstery and need to run the machine slow to keep your stitching looking good. Perfect for learning - as you simply dial up the speed as you get more comfortable.

As you watch their sewing videos - make sure you figure out what machine/motor they are actually using.

 

[Smashpjp]

You should talk to Sailrite again on powering the machine. Except for the oscillating hook and lack of low speed power my LSZ machine is great. But that ability to move at a one or two stitches a second through any canvas/vinyl is really important and unless you have the servo motor the machine simply can't do it; rather, you have to really get down on the throttle for that first stitch then the machine runs away once the needle punches through - just simply can't control it well enough, not good for me as an amateur. I spend more time manually spinning the flywheel to get the corners and details done. I do understand the lack of space and not being able to have a dedicated sewing table.....
As an edit - it looks like that motor upgrade you are getting sticks out into the throat of the machine; you will need every bit of that throat as there isn't much to start with.

I have a worker b and it doesn’t obstruct. No issues with slow start. A couple reviewers out there commented that worker b can actually move slower that the clutch setup they sell.

 

[JimFromMD]

Thanks for the feedback on Sailrite LSZ-1. Having the speed control and ability to go really slowly but still with power to get through thick bundles is the whole reason I held out to find one with the Worker B. Excited to find out how well it works.

Have been watching some videos of boat projects, bags, etc. Seeing the Juki 1541, consew, and other industrial machines with triple feed... The ability to go slow seemed important, even when watching experienced sewists.

 

[Pura Vida dos]

Rusty,
Great timing for your questions. Just finished the forward portion on the helm enclosure on our 420 db.
Used Tuffak VR 040, played with the AR 060 first but realized it was going to be a battle! I have a JUKI 9010 walking needle, love it, little bigger stitch would be nice but ok with the results! Sewed 2” Sunbrella facing to both sides, so 4 layers plus the polycarbonate’ no problem. Pics not real great as where we winter store they cover all boats with plastic!
Steve

 

[Carpediem44DB]

So you are happy with how well the VR 040 handles the corners and looks in the curved corner panels? What are you expecting in terms of service life out of the VR? From the pics it looks great. I am tending to want to do it in the 040 for some reason the local premier canvas fabricator pushes the AR 060 here in the nor-Cal latitude and environment. Thanks for sharing