Sail Rite Sewing Machine

[David Sabourin]

Anyone out there in CD land that might have one of these machines laying around and collecting dust? If so, and you would like to sell it let me know. We are interested in getting one soon.

David

[Russell]

Anyone out there in CD land that might have one of these machines laying around and collecting dust? If so, and you would like to sell it let me know. We are interested in getting one soon.

David

Check out eBay, the factory who makes Sailrites also sells direct under a different name, its the same machine and far cheaper. If this is something your going to use at home (rather then keep aboard for full time cruising), then consider a used industrial walking foot machine as well.

Used sailrites are hard to come by, and when they come up, sell quickly and without much of a discount. THere have been some terrific discussions on sewing machines on the SSCA discussion board, worth reading if you havnt already.

I am in the market for a sewing machine as well, so I have been reading up on the topic for the last several months.

[David Sabourin]

Thanks for that info. We have looked on E-Bay. But did not know that sailrite uses a different name to sell there.

[David van den Burgh]

Check out eBay, the factory who makes Sailrites also sells direct under a different name, its the same machine and far cheaper.

I don't know that this applies, but I pulled it off of the Sailrite.com forum:

It sounds like one of the look-a-like machines coming out of China. These look like Sailrite machines (some are even painted our unique blue color)but they don't perform well at all. They are not made well and they are not tuned. And, most importantly, they don't go through Sailrite's production process here in Indiana. If the tension knob is white and there is no label on the machine it is not a Sailrite. If the machine is any other color than blue or red it is not a Sailrite Ultrafeed machine. Also the guidebook is an immediate indicator. All Sailrite Ultrafeeds come with literature (guidebooks) and stickers with our direct contact information and Sailrite logo on the cover. It sounds like you were misled. If you would like to email the details of the transaction and the seller's name we can check to see if this seller is someone we have had trouble with in the past.
Best Regards,
Matt Grant
Sailrite

You can read the original post HERE.

Something else to keep in mind during your search.

[Anthony P. Jeske]

Hi:
Somewhere, long ago, and maybe even on this board, I copied a list of sewing machine models that were represented as being good zigzag machines capable of sailmaking.
They are: Pfaff 130, Pfaff 138
Singer 107, 143
Brother B652
There's a lot on the web regarding the Pfaff 130. It can be thought of as an "almost" industrial machine. There are always several for sale on E-Bay. The Pfaff 138 seems to be a true industrial, but much more expensive.
The Brother B653 looks to be the machine that Sailrite buys and customizes into their machine.
I bought a Pfaff 130 in great shape for $165. No walking foot, but precision straight or zigzag stitching.
If you go to http://www.zeusmachines.com/4.html you can see pictures of layers of various materials sewn by a Pfaff 130.
Happy Sewing!
Tony Jeske
CD-28 #365
NO REGRETS
San Diego

[Judith]

I recently bought a Reliable machine from AllBrands.com, the "2000U33 Straight Stitch & up to 5mm ZIGZAG Walking Foot All Metal Portable Flatbed Sewing Machine" . Quoting from the website: "This is the same machine from the same factory in Taiwan as Sailrite LSZ-1 that sells for $699. . ."

So far, I'm reasonably satisfied. We've repaired sails with it, made a safety harness using some pretty hefty webbing, and, with a lighter needle (it comes with 100 free needles, so I ordered the more household size) sewn new curtains for the boat.

I say "reasonably" because the reverse mechanism seems a little clunky, the machine overall seems pretty basic and unrefined (this may be a good thing, I'm not sure yet), and it did balk at sewing 7-8 layers of sail material. I tend to forgive that last problem, however, after reading Don Casey's statement in the sail repair section of Sailboat Maintenance: "If your machine can't do X layers, sew it by hand from that point [paraphrase]" Also, the machine is heavy as all get-out. . .but, from the specs on both websites, the weight is comparable to Sailrite's machine. Mine is painted neither red nor blue

The power cord was left out when my machine shipped. But when I called, Customer Service quickly gave me a # for the Canadian shipping center (all the Reliable machines are shipped from Canada, for whatever reason), and the manager I spoke with was quite responsive. He shipped out the cord immediately.

So far, that's my experience with a not-Sailrite machine.

Judith

[Matt Cawthorne]

I bought a 10 year old Sailrite Sailmaker after a year of waiting for it to come up on Ebay. It will sew 10 layers of sail cloth over two layers of webbing. Very impressive. That said, I had a problem after several projects where things started to go wrong. Sailrite was helpful in diagnosing the problem. Sewing machines can be very tough to diagnose. It is not usually a problem with home machines because of the light loads applied to them, but when sewing sails with heavy needles and lots of force, the mechanisms can be knocked out of alignment, develop a burr, or be otherwise damaged. You can waste a great deal of time trying to diagnose problems or get frustrated with the project. Having someone to call can be of great help.

Matt

[mahalocd36]

You can waste a great deal of time trying to diagnose problems or get frustrated with the project. Having someone to call can be of great help.

Matt

That is true, I couldn't agree more. I have talked to the guys at Sailrite a few times, they give excellent support (even answered my email on a weekend once) and are extremely knowledgable. Of course, I'm their customer, I bought their machine, from them. I'm not surprised they also help with their machine bought later on eBay.

It is an amazing machine but like Matt said, with some tricky projects (the dodger comes to mind) you have to play with tension, needle twist, etc to get it right. Yeah, I've seen the knockoffs and we wondered about if we should have bought one of them instead. But, the handful of times I've called Sailrite and gotten their help on fixing something, was very valuable.

[Len]

I don't own a sailbrite or the like. However, I have a commercial quality sewing machine (circa 1910?) on a motorized table- the kind used by tailers, seamstresses etc. that I would be glad to give to anyone willing to pick it up.

[Matt Cawthorne]

Before my Sailrite machine, I used to use a Singer model 237, circa 1956. It was one of a 3 year production run of machines with a class 15 head and zig-zag. It was a very tough little machine that only cost me $60. It was not comparable to the current Sailrite machines, but it completely re-stitched the main and Yankee as well as building my storm sails. My reason for the change was that the stiches began to drop when it hit too many plies of material.

[Watermark II]

Len
Did you get my PM?
Andy

[Len]

My inbox does not appear to be working. I did not get any messages from you and am unable to send, Please email me at sail0rman@aol.com
Len

[oyster]

check the for sale section
http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=22088

Bill O.

[Bob Emmons]

To share on the topic of machine maintainance....it is good to have someone knowledgeable in servicing your machine. I found a great guy who used to service the sewing shops and schools in my area...even though there are not many left. There are times when sewing through many layers and using much force that the timing will go off, or other problems develop. I found out that as a novice, a good local industrial sewing machine service person is a must.
Bob Emmons

[Ron M.]

How do these heavy duty machines handle everyday household domestic jobs ? Are they too much machine to use for hemming pants or sewing up a split seam in a pillow case for example. Thanks
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