Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 07-06-2011, 18:19   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 31
Has Anyone Tried the Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine ?

Has anyone tried the Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine. Sometimes called Reliable 2000U33 Barracuda. They are very similar to the Sailrite LZ1 but are half the price.

For those that have only used the Sailrite I am very aware that they are very good machines so I do not need any more confirmation about that.

I am sure someone has purchased and used a Reliable and would much appreciate your comments.

Thanks,
Chris
chrisboat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-06-2011, 19:21   #2
Registered User
 
senormechanico's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2003
Boat: Dragonfly 1000 trimaran
Posts: 7,141
Re: Anyone tried Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine

I seem to remember a youtube video made by the Sailrite company which compared the two.
Casting quality of the linkages was a big factor in the price difference.

BTW, I am a Certified Bernina Technician and fix sewing machines for a living.

I've seen the differences in machine quality (not that particular model) and they are significant.
__________________
The question is not, "Who will let me?"
The question is,"Who is going to stop me?"


Ayn Rand
senormechanico is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-06-2011, 21:25   #3
Senior Cruiser
 
bstreep's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: San Antonio, TX/Bocas del Toro, Panama
Boat: 1990 Macintosh 47, "Merlin"
Posts: 2,844
Re: Anyone tried Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine

Chris,

As a Sailrite owner, I'd say "go for it". Your experience is likely to let others down the road know if 1) they made the right decision paying Sailrite 2x as much or 2) they could have saved money going your way.

There are many, many corners I've cut in this boating/marine world. This just isn't one of them. And it's WAY beyond "the machine". The support alone is worth the difference.
__________________
Bill Streep
San Antonio, TX (but cruising)
www.janandbill.com
bstreep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2011, 07:08   #4
Registered User
 
senormechanico's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2003
Boat: Dragonfly 1000 trimaran
Posts: 7,141
Re: Anyone tried Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine

Here's the youtube video I mentioned comparing Sailrite vs lookalike machines.
I have no financial ties to either company.

__________________
The question is not, "Who will let me?"
The question is,"Who is going to stop me?"


Ayn Rand
senormechanico is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-08-2011, 21:31   #5
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 11
Re: Anyone tried Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine

I researched many options before I purchased the BarracudaU-33, and finally decided on this machine about a . We live on our sailboat, and have been slowly circumnavigating for about 4 years now, with at least another 4 more to go. Money is not abundant, but we did need a machine to repair and maintain our very tattered canvas throughout the boat, and to do some basic sail repairs. Sailmakers are not an option out here ( Majuro, Marshall Islands) - not for 2000 miles...

The Barracuda arrived in good order, ready to sew with. I'm a beginner and found the instruction booklet a little thin, but I had purchased some basic sewing guides and DVDs from other sources ( Thanks to the writer above me) to learn how to use and repair this machine and how to sew with it a bit before it arrived. Luckily the machine is built similiar to a lot of other machines out there made for canvas and sail repair, so everything was pretty transferable and I was up and running very quickly. I found the machine to be just OK for thin material like for the fitted sheets that I made first - I had to really back off the tension to do these very thin fabrics...but it was possible with lots of upper tension reducing. I then tackled my steering pedestal cover. It's very old sunbrella; the zipper was falling off, and most of the trim was falling off too. The Barracuda 2000 sewed through the material very nicely, and never skipped a stitch. I was hesitant to sew through so many layers in places, but it went through it all like there was nothing to it. Then I began a bulkier more important project - repairing our mainsail cover which was all but destroyed. I had to sew leather on to a few corners, lots of restitching, lots of reattaching the heavy vinyl inner pieces back to the sunbrella material, and a few other things. The machine really enjoys these thick materials, and despite my lack of experience, it came out looking very good, almost professional! Within a week of experimenting with increasingly difficult repairs, I was working through the list of repairs needed for our boat quite quickly. I can't wait to start in on some brand NEW products for Brick House…I have found the machine very easy and fun to use.

What I like about the machine:

That it does the things I need it to do - repair my canvas, make household items, and quite surely it will do my sails with ease as well. although I haven't tried that yet.

That you can tell by the look and feel of it that it will last forever with minimum care and hassle… It's a heavy duty machine, with nothing flimsy or cheap about it to be found anywhere.

That it's a very universal machine that I will be able to get parts and additional accessories for easily…nothing proprietary about it. Also, I did buy the Cuda Crank wheel right up front as the other writer on here suggested, and he was right - it's a must have. I tried it with and without and it's so obvious the extra power it affords for going through the thicker material. If you were just doing home sewing it would probably be OK to leave on the standard one, but home sewing is probably not why one would buy this machine. Its really meant for sailboat canvas and sails.

The price tag!! A straight stitch, Zig Zag, walking foot heavy metal quality machine like this for under 500$ ? Look around…it's a good buy even if it didn't have the zig zag component to it! And then you have the option to add exactly what you want instead of having to pay for all the extras whether you want them or not.

Customer service seems good. I requested a spare parts kit so that I would have what I needed when and if I broke anything, and they were quick to respond with a complete kit for me. And although it wasn't an option for us because of our remote location in the Pacific, you can bring the machine in to any Reliable Service location and they will fine tune the machine for you and make any adjustments you need for no charge for the first 90 days. There wasn't really anything that needed to be done to the machine when we got it, so perhaps they tuned it for me before it left because of my location. But that is a nice service.

It is critically important to us to find the best value for our money, and we really feel like we have found a gem with this purchase. It doesn't have some extras that other similar machines have, but we aren't paying for those things either , and quite honestly, we don't miss them. The machine does everything we want and a whole lot more for half the price of other similar machines. I like that a lot.

What I don't like about the machine:

I didn't like the base that it came with very much and it seems like it would break fairly quickly if the machine is moved around much, although while set up its quite sturdy and convenient for the smooth extra sliding area it provides and the little storage compartment in it. But I don't like it when I have to get under the machine, or when I need to put it away for the day. The sturdy handle on it is great for lifting it somewhere, but storing it somewhere is difficult on the boat. I had to buy a case from another company to put it in, which it fits in to very nicely with no modifications. I guess this is part of how Reliable keeps the price down on these machines down. Not everyone needs a hefty case, but you can buy one easily enough if you need one.

The instruction book wasn't quite as bad as the other guys on here said, but there are much better ones out there to learn this machine and sewing. It doesn't take much looking online to find them.

The other thing the machine could use, is a light. Reliable has an LED add on light that may be worth looking at. Has anyone tried it? I have installed with Velcro a small 5$ book reading LED that has no wires and seems to do the trick, although brighter would be better. Maybe I will try that next.

I think Reliable has made a good move leaving off a few optional items on their machines in exchange for saving the consumer hundreds of dollars over their competitors. The important things are there, it's a quality machine, and it's everything you need if you want to do a lot of canvas and sail work, but don't want to spend top dollar. Excellent value without compromising quality. I recommend it without reservation.

As a side note- a professional sailmaker from South Africa just borrowed my machine yesterday. He purchased a sailboat here and had to make a sail repair before he could sail it home. He had used Thomson and Sailrite machines before. He was totally impressed with the machine. It sewed through 10.5 ounce sail material with 2 patches and sailtape on each side without one missed stitch. He said the machine is a great little workhorse that seems like it could sew through anything. He said a lot of the little portable machines tend to run away but the speed control and gearing on this one was great. He felt it was really well built and most of all was just completely impressed with it. He now plans to add one to his 5 or 6 in his shop for times he needs to be portable. He was amazed byt he machine. Another cruiser was looking at it and admitted to me afterwards that in all her years of sewing onboard she never saw a machine be able to sew through without any problems, such a thick bit of sail. She has 2 machines on her boat, none of which do zig zag - I think she is going to add a 3rd now. I was happy to hear from a pro that indeed the machine is a gem. He was equally impressed that I could watch a video and know how to take the machine out of timing and put it back in to timing - something sewing machine repair shops charge hundreds for around the world. SO Sailrite's videos are well worth the investment to add to this machine.
rchildress is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-05-2019, 20:50   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 3
Re: Has Anyone Tried the Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine ?

This is an old thread, but I thought I'd weigh in. After 6 years of owning a Reliable (unreliable) Baracuda 2000UW (200ZW) I'm throwing in the towel. I can't take it anymore. I've spent more in parts that I paid for the machine and I now know WAY MORE than I ever wanted to know about how a sewing machine worked.

Let me explain... I do not sew for a living. I love boats, and they all seem to need canvas repaired or replaced from time to time. I got a quote 7 years ago for new canvas and at $12,000+, I thought I could just do it myself. I did my research and found a 1/2 dozen machines that all "looked" the same and the Reliable machine was the cheapest (about $600 then but now $499 on Amazon). It showed up, and as RCHILDRESS stated above, it was not that impressive from a packaging or documentation standpoint, but it worked so I dove in.

During the first project I got to learn how the motor drive worked (as the pulleys started to squeak). The bracket just twisted next which shreaded the belts. Two or three sets of belts later and a bunch of shims and I found that Sailrite sold parts for the LSZ-1 that fit my machine. The original pulleys were cheap aluminum on a steel shafts that went egg shaped, so I ended up buying all new pulleys, belts, and a Monster Balance Wheel from Sailrite.

The next couple of small projects went OK, and then I started breaking needles. I actually ended up buying a bulk pack (96) needles as I started to learn more about how the machine worked. The issue this time was the zig-zag drive mechanism (or the slop it in). Another $200 in parts later, and I had it working again.

By the three year point, I had became an expert at adjusting the timing. I knew it was off when the needle would crash into the bobbin hook or the retaining ring, snap a needle cause the needle drive shaft to slip. I don't know how many times I've had to re-set the needle bar height or reset timing but allen head screws and slotted screws had to be replaced as they were getting rounded out. Before learning how things worked, I bought another $200+ in parts. I have a collection of bobbin hooks with burs on them if anyone wants them....

The last straw for me was a month ago. I was making a new enclosure and heard a terrible crunch sound. I could not figure out what it was at first. The crunch happened but it kept sewing. 5 minutes later, a pile of parts from the needle drive mechanism fell in crumbles on my sewing project. The motor just spun and nothing happened.... The machine is NOT made well. Lots of pot metal parts. Lack of lubrication access and metal on metal surfaces eventually takes it toll. I ordered up another $100 of parts.... Its working again, but it's for sale (if anyone wants it).

Today my new Sailrite LSZ-1 arrived. 6 years later and a lot swearing and I decided that my sewing should be just that, not another chapter in machine mechanics. This thing is a dream. Its quite. It sews straight. I opened it up to look inside and you can really tell the difference. The linkage is all tight and works just like it should.

Like so many things in life, its what's on the inside that counts. Don't fall for a cheap imitation or like I, you may end up regretting it.
mdgpl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-05-2019, 23:39   #7
Registered User
 
GILow's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: On the boat, somewhere in Australia.
Boat: Swanson 42 & Kelly Peterson 44
Posts: 9,112
Re: Has Anyone Tried the Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine ?

Great, if tragic, writeup. Thank you for sharing this.
__________________
Refitting… again.
GILow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-05-2019, 20:26   #8
Registered User
 
senormechanico's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2003
Boat: Dragonfly 1000 trimaran
Posts: 7,141
Re: Has Anyone Tried the Reliable 2000U33 Sewing Machine ?

The bitterness of low quality remains long after the sweetness of the price paid.
__________________
The question is not, "Who will let me?"
The question is,"Who is going to stop me?"


Ayn Rand
senormechanico is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
sewing machine

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
For Sale: Sailrite Sailmaker Sewing Machine denny Classifieds Archive 19 05-10-2011 13:30
For Sale: Thompson PW-301 Mini-Walking Foot Sewing Machine capval Classifieds Archive 1 27-07-2011 10:08
For Sale: Necci Sewing Machine slacker Classifieds Archive 7 08-07-2011 16:57

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 20:57.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.