Sewing machine needed !

[Stomp]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably priced sewing machine that would be able to cope with making cushions, enclosures,dodgers and maybe smaller sail repairs ?
Ive bought a boat that needs all the usual bits and being a tradesman recon I can get the hang of a sewing machine after some practice.

[rbk]

I bought a Rex. It will do 14 layers of sunbrella. Not as polished as a sailrite but near identical. Little finicky with tenara but again doable with adjustments.

[Tillsbury]

I bought a Zoje, clone of an industrial Juki. Way longer arm than a Sailrite and includes table and knee controller for under half the price. Does a great job with extra thick stuff and easy to sew large items because of the long arm. I only use Tenara.

[Stomp]

Thanks for the tips. I’ll start searching!!

[CDR Smith]

Reliable Barracuda. AFAIK it's the same machine as the Sailrite branded one for less money.

[Capt Sam]

I got a Sailrite and it is wonderful. Got the Zig-Zag model. It sews everything.

[canyonbat]

Let me start by saying that I used to buy industrial sewing machines as part of my job. I managed 2 plants, each with approximately 20 machines. The older plant used Juki’s. When they built the newer plant, a couple of years before I was hired, they equipped it with Chinese knock-offs that were half the cost of the Juki’s. Big mistake! Constant breakdowns and no support. When my wife wanted an industrial machine for her canvas and sail projects, I researched all the options and eventually bought a Sailrite. We love it and we love the company. Maybe cheaper options but, in the end, you get what you pay for.

[quartersplash]

If you are needing something that does the job for low cost. I have used Pfaff 230, 330 and 360 machines for years, and had them on my cruising boats. They are small, but not lite and are made with all SS internal parts. They are aprox 60 years old and are still going. These machines for years were bought up and sent to foreign factories and a commercial motor mounted and used for years. You can find them on Ebay, or Google them and find some. When I bought mine they were going for $400 to $500 as most cruisers wanted them. Now I think that they are around $100-$200. I was buying them up back about 10 years ago, and gave maybe 8 of them to my daughter and I think that she still has them in storage. If you decide that you want one of these, let me know in a private message and I will check with her.
My wife still uses one here at home and likes it much better than her new machine which got put back in the box!

[Tupaia]

You don't need any special machine the trick is to use sharp needles, buy lots and change regularly. I have a $150 Toyota J17 Super Jeans machine that has made all the things you listed.

[jewt]

I concur with cayonbat 100%! About 12 yrs ago 6 of us in our Yacht club went together to purchase a Sailrite Zig zag machine and used it hard making dodgers, awnings, dingy cover, etc. for our collection of boats.

After about 8yrs. I decided to by myself and new LZ-1 at the boat show">Annapolis boat show and could not be happier with the machine or the company for help with service, adjustment advice, parts or design plans. A first class group of people.

Well worth the little extra money. Only costs a little to go first class.

jewt S/V Bifrost 8

New Bern, NC

[conchaway]

Buy a sailmaker's palm.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by Stomp

Does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably priced sewing machine that would be able to cope with making cushions, enclosures,dodgers and maybe smaller sail repairs ?
Ive bought a boat that needs all the usual bits and being a tradesman recon I can get the hang of a sewing machine after some practice.

You may want to define what "reasonably priced" means to you, what fits your budget, and also where you intend to use it.

Check eBay and other markets for good deals on Juki, Consew, Pfaff, and the heavier Singer machines.

[Kd9truck]

I broke 2 residential machines trying to cheap out then bought the sailrite LZ it does straight and zigzag. You can take it with you if you go off shore, it’s size is designed for that reason, hence the short arm comments. The manual is very useful it will help you tune the timing should you somehow send it out of wack.
Unless you have been sewing for sometime on other machines I would just go for the sailrite.

[Capt Y Knot]

Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 will do what you need to do and more. I never sewed and was looking to do my own canvas repair work and bought from Sailrite. The machine is a joy to work with.

They have excellent how to videos and great customer support. Become a "student" of the craft of sewing and you will be rewarded. Also, the LSZ-1 does zig-zag stitching needed for sail repair.

So far I have made a dinghy cover, cockpit weather cloths, repaired dodgers, sails, and a ton of small repair jobs. Best part, you don't have to stand in line at a canvas shop!

A sewing machine is an investment, but will pay off in the long run. I highly recommend checking out the Sailrite web page.

Good luck

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Stomp

Does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably priced sewing machine that would be able to cope with making cushions, enclosures,dodgers and maybe smaller sail repairs ?
Ive bought a boat that needs all the usual bits and being a tradesman recon I can get the hang of a sewing machine after some practice.

As a couple of posts have noted 'reasonably priced' means different things for different people; maybe you should say what your price point is.

While several folks have posted their experience related to commercial machines it does not sound like you will be using your machine on a daily, or even weekly or monthly basis. This means you most likely will be able to get away with a machine that does not need to be industrial strength.

I do agree a Sailrite is the easy answer and would point out the great customer service makes the answer even easier. But for many uses it is overkill.

While sheltering in place I got into making masks. Without getting too far into the weeds I will point out that a lighter weight machine is probably a better solution for that. I would up getting a Janome HD3000 (the HD stands for heavy duty). It works great on the light weight medical/dental material used in an autoclave to protect medical/dental tools after they are sterilized. Not saying it is the best but I got a great open box deal on it. I have also used to hem blue jeans and some tactical/camo pants that were too long (I am an old fat guy with a big waist and often the legs are too long on pants that fit my waist) with four layers of denim.

While I am not saying sewing takes super abilities to pick up as a tradesman you know experience does matter. Sewing things like a dodger would probably not be the best place to start; and sail repair can be a ball breaker. But if you play around with a machine for a while and then resize some Vberth sheets to start you should be alright. While I am not sure what trade you are in I would bet you would say the skill of the tradesman is more important that the tools.