Sewing a new boom bag, thread choices

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Winter River

I have used V92, Profilen and Tenara. The V92 is supposedly uv resistant but it disintegrated in several short New England seasons.

I think using v92 in this context is confusing things. V92 refers to a thread weight. Maybe you used v92 Dacron or polyester?

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by GILow

Hello SWL, some great tips there, thank you.

Glad to learn the V-92 thickness will work for this job, and also that you are happy with the clear.

I agree that the cost of the thread is negligible, I certainly will not use anything other than a PTFE thread for this job.

I assume you have not tried the Profilen thread (also PTFE) that Sailrite offers? I was mainly interested in it because of the smaller spool, as I am going to end up with a LOT of spare thread at the end of this job, no matter which spool size I use. Perhaps I can just sell off the excess Tenara to other boats as I cruise around....

I note that Sailrite recommends Tenara over Profilen for rotary hook machines like mine, so that’s probably the deal-maker right there anyway.

Looks like a spool of standard weight Tenara clear is going in the cart. [emoji846]

Matt

I have never used Profilen, so I can’t comment.

Don’t get rid of all of the excess thread. Small projects come up all the time and you will be kicking yourself if you have none on hand.

White River commented that clear comes up looking like white. I haven’t noticed quite such a dramatic effect, but clear is certainly visible. It does not blend in completely. It doesn’t bother me, but if you are buying thread for just one project in black and think you will never need the thread again, then black thread would look a bit better. It is still shiny so it is not totally invisible.

SWL

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Winter River

I have used V92, Profilen and Tenara. The V92 is supposedly uv resistant but it disintegrated in several short New England seasons. I restitched a couple years ago with Profilen clear, which against my Captain Navy Sunbrella may as well be white. I wish I had used black instead, as it would have blended in better. This season I was out of the Profilen and bought Tenara (the thinner version) in navy to do more restitching. I found the Tenara annoying initially but once I got the tension set properly it was smoother to work with. I like that the sometimes imperfect stitching is nearly invisible.

All of my projects have been just on the edge of possible using my home sewing machine. Restitching the bimini that came with the boat required a lot of hand cranking. I know I will never be able to make a new one without a stronger machine. The grill, binnacle, and other covers were fine on my cheap machine.

Your machine must be a decent enough machine to have done what it has, but I do understand, I tried and failed with my machine and had to buy the Singer Industrial to do some real work. The boom bag has up to three layers of sunbrella combined with seatbelt webbing in some places, and it goes through it like a hot knife through butter. I reserved it a year ago as test run for making the new bag and to keep it going just s little longer.

It’s probably academic, but how are you finding the Profilen holds up compared to the Tenara? Or is it too early to tell?

[Seaworthy Lass]

One other tip: if you are using double sided tape for the job, the thread will also break when the needle gums up a little. I keep a tissue with a bit of WD40 on it (sewing machine oil would be fine too) and give the needle a wipe now again to remove any sticky residue. It helps stop me swearing at the thread .

SWL

[Jim Cate]

To back up SWL's advice, we used black Tenara v-92 on our boom bag, Matt, and that was what Allwood sails used on the original one in 2003. That stitching was still intact in 2017 when the Sunbrella failed and we made a new one.

I'm sure that Ann will chime in when she sees this thread!

Jim

PS You'll likely find plenty of future uses for the excess on the spool!

[senormechanico]

As a sewing machine tech, I agree with all the above about thread weight and spooling technique.
V92 should be fine for strength. It's really tough stuff.
Also, it is definitely worth setting up the spool so it can rotate on a vertical spindle with the thread coming off horizontally and fed to the machine. This will eliminate hockles in the thread as it's a monofilament. Twist is not in its nature !


I agree about cranking up both bobbin and upper tensions and finding a good setting on scraps before venturing with the project.
We are already halfway through on our second big spool of Tenara. It makes sense for anything which will see outdoor use.

[Tillsbury]

The clear Tenara is quite white, you will be able to see it. I'd use black myself unless you want the stitching to be a feature. I use navy on navy sunbrella, and clear on light colours. The thinner Tenara is easily strong enough. That's the stuff to use.

[GILow]

Ok, colour is looking to be an interesting question.

I’m ok with seeing the thread on the boom bag... however, given I am only ever PLANNING to sew black sunbrella, maybe I should buy a roll of black Tenara. Particularly given my seeing is unlikely to be as straight as I would wish...

Thoughts on this one?

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

One other tip: if you are using double sided tape for the job, the thread will also break when the needle gums up a little. I keep a tissue with a bit of WD40 on it (sewing machine oil would be fine too) and give the needle a wipe now again to remove any sticky residue. It helps stop me swearing at the thread .



SWL

Thank you, advice noted.

I haven’t used double sided tape for sewing before. Is it used to keep things aligned instead of pins?

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by GILow

Thank you, advice noted.

I haven’t used double sided tape for sewing before. Is it used to keep things aligned instead of pins?

Yes, and it is BRILLIANT for slippery fabric like sail cloth. For Sunbrella the benefit is not as dramatic, but it helps particularly for long runs or if sewing more than two layers. Apart from keeping the fabric beautifully aligned, it speeds up the sewing process.

To avoid the “needle gumming” issue, the tape can be stuck down in the seam allowance just adjacent to the stitching line.

To apply it, stick down the tape, but leave the protective layer on. Line up the layers of fabric exactly as needed and weight it down lightly. Then lift one corner enough to peel the protective strip off a few cm and have it folded back on itself and sticking out of the seam allowance, and put the corner back down. Then simply pull on the strip and the two layers will adhere with a light press.

I hope that makes sense. It makes perfect alignment quick and easy.

SWL

[Tillsbury]

Definitely. The basting tape is one thing you definitely want to buy from Sailrite. Along with the binding foot I guess. Most other things you can get cheaper or better elsewhere, but they do make it easy.

If you aren't certain of your perfect sewing then I would recommend black thread. Personally I think the contrasting thread looks rough on most things I see. Hiding the thread means you can reinforce as much as you like.

[JPA Cate]

GILow, and everybody else:

Black sunbrella, and black thread, the Tenara will be fine. It will be a pita to see against the fabric, so additional lighting may help you get the rows of stitches where you want them.

From my pov, black thread looks good against grey, tan, and dark red; white looks better against blue. The clear can be used against anything, but it can be hard to see. PTFE thread takes a bit of getting used to. Don't sweat throwing away a bunch of it, while you are learning its idiocyncracies. In my usage, I put the spool on the cabin floor and it comes up through the machine, and I've never had difficulty with kinks, [so far] so it may depend on your drop from sewing table to cabin sole. Our table is 710 mm from the cabin sole, plus about another 8" for the height to the sewing machine. Sorry about mixing metric and English, but metric is not native to me.

If you sew it from PTFE thread, the cover will last over 10 yrs. If you use Polyester V92, it will need to be re-stitched in 4-5 yrs.

Ann

[Seaworthy Lass]

If nothing else, the clear Tenara being 25% stronger than the “coloured” makes it a clear winner for me .

I have not heard this mentioned before.

SWL

[Tillsbury]

You can get navy blue Tenara, Ann. Completely invisible on navy Sunbrella which is good with my stitching techniques

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

If nothing else, the clear Tenara being 25% stronger than the “coloured” makes it a clear winner for me .



I have not heard this mentioned before.



SWL

True, but I think the consensus was that it would contrast pretty sharply with the black sunbrella I am using. And my stitching is not likely to be perfectly straight. [emoji853]