I got one. The Sailrite LSZ-1. For years I saw them in catalogs or on sailing websites and I wanted one. I don’t really know why… But I bought one anyway, mostly on impulse after I got a big bonus from work. I finally got the chance to use it last night to sew some webbing on a sail. The 3 pieces of webbing held fast a stainless ring at the tac. I am impressed. At the corner with many layers of dacron the Sailrite hammered through the material easily. I switched forward and reverse often and it moved the fabric and webbing back and forth with ease.
I am moving on to sewing a bimini boot (cover) tonight. My only problem with it so far is that it hammers through fabric so easily I want to rush. Now, I have absolutely NO experience sewing. This is the first time I have even attempted to use a sewing machine. But thankfully I don’t mind screwing up, so will try just about anything. Also thankfully, Sailrite has extensive videos online that demonstrate how to use the machine (along with many other tools). I just watched the set up video and was off to screwing something up.
Thankfully, that first piece was a friends sail. He was given the sail by another friend that was finished with it, so the fact I had no experience wasn’t an issue to him. It was a NorthSail and I learned a little bit by dismantling part of it. Of course, I was unable to recreate the perfect stitching they had applied. But, maybe in a few years I will have the experience to match theirs.
I will post steps on how I created the pattern for the bimini boot and pictures of how I dealt with seams and zippers. I already have another project lined up to create a boat cover for a star. Will see what happens…