Practical Boat Owner – August 2019

DIY sprayhood

and bimini

An industrial sewing machine could save you

thousands of pounds, as Ann Berry discovers

when she replaces her worn canvaswork

S

un, sea and general

weathering had degraded the

stitching, attachment points

and external canvas work on

Aderyn Glas, our Moody Eclipse 33. It

was time to replace it all, but the cost

would run into thousands!

Instead, I looked into the possibility of

doing the job myself. My domestic sewing

machine would not have the power or

ability to handle the weight and layers of

fabric required for items such as a

sprayhood or bimini. An industrial

machine would be required – they’re

much larger, heavier and robust than

domestic machines. They have a separate

external motor and a metal foot treadle

and are set into their own large sewing

table, so do take up a lot of room. I store

mine in the garage and wheel it into the

house when sewing.

The industrial sewing machine has a

very large throat compared to a domestic

one. This is the space from the sewing

needle to the upright control column,

allowing for much larger volumes of

material, which are also supported by the

large table.

The machine I chose was a Highlead:

a heavy-duty top and bottom feed

lockstitch with a walking foot. A walking

foot has teeth on the underside which

synchronise with the teeth on the machine

gripping both top and bottom layers when

sewing. It feeds them evenly through the

machine, and is important, for example,

with sprayhoods when zips, webbing,

Velcro and various edging materials are

being sandwiched on or between the

canvas layers.

Price was a major factor for me as

industrial machines can cost thousands of

pounds, even second-hand. Mine cost

£500 and was manufactured in 2005 so I

felt that I could do the work and even

recoup some cost by selling it later if

PRACTICAL

Cost

Sewing machine

= £500

Materials for

sprayhood^

and bimini

= £534

Ann Berry began

dinghy sailing on the

Blackwater Estuary

while at University in

London. She now sails

with her husband David

in Greece, based in Preveza. Ann and

David sailed their boat from Britain to

Greece and wrote an account of their

voyage from the South of France to

Greece Time to go South, available

from Amazon. Designing and sewing,

whether for the boat or home, canvas

or fabric is a great passion of AnnÕs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR