Hello all,

I have been having fun with my little Singer 319K. It seems like a great machine and we have been making covers out of cheap Bunnings tarps for my Laser and the kayaks. I can now dream of getting into the big time.

The large cat needs a mainsail cover. The main is being covered by a tarp which is not good looking. I would much rather make my own cover as the wishbone means I need a few special features on the cover. Also I would like to buy fabric for a cockpit cover - the sun is getting to me and I would like to sail withoutu getting fried. The cockpit cover will be on stainless frames and be about 2x3.3m in dimension.

Does anyone have any advice as to Sunbrella vs Weathermax or Sattler? I am not in the know on the various merits although I did hear that Weathermax's extra waterproofness may be an issue with a boom cover - causing mildew perhaps. Although extra waterproofness would be a good thing on the flattish cockpit cover. Any good retailers for small amounts? (less than 10 metres of 200cm wide). I will also need to buy some good thread for the Singer. Choices and retailers please.

cheers

Phil

I used Weathermax 80. The mast end is open so the breeze blows through. The top first third is secured with clips instead of a zip. The rear 2/3 is just held together so the sun does not get to the sail but air and rain can. Stitched with lifetime thread. Not sure whose lifetime!

Thanks Ramona.

Can you give some more details on the bag - I like the idea of clips rather thana zip. In the end zips always fail on me. How does the aft 2/3rds close? Where did you get your weathermax from? Is the lifetime thread the UV treated type? Where did you get that?

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Kankama said..
Thanks Ramona.

Can you give some more details on the bag - I like the idea of clips rather thana zip. In the end zips always fail on me. How does the aft 2/3rds close? Where did you get your weathermax from? Is the lifetime thread the UV treated type? Where did you get that?

I'm away from home at the moment so some details will have to wait a couple of days. The front 1/3 has an overlapping flap with 20mm clips same as on the front of the mast. The lazyjacks are SS rings attached to 20mm tape sewn on the sides. There is a 20mm plastic conduit tube on both sides at the top. The halyard comes down to the second pair of rings and that holds the two sides together. A 6mm piece of cordage goes from the second ring through the other pairs of rings to the topping lift and is tensioned. This holds it together. It's only there at the mooring. The Weathermax came from some outdoor furniture place and is double the width of the standard. I think it was 3.2 metres wide!

I have problems with swallows getting into the main sail bag. It only takes a day. I zip the sail bag right up. I have thought about adding a shade cloth or mesh section to allow the sailbag to breathe . No way could I use clips around the mast with homely entrances for swallows.

+ 1 for Shadecloth/velcro or an active cat,to keep wee birdies out !!

I used plastic clips for the mizzen cover I made & they are starting to fail, I think I will replace them with stainless rings in the fashion of a motorcycle helmet chin strap

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Kankama said..
Thanks Ramona.

Can you give some more details on the bag - I like the idea of clips rather thana zip. In the end zips always fail on me. How does the aft 2/3rds close? Where did you get your weathermax from? Is the lifetime thread the UV treated type? Where did you get that?

I think the Weathermax came from Creative Canvas, but I don't see the 3m wide stuff advertised.

www.creativecanvas.com.au/weathermax/

The thread is from Sailrite, and I think it's their version of Tenara.

Hi Kankama,

I also have the 319K and have used it to make a sail bag.

I made this as a trial to make sure I could do it and get the dimensions correct. For this trial I just used cheap 'waterproof upholstery polyester' from Ebay. It cost $79 for 5m and has actually lasted better than expected - still looking OK after 2 years (maybe just a bit faded).

It's much higher at the mast end then ideal, but the cutout to get my sail slugs into the track is quite up above the boom, so I can't get the sail all the way down onto the boom. It's on my to-do list to make some kind of mast gate to allow the sail to furl lower, then I'll make a shorter bag. The flap around the front of the mast is closed with a zip but is a pain in the ass so I'll replace that with clips and webbing.

The 319k is a good little machine that get through an adequate amount of fabric, but struggles to feed anything too thick. This is where a walking presser foot would come in handy. If you are not too precious about stitch neatness it is possible to drag the material through by hand when it gets hung up. Be careful what thread size you use. I found that Sailrite Tex 90 (V92) Polyester was just a bit too thick for the machine. It threaded on OK and seemed to work alright, but caused massive jams. I use Schmetz 206x13 size 14 needles. There was some modification I had to do to the bobbin case to enable this. Let me see if I can dig up the reference.

Hi Kankama,

I also have the 319K and have used it to make a sail bag.

I made this as a trial to make sure I could do it and get the dimensions correct. For this trial I just used cheap 'waterproof upholstery polyester' from Ebay. It cost $79 for 5m and has actually lasted better than expected - still looking OK after 2 years (maybe just a bit faded).

It's much higher at the mast end then ideal, but the cutout to get my sail slugs into the track is quite up above the boom, so I can't get the sail all the way down onto the boom. It's on my to-do list to make some kind of mast gate to allow the sail to furl lower, then I'll make a shorter bag. The flap around the front of the mast is closed with a zip but is a pain in the ass so I'll replace that with clips and webbing.

The 319k is a good little machine that get through an adequate amount of fabric, but struggles to feed anything too thick. This is where a walking presser foot would come in handy. If you are not too precious about stitch neatness it is possible to drag the material through by hand when it gets hung up. Be careful what thread size you use. I found that Sailrite Tex 90 (V92) Polyester was just a bit too thick for the machine. It threaded on OK and seemed to work alright, but caused massive jams. I use Schmetz 206x13 size 14 needles. There was some modification I had to do to the bobbin case to enable this. Let me see if I can dig up the reference.

Edit: Here's the article I followed about modifying the bobbin case danhopgood.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/singer-319-needles/

I love posts like this.

gary

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I will have to check my needles and bobbins to see what I have. The bloke I bought it from said I could use normal needles. So I will have to see what is working okay at the moment.

cheers

Phil

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Kankama said..
Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I will have to check my needles and bobbins to see what I have. The bloke I bought it from said I could use normal needles. So I will have to see what is working okay at the moment.

cheers

Phil

Visit the Sailrite site and find the info on needles for Singer machines. Find the numbers for the needles you need and buy them from a local company. I think mine came from Vardman threads in Tasmania. The right needles make a big difference with Dacron. If you get stuck, needles for jeans sewing will do.

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Kankama said..
Thanks Ramona.

Can you give some more details on the bag - I like the idea of clips rather than a zip. In the end zips always fail on me. How does the aft 2/3rds close? Where did you get your weathermax from? Is the lifetime thread the UV treated type? Where did you get that?

While I was looking at the broken zip on my sail bag today and thinking back to how clips were equally short lived when I tried that option, I landed on the decision to just make up from some left over sunbrella some simple ties (you know, just like tying shoe laces)

I was watching the Sailrite video on how to make a stackpack. They spend a bit of time making a flap that sits over the zipper to protect it from the UV. Looks very good too.

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Toph said..

Kankama said..
Thanks Ramona.

Can you give some more details on the bag - I like the idea of clips rather than a zip. In the end zips always fail on me. How does the aft 2/3rds close? Where did you get your weathermax from? Is the lifetime thread the UV treated type? Where did you get that?

While I was looking at the broken zip on my sail bag today and thinking back to how clips were equally short lived when I tried that option, I landed on the decision to just make up from some left over sunbrella some simple ties (you know, just like tying shoe laces)

I doubt whether all clips are the same quality. Same goes for nylon webbing tape. The clips on mine still look new after a couple of years or more in the sun. Another alternative to clips is to use two stainless D rings and nylon webbing. Nylon webbing does vary a lot in its ability to handle UV,
The items that horse enthusiasts buy might be the way to go. Vardman Threads in Tasmania has all the good stuff.
www.vardhman.com.au/

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Kankama said..
I was watching the Sailrite video on how to make a stackpack. They spend a bit of time making a flap that sits over the zipper to protect it from the UV. Looks very good too.

I utilised the sailrite zip trick when I made my last sail pack. Had to replace two zips on the old bag because the sun destroyed them.
I'm pretty happy with the way the zips cover it looks super neat.