Sew it goes.......

Sunrise on Jekyll Island Beach Oct 2013

When we bought our boat we found the window panels for the sundeck in a locker. Our surveyors Capt Frank and Capt. Lynne, http://www.bluewatermarinesurveys.com/ helped Jean install them. The panels were old then and after a year of use have started falling apart with the plastic windows cracking, seams with stitches pulling out and zippers that failed to zip. The panels were shot and we procrastinated on replacement. We got a quote from professionals, Too much! I had a cheap sewing machine and it gave up on the first new panel I tried to sew. I did a lot of research on sewing machines, looked at new and used. I wanted a Sailrite but just could not justify the cost. http://www.sailrite.com/ We procrastinated more or less until Sailrite had a sale and free shipping. We ordered our materials and continued to look for a machine. Capt. Andy has and old antique he found in a shop in Brunswick. We looked for one of those and did not find one we liked. I looked online and found this Singer that had mixed but mostly good reviews and the price was right.
Amazon online had the best price with free shipping on the Singer HD model 4411

The machine will sew through 10 layers of canvas and .030 Strataglass. We bought welting, basting tape and most of our materials online from Sailrite. The bungee cord hold downs are also from Sailrite. We did buy a set of stainless steel fasteners from  http://www.dotfasteners.com/index.html in 100 packs as Capt. Lynne suggested. 
The tool from sailrite to crimp the snaps is also at Sailrite. The cheap snaps and caps from wallyworld and WM are junk. On the recommendation of Capt Lynne I bought a hot knife from Sailrite. I like the way it works.

Nice to be able to see the outside and not feel the cold breeze on October mornings.

We found poly strap material at JoAnn's sewing shop in Brunswick. I sewed 18 inches in a loop to hold the rolled up window panels


Bay at South Port Maine
Took a break from sewing to make a week long  trip to Maine, Vermont and NH which was nice but I would not want to be there in cold weather. Saw a sailboat go out around a lighthouse and wondered how long it would take to sail to Jekyll?


The Singer is marked Heavy Duty but shell is plastic. The machine sewed 11 window panels, some places with 10 layers of canvas and 1 layer of glass with only two needle breaks, and three stoppages, all operator error. This was my first big project. 
Watching the Manatees off the dock...kind of like submarine races, very intense...

Susea likes looking out the glass for critters. Manatees were in back of the boat this week. 

Loop to hold up window when rolled. Jean likes this way better.

With Sailrite's Shock cord cover clip the window is

Easy to take on and off
The bobbin loading is easy. The hot knife is the way to go for cutting canvas. Be sure to follow the instructions, use HD needles that are sharp! Get the good UV thread from Sailrite and use basting tape to hold the project for sewing.  Sailrite has many videos on Youtube on How to do.
The more I practice the better I get at this. I am in no way doing professional quality work. I would not pay somebody to do the quality of work I am doing.... But I have used professionals and an enclosure like I am making is big $$$.
I am having fun doing this while I learn.



Sunset over St. Andrew's Sound from dock at Jekyll Harbor Marina
Red Sky at Night.....
http://www.jekyllharbor.com/

We will be in The Office.... Create, Share, Enjoy!






Location: Jekyll Island, Georgia 31527, USA

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