Messages

Replacement leech strings can be purchased at: http://www.challengesailcloth.com/hardware/catalog12.pdf

Look on page 118 for leechline!

Sometimes it is easier to replace than repair.  There's a bunch on EBay for less than $50.

Usually on a leach line (line at the rearmost edge of the sail, the string breaks.  If possible,  un-do the binding until you can get to the broken string, then attach the new string to the old string then use the old string to pull the line to where it terminates at the top of the sail.

For the car warranty people, I tell them I'm glad they called because my truck has 200,000 miles on it and the tranny is about to go and I need a new tranny.   You've never seem anyone backtrack so fast.  They don't call back.

Hi Gene,  Sorry, but I've not heard of the book, but I like the guy's focus.  I have to admit I'm an adrenaline junkie when it comes to windsurfing.  I love it when it blows!  With winds in the upper 30's with gusts to 50, I seem to come into my own element.  At 66 years old, I have to reign in my passions because to takes too long to heal!

My hobby in windsurfing.  I've been actively doing it since 1991 and average getting out about 80 days a year.  I'm a retired architect, and I repair windsurfing sails and kiteboard kites  to raise a few dollars to keep myself in good equipment.  When weather doesn't support windsurfing (light winds or too cold) my wife and I travel with our travel trailer, sometimes being out as much as a month at a time.  We were in Washington DC visiting the Smithsonian's on 9/11.  We got to be BBQ judges in Las Vegas for the World BBQ Cookoff Championship in 2004.  We pulled the trailer over to New Orleans and volunteered to help cleanup the schools for the return of kids after Katrina.  We've been to many festivals including the Wine festivals in Sonoma/Napa Valley, the Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, the Indian Market Days Festival in Santa Fe, and the Air Races in Reno.  We're going to keep going 'til our knees give out.

The day before 9/11 my wife and I were in DC, down on the national  mall visiting the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.  I remember looking across the Potomac to the Pentagon.  It was a beautiful day.  The next day, we got up early, hooked the Airstream to the truck and headed south.  Traffic was very light and we made it to a state park just outside Raleigh. We turned on the TV and we shocked by how close we had come to being a part of it.  Then we started to worry about gas availability, traffic, etc. and the impact it might have on our return to Texas.

Wow!  I can see why you like the new place!  Good on you!

50 at $30 each is small change in the healthcare industry.  For him, the seats are a maintenance headache that he wants to go away.  I like the two choice idea.  Don't be surprised if he chooses the more expensive option.

Here is a company selling new ones: http://www.perfectfit.com/15983/154578/Shears----Cutting-Tools/Shear-Sharpener.html
OOPS.  They are out of stock.

and here's the diamond surfaced steel:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eze-Lap-Diamond-Sharpening-Stone-Measures-2-x-6-Fine-grit-Comes-with-leather-s-/171440139670?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27eaa0ed96

The sharpener I use is very much like the one Peppy uses, or much like this one:  http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/20570-universal-shear-sharpener

However I have made one very significant modification to it.  I replaced the sharpening stone with a 2" x 5" steel plate with a "fine" diamond surface.   I mount the scissors and get them adjusted so the diamond surface is parallel with the surface to be sharpened, then I make one very gentle pass with the diamond plate to check alignment.  I use a jewelers loop  to check where the diamond surface is making contact with the OEM scissor surface, this way I'm exactly replicating the manufacturers sharpening angle.  Once perfectly aligned, I make a few passes with the diamond surface, checking with the jewelers loop until it is perfect. Then I do the other side of the scissors.  This exactly replicates the OEM angles for sharpening the scissors.

How sharp..... a 1/4" from the tip of the scissors, I can very easily cut a 92 thread dangling in the air without making the thread move!

I've had mine 15 years.  Purchased off Ebay for about $75.  There are some on there when I checked today.

Plenty of Grommets of all shape and size: http://www.challengesailcloth.com/hardware/catalog12.pdf   See page 78.  These are top quality products from a reputable source.

Note you might come across Rutgerson Grommets.  These are typically used in the corners of sails.  Extra tough and pricey.
The standard grommets are from page 78-80.  You'd have to call for pricing.  They have a price book they send out every couple of years, but the product catalogue doesn't change very often.   I've be super pleased with everything I've purchased from them.

Bob T.

Perry, I looked at your video and I think you may have a thread knot under the bobbin basket.  In the video, where you say the thread hangs up on the shaft....there is no shaft.   But a knotted up thread could hang things up.  In the past, when this happened to me, I would remove the tiny screws which hold the bobbin basket to the hook assembly.  This will allow the bobbin basket to be removed and you can then clean under it.    Please be forewarned, you must be very careful removing the screws as they get lost very easy.

When I do this service, I take the head out of the table and set it on a work table on top of a white towel.  I get a very good work light so I can see, then I remove the 3 screws which hold down the "C" shaped piece which keeps the bobbin basket in place. This "C" shaped piece just comes into view at 1 min 8 seconds into your video.  These screws are very easily lost so be very deliberate about removing them and putting them is a secure place.  The white towel is there to catch the screw (s) should they be dropped.  Once the "C" shaped piece is removed the bobbin basket can be turned one way or the other and it will come out so you can clean under it.

I have the Juki 563 with the servo and with the speed reducer.  It is absolutely fantastic!  in 12 years, I've never had to time or adjust it and it sews perfectly, just remember to hold both threads when making the first few stitches of a row.  I use it for thread from size 69 to 277.  When doing boat covers and awnings I typically use size 207 UV thread because it holds up very well to our high intensity sun here in Texas.  I've found the 563 makes tough work easy!

Count me as +1 for the Weathermax.  I've made a number of things using Weathermax and it is incredibly good stuff.  Normal weight is 8 oz.  but they make a lighter weight, something like 6 oz.  Last year I made a backyard swing shade cover using the light weight material.  I've use the 8 oz. to make everything from equipment bags, to windsurfing harnesses, to shade covers.  Weathermax is  naturally chaffe resistant, and watertight. It doesn't wrinkle easy, but you do need to use a hot knife to cut it to prevent unravelling.