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Thanks Floyd
This is just a small piece of a big job. The prospective client got sticker shock when a shop quoted 11hrs at $110
Hr. Don't want to overcharge or shoot myself in the foot. Seems kind of excessive at first glance

I've been using the tsm manual from the marine fabricators association for bids. My current clients are asking for dinghy chaps. Anybody have a standard time they user for these. The dinghy is a
10' rib.

I have not the same but similar project ahead. The power cruiser I'm working on is bare like an empty room. The companionway is so small furniture won't fit thru. So it's time to build the interior from scratch. Same thing in the fly bridge except that's being built because furniture isn't appropriate. There the client wants it built similar to a pit group. I'm going to be on this project for some time.. Basically doing everything that requires stitching including 12 panel enclosure structured top, Bimini, curtains, etc I was given a tour of Morgan Outisland 60' hull no 1. It has a pit group built in with dual recliners built in. Are there hardware kits for something like this? This is venturing past where I've been before but what's life without challenges?

I looked at sailrites machines and they're offering the same machine, although priced a thousand higher. I imagine a machine used for sewing the thick build your in the corners would need to be timed often. Broken needles are common. But I can do this with my Adler without too much trouble if it will fit under the presser foot. Where the zig zag i is needed is in the field. Really of there is more than two fabrics being joined the benefit of a zig zag stitch is lost. In my own experience I've put tens of thousands of hard miles on sails I've putty together with straight stitch. Once a seam is put together with Sean tape and 3 rows of zig zag does it really stretch the seams ? Add to that that is deemed acceptable to assemble uv stripes with straight stitch maybe the zig zag is cosmetic in reality more than anything IMO. Leaning towards a less expensive non walking foot zig zag as these seen to abound for a fraction of  the cost of one that will walk straight and zigzag.

I've been getting kind of buried with sail work. The vast majority of it is luff tape, uv stripe ,leech repairs and resizing. All of which is OK with straight stitch. Recently I was involved getting a 62 ready for an extended cruise. It's sails were huge, big enough that I couldn't pick up the rolled up sail by myself, with a 60' luff. I do my sewing in the setee of my boat. So while working on this sail the setee was completely full of sail with Me working one edge on the bottom of the pile. A day of that is like a day wrestling bears, exhausting. But the money was great! At one point when I brought a sail in with a thousand dollars worth of repairs the client said "that's all?" My main issue with having 2 machines is space. I either need to build a table that adapts to 2 different machines or has a change out top.

Geez for less than $5500 I could get a 30" walking foot zig zag. I'm just finding it hard to find an appropriate machine that will double duty straight and zig zag. As little as if use the zig zag maybe an option would be to build a box for one and using it on the deck or something. Thanks fort all the replies.

I've been shopping for my next machine. I've been doing some sail work and have been wanting zig zag for working on sail panels. Straight stitch is fine for the majority of sail work but most customers expect to see zig zag in the field. I'm seeing one offering with 3 or 4 different names, Eagle, Misew,Sewline and cowboy. Anybody know anything about these machines or have any reviews for me?





http://m.ebay.com/itm/SEW-LINE-SL-1146-ALL-NEW-UNIT-WALKING-FOOT-ZIG-ZAG-INDUSTRIAL-SEWING-MACHINE-/322019891138?nav=SEARCH

People from key west talking about the murder:

Charles John Eimers, the 61 yr old Michigan man that was murdered by The Key West Police Dept, on the beach on Thanksgiving Morning was my Brother. This whole situation sickens me, not only for my Brother, but also his four grieving children. He was a retired General Motors guy who LOVED the SUN and BEACH and the OCEAN. He did not have a mean or violent bone in his body and was clearly murdered by the KWPD in broad daylight in view of MANY bystanders. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, don't let a corrupt police department brush this under the rug. They say he was resisting, which is clearly contrary to the video, but if your face, mouth and throat were caked with sand and you had ten broken ribs, wouldn;t you be struggling to breathe. MY GOD, PLEASE LET HIS KIDS AND HID GRANDKIDS AND HIS FAMILY have some justice and some closure from this heinous act.

2 years ago I was beaten nearly to death by bouncers and cops at dirty harrys bar. I spent time in the hospital, and needless to say the trama I took to the head still effects my vision to this day. I was pepper sparayed twice and tased twice. I had bruises all over my body, and when I woke up, I was lying on a jail room floor feeling like a mack truck ran me over. Really didnt remember that much of the incident. As I sat there, I began to remember that I had questioned my bill. Not the amount, but rather I stated I had already paid the bill. My wife was waiting in the bathroom line which took about 20min. I knew some people there that said they saw me having a heated discussion with the manager. Needless to say a big bouncer grabbed me from behind and when I tried to resist, because of my concerns for my wife, they carried me into the ally. I dont remember much from that point other than being tased over and over until I soiled myself! Everything went black. When I woke, I was lying face down naked on a jail room cell floor., I had staples in my head, and felt horrible. Within a few hours i was in front of a judge being charged with 3 counts of "NON-Violent Battery" A gentleman we ran into after i was released, said the police officer picked me up and threw me into the wall, while i was handcuffed. In the end, I had no real witnesses to step up. The reason I had a case against all of them was that I had
paid my bill like I had argued, and my bank showed a double charge. Too bad I didnt have any witnesses!

I used to live in Key West; 14 years. I moved only 6 weeks ago. from what I have seen and been involved in, the KWPD cops will lie about anything; they will lie about everything. small stuff; big stuff -- doesn't matter, they lie. and the local judges go along with this stuff. The whole system in Key West is rotten beyond belief. Back in 1996 a cop wrote me 2 tickets while I was on a bicycle. we went to court; he lied. it only took me 4+ years to prove it; he was later made to resign. In the Eimers case, I believe it is plain the cops lied in their reports. The city commission is to blame about this because they set the tone for the enforcement against anyone they don't like or they believe is homeless. The cops of Key West KILLED Mr. Eimers!


My advise is to stay away from key west.  I was a victim of their abuse. I was held at gunpoint by one officer while the other officer robbed my boat of anything of value he could find. It was just me alone with no witnesses. Theres no place to turn. No one trustworthy to report it to without being in actual danger for my life. absolutely outraged!!!!!

The only thing unusual about this is the publicity it received. Who even heard about the elderly retiree who was recently murdered by the Key west police department? There is no justice or accountability for police in this country and its getting worse all the time. A visiting police officer from another state recorded this encounter and said "they murdered him". The prosecutor who investigated this and claimed that "appropriate force" was used had close ties to the Key West Police dept. This is worse than a knee jerk shooting of a gun. They tortured this guy in plain sight of the public after he did what he was instructed and passively laid face down in the sand. Wheres the national outrage here? After the incident people who were recording the scene were hunted and harrassed.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/deadline-miami/2014/02/autopsy-of-man-who-died-after-key-west-arrest-shows-10-cracked-ribs.html

Brand names aside i would look for a polyester hook and loop vs nylon for longevity in a marine environment.


http://www.fastenation.com/products/velcro-brand-fasteners/velcror-brand-polyester-hook-loop-sew-on-tape.html

  Bainbridge is a good supplier of leech tapes and all stuff sail related.

Theres a big reason price is the driving concern. Wages have remained stagnant for the vast majority while the price of everything has been rapidly increasing. 14 years ago before Clinton signed the trade agreement with china then Bush put the country on an eternal war budget. The price of gas was around a buck. Whos wages went up 350%?  Sure not the factory workers or tradesmen. Chinas plan since the 60s was to promote revolution from within the american populace. Seems to me they are doing a heck of a job of it. Meanwhile the government panders to bankers and corporate billionaires above the good of the majority. Lazy americans I dont think so.

Its really time consuming but i rough it with an electric knife then smooth it out with a rasp. strangely the best rasp Ive found is on the  side of a handheld food grater. I saw a video of someone doing custom motorcycle seats that way and have been playing with it on my boat.

Some swaps that Ive done include ... a bimini recover for the chartplotter Ive been using for the last 8 yrs.. A set of fitted sheets for a furuno radar and recently I restitched a uv stripe on a friends boat and he put seals and bearings in my dinghy motors  lower unit. All and all Ive had good experiences with my bartering. I think the other side did too. The electronics were stuff they were upgrading during refitting. Some just gotta have the latest gadgets.

Ive got strataglass , roll vinyl and makralon on my dodger as typically I use scraps from other peoples jobs to build my own stuff. After a few years the strataglass doesnt look any better than the roll vinyl.
the makralon is still super clear almost like glass. Im selling the makralon to my customers when i can. I think stataglass is just a lie as to the 10 yr claims.

Might also check out Philmores near pinellas park. A small family owned place with a good stock of foam.