Sail Life - New 'oh $%#! something is wrong' tool bag

Unspool the waxed thread from the bobbin to break adhesion between layers. Re-spool the thread on the bobbin. Takes a few minutes and will fix the problem with waxed thread on bobbins that has melted ever so slightly in the Caribbean heat

"Too many tools?" INCONCEIVABLE!

Hay Mads. We always pick up a mooring from the cockpit. Attach one end of a line to a cleat at the bow then lead it back to the cockpit outside the stantions. Approach the mooring up wind. Pick up the mooring with a boat hook and pass the line through the eye or loop. As the boat drifts down wind walk the line forward and secure to a cleat. You are now moored and free to secure in whatever style you choose. Works great single handed or as a team.

Good job! Now eat some vegetables. 😂

Magnificent? More like Madsnificent!

I have a Tacsew with much the same top thread tension device on the front as the Sailrite. I had exactly the same issues with the bottom thread getting bunched up and the top thread breaking. I had to fiddle with the tensioner on the front. The thread was being impaired by the shaft of the tensioner. I moved it around and retightened the shaft so the thread was travelling on a smooth surface and readjusted the spring thingy. I also changed the needle which solved the thread from being cut at the foot. Very futzy stuff. Good Luck!

I have made the tool bag kit and love it. It keeps all my important tools in one convenient place. When I encountered this issue it was due to the basting tape glue building up on my needle. Keep some alcohol handy to wipe the needle.

Yeah...Too many tools, isn't a thing" Priceless!

I have had the same problem with the thread starting to loose or gain tension while sewing anything with adhesive velcro striping. I found out the adhesive on the velcro starts to stick to the needle sometimes due to the heat generated by the needle passing through the plastic or material and causes problems. I now keep a bottle of alcohol and a rag handy and stop every few feet and clean off the needle. It works perfectly when sewing anything adhesive.

The wax on the thread is causing the issue. The slow down of the machine is the wax creating friction and causing the messed up. You can solve this issue by reducing the speed of the machine, think about like dropping a gear going up hill. You can try removing some of the wax from the thread by unspooling and soaking in alcohol, however I have not tried this and I’m unsure of your thread base material.

i was laughing about how excited Mads gets about sewing a tool bag, but then I saw how happy he is about his magnetic guide, and I remembered oh yeah that Mads, that's why we wall like him so much, he's very positive and enthusiastic about most things

I believe its that kit thread. That thread made the machine slow and clunky and the pink spool thread was fast and smooth.

I had a similar problem with my sailrite machine recently. The fix for my problem was to adjust the bobbin tension and to adjust the height of the presser foot. There is a video supplied by sailright customer service( they have to send you the link, it is not searchable on their youtube channel) that shows how to adjust the presser foot height. It is 5mm and is important to get the proper tension on the bobbin thread while sewing. You will get bottom loops if the presser foot is out of adjustment and you are sewing something that is two different heights and the presser foot is riding on a different height place than the needle foot. Mike

It's going to be something simple. Proof is that your existing thread works fine. My first thought was the kit thread is larger than the thread you had on the boat and too large for the eye of the needle you were using. The pull test with the presser foot up indicates either: you threaded the top thread incorrectly OR the size of the eye of the needle was causing the problem. Another lower probability is the kit thread is too tight on the thread post and spinning with friction where your boat thread is looping off the spool properly. Sewing problem repair 101. 1. Make sure your using the right needle for the thread and thickness. 2. RE - THREAD everything. 3. Change the needle to a new one (It doesn't matter if you just changed it yesterday or last week). That fixes 95% of all sewing problems. Lastly, as others mentioned (for future problems) bobbin tension matters but it's usually set it and forget it until you drastically change thread sizes. You can manage tension balance with the top tension dial. You adjust bottom tension in tiny increments -1/10 to 1/4 turn. That's not your problem this time.

“Too many tools….if that’s a thing” haha!! Never heard of that…..

The thread tension is almost certainly one of the issues. I can see in the video that the tension knob appears to be screwed all the way in. Also, as you noticed, not using the 135X17 needle will make a difference, but sometimes you need to increase the size also. I tend to use anything between 19 and 22 for these heavy canvas projects, especially when vinyl windows are included. I just redid my dodger windows with a #22 SD1 needle.

When sewing my sprayhood some years ago, i choose braided fishing line as thread, because of its strength and relative uv-stability. It worked fine, even when stitching through 8 layers of thick canvas, which I had previously fixed together with construction glue.

Wait a minute…at the beginning Mads said they are looking for a 50 to 60 footer! Thats a lot more boat in every respect. Not only more “oh glorious sanding” to fix it up but all the expenses going forward.

Threads have different twists, think clockwise and counter-clockwise and the way you wrap it on the tension keeper bar matters.

As the son of a shop teacher, I can most certainly assure you "too many tools" is NOT a thing! 😛