Common Sense Fasteners...

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Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
We just finished making a new dodger for the Endeavour and decided to use common sense fasteners vs. the snaps that were in the old one. A lot of those snaps had torn out of the fabric which was old and I hate dealing with snaps.

I think we will enjoy using the common sense...



...fasteners a lot more. To install them in the fabric you have to put in four slits for the prongs on the fasteners and also make a center hole. Sailrite sells a punch, but I was too cheap to use it, so decided to use a cutting tip...



...in the soldering gun instead and it seemed to work great. Here is a link to the mod...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-21.html

...hope it maybe helps someone else. I also like that using the hot tip seals the cut and doesn't leave it exposed to fraying.

Here is a picture of the front window that opens with a removable screen...



...for the dodger that has the common sense fasteners on the bottom,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
22,770
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
I agree. Snaps on a dodger, anywhere, are a disaster waiting to happen.
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

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May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
Nice work and I agree that snaps are about the worst fastener you can use on a boat. Although, I prefer Lift-The-Dot as there are no moving parts(except the little spring) and they are lower profile. They also seem to take a shear load a little better than Common Sense, in my opinion.
 
mark_swart

mark_swart

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Sep 25, 2008
385
Harpoon 5.2 Honolulu, HI
I need to put a few of those on my mainsail cover... anyone have any suggestions on where to buy them for the best price?
 
Tim R.

Tim R.

.
May 27, 2004
3,626
Caliber 40 Long Range Cruiser Portland, Maine
Sailrite. They may not have the absolute best price but they do a heck of a lot to support the sewing community. Especially boaters.
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Tim R. said:
Sailrite. They may not have the absolute best price but they do a heck of a lot to support the sewing community. Especially boaters.
Click to expand
I agree, we get 90% or more of our canvas needs from them and their videos and other information sources sure are worth supporting. The fasteners aren't that expensive to begin with unless you were buying lots of them and they do also have volume discounts.

The link I gave shows some of theirs with part numbers also they have a good video explaining some of the different fasteners...

http://video.sailrite.com/fastenerdemo/youtube.html

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links
 
dscribner

dscribner

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Nov 9, 2008
1,338
Pearson-O'Day 290 Portland Maine
Sailrite is like the McMaster Carr of boating projects. If you need it, they've got it. But, Sum, I gotta ask . . . got enough outboards?
 
J

JohnS

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Sep 25, 2008
177
Islander (Wayfarer/McGlasson) 32 St Georges Harbor
I agree that snaps are pretty unreliable, but have you ever stepped barefoot on one of those Common Sense fasteners? Youch! I've got some on my cabin top for attaching the dodger, which is currently off the boat awaiting repair/replacement.
 
arknoah

arknoah

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May 12, 2010
237
Macgregor 25 Southern Maryland
As usual, I find myself feeling totally inadequate comparing myself to Sumner's skills and "handy-ness."
 
tkanzler

tkanzler

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Sep 5, 2007
689
MacGregor 26X Rochester
JohnS said:
I agree that snaps are pretty unreliable, but have you ever stepped barefoot on one of those Common Sense fasteners?
Click to expand
Only thing worse than that is stepping on those Lift-The-Dot spikes. Yikes! :eek:

I like the Common Sense fasteners on sail covers. My first boat had them on the mainsail cover, and I could do them without looking. The two edges came together at the bottom rather than overlapping. I need to make a new mainsail cover for my present boat, and that's how I will fasten it. I like that method much better than the plastic buckle-snap things on short webbing straps that tie the present one together.
 
Merlin Clark

Merlin Clark

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Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
Sumner said:
We just finished making a new dodger for the Endeavour and decided to use common sense fasteners vs. the snaps that were in the old one. A lot of those snaps had torn out of the fabric which was old and I hate dealing with snaps.

I think we will enjoy using the common sense...



...fasteners a lot more. To install them in the fabric you have to put in four slits for the prongs on the fasteners and also make a center hole. Sailrite sells a punch, but I was too cheap to use it, so decided to use a cutting tip...



...in the soldering gun instead and it seemed to work great. Here is a link to the mod...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-21.html

...hope it maybe helps someone else. I also like that using the hot tip seals the cut and doesn't leave it exposed to fraying.

Here is a picture of the front window that opens with a removable screen...



...for the dodger that has the common sense fasteners on the bottom,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links
Click to expand

Hey Sumner,
Just used a couple of these fasteners on that fishfinder cover and they are great!
Thanks for the info and tutorial.
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
merlinuxo said:
Hey Sumner,
Just used a couple of these fasteners on that fishfinder cover and they are great!
Click to expand
I'm starting to use them....



... on everything. Above they are on the pocket that holds the year/month stickers for the dinghy. Ruth just finished 3 screened hatch covers today for the Endeavour and I'm hoping that we can hold them down around the hatches with common sense fasteners. I'm not putting them in the covers until we get back down there though.

We also used them on an...



...outboard cover she made the other day, top arrow. They are pretty versatile,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our Endeavour 37[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our MacGregor S Pages[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Mac-Venture Links[/FONT]
 
GorillaToast

GorillaToast

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Sep 2, 2011
1,041
Hunter 27 Cherubini Alum Creek State Park
I agree, the Common Sense fasteners are great, and easy to use. Just watch out when using them is situations that have strong pulling loads, like on a sail pack that stays on the boom while sailing. I found the stresses were straightening out the fold over tabs, letting the backing plates fall out.

Got mine from Sailrite, also. Recommend them highly.
 
Merlin Clark

Merlin Clark

.
Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
Huge difference in the cost by going with Sail Rite too GT.
I paid something like $30 for 20 with shipping and West had them at $10-11 for 3 of one part or the other (male/female).
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
GorillaToast said:
....I found the stresses were straightening out the fold over tabs, letting the backing plates fall out.

Got mine from Sailrite, also. Recommend them highly.
Click to expand
Did you try the male parts with the rivets? I hadn't used them before, but sailrite recommended...





using them on the bottom of the sailpack. I guess time will tell if they work well. I've also started to use those in some other areas where I felt they might work better than the ones with tabs. I've also been making sure that there is at least 2 thicknesses of material wherever we use the male or female parts.

On the female part we send a few more cents for the ...



... plastic pieces (top in picture) and the larger backing plates (right above). Not sure if any of that helps or is needed as the female pieces aren't in tension like the male parts.

I'll try and update our canvas section over time as to the longevity of the projects and any problems that might arise,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our Endeavour 37[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our MacGregor S Pages[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Mac-Venture Links[/FONT]
 
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