Old sail threads ripped, can I fix it myself effectively?

[Hermit Scott]

I tried putting the main sail on in heavy chop and high winds by myself with Txtowman at the helm. when I finally got it raised the flogging ripped the threads out of the sail about 3' long. My first thought was a new sail, then I remembered I was poor. So I thought of sending it off to be resewn. I can imagine that is going to cost a minimum of $300 to go over all the seams.
I would rather spend that money on a machine and do it myself. What kind of thread do I need to use? Can I stitch directly over the old stitching with out any problems?

BTW I switched marinas. The wife said she wasn't going back until the electric was working for AC. I was looking at the contract and called to ask why my bill was why it was. They said I am not paying for a 30' boat, I am paying for a 32' slip and also 4' of dock in front of my slip! I understand paying for the whole slip but renting the common area of the dock seems a bit much. Also I have to get a pass from the marina to stay on my boat over night. I guess they are trying to stop the unauthorized live aboards. Do you guys have to deal with that also? The only consolation is they will deliver the pass to me after hours.

 

[Manny]

Hey Hermit,

You can order the thread from sailrite, I can't remember exactly the correct type (something like V92 or V60 - uv protected thread) - just give them a call, they'll tell you what you need. Depending on where the rip is (how many layers of cloth) you may be able to use a regular sewing machine to make the repairs. I go through each winter and restitch any suspect looking areas on my sails. It's not too difficult, especially if you have someone helping you feed the material through the machine.
Oh yeah - make sure you have good sharp needles.
Congrats on the new marina.

Manny

 

[JoeWhite]

You need a new marina..... I can stay at my marina up to 3 days a week at no extra cost or permit. And yes - they charge for the lenght of the dock and not the lenght of the boat. I do not think you are paying for the 4' of space in fron of your boat. In that case others who walk by must obtain a permit from you!

 

[RichH]

I tried putting the main sail on in heavy chop and high winds by myself with Txtowman at the helm. when I finally got it raised the flogging ripped the threads out of the sail about 3' long. My first thought was a new sail, then I remembered I was poor. So I thought of sending it off to be resewn. I can imagine that is going to cost a minimum of $300 to go over all the seams.
I would rather spend that money on a machine and do it myself. What kind of thread do I need to use? Can I stitch directly over the old stitching with out any problems?

BTW I switched marinas. The wife said she wasn't going back until the electric was working for AC. I was looking at the contract and called to ask why my bill was why it was. They said I am not paying for a 30' boat, I am paying for a 32' slip and also 4' of dock in front of my slip! I understand paying for the whole slip but renting the common area of the dock seems a bit much. Also I have to get a pass from the marina to stay on my boat over night. I guess they are trying to stop the unauthorized live aboards. Do you guys have to deal with that also? The only consolation is they will deliver the pass to me after hours.

Use V69 thread, dont buy on 'price' but get good quality V69. Sure just sew over the old thread. On most smaller sails you can use a 'plastic dressmakers sewing machine' just soak the V69 with a teflon lubricant before you sew, increase the presser foot to max. pressure and adjust the stitch tension properly ..... it wont be 'pretty' but will hold the sail until you can get it to a sailmaker.

If this is a small repair you can also 'glue' the seam back together using 'fast cure' 3M5200. I no longer take a monsterously heavy sewing machine when Im on passage; just a few tubes of "fast cure -5200" and a few sq. ft. of sailcloth and sail tape. When 'gluing' the panels back together you MUST carefully 'mask' all the exposed area outside of the seam - wide masking tape. Just 'smear' the seams fully full of 5200 but not so thick that it squeezes out when you press the panels together. Just look for the 'dirt shadows' to be sure that the panles go back together precisely as when originally sewn. Keep the sail FLAT for at least 24 hours to be sure of the 'cure'. http://www.sailrite.com/Categories?search=5200

If I had to get a 'pass' to stay overnight on my boat ... I'd find a new marina. If they dont want liveaboards ... they should just simply prohibit it. If they are lessening the 'criminal element' will giving such a 'pass' make any difference?
So, what happens if a slipholder travels hundreds of miles to get to this marina and finds stink weather when they get there .... stay in a hotel until the weather clears???????? Relocate to a 'sane' marina; requiring a 'pass' is unwarranted and 'anal'. With most marinas at much less than 100% occupancy due to the 'depression' .... there a lot of latitude for 'negotiation'.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I was in a marina WAY on the other end of the nazi spectrum. I only saw the owner twice, once when I got there and he just so happened to be there the day I left. But, very unprotected water, and no electric and no water to the slip, no internet, no showers. That marina was $100 a month.
This nazi marina costs $165. And I assure you I am paying for half the dock(4').
http://www.corpuschristimarina.com/?fuseaction=main.view&page=2487 I have a 30' boat in a 32' slip. I am paying for 36'. The problem is the next real marina is another 30 or 40 minutes of driving. We are already driving 2 hours. I think $165 is still pretty cheap, however they calculate it. I just think they should raise the rates instead of charging for things like common areas. What's next a parking fee?

 

[Hermit Scott]

RichH the Nazi marina has staff 24/7. If you get there after hours, you call them and they deliver the pass to hang on your mirror. Nazis!

 

[Joe]

So what you're really talking about is an overnight parking pass. My marina issues tenant parking placards to hang on their mirrors.... but we keep 'em. If we have guests or misplace our own we can get temporary permits. I don't think the parking pass is for discouraging liveaboards........ it's for security. In many marinas parking is a big problem, especially over holidays, so consider the pass a good way of maintaining security in your your marina and to insure you have space when it's crowded.

We have an electronic key for the dock pedestrian gates that might moniter daily usage, not exactly sure... There are about 15 individual docs and your key will only open the appropriate dock. There is a walking security patrol for the parking lots and docks after hours and a hotline if you get locked out. There are usage guidelines, but if you want to go spend a month at your boat that isn't a big issue. The patrols, maintenance people and dock managers know when people are living aboard.... if it gets out of hand they can envoke the rules, but they aren't nazis about it.

As far as slip fees go...... you are the one who signed the rental agreement so I don't know what your beef is with that. Most rental agreements are based on boat size or slip size (whichever is greater) plus a flat fee for utilities. There may be optional fees for cable tv and phone lines. My marina doesn't offer that, but may folks have the dish network satellite dishes sitting on the slip finger.

Regarding your sails, you can order the thread, and most importantly, proper needles from sailrite. If you go on the sailrite website you can order an inexpensive book that can tell you exactly how to repair and sew your sails. That said, I'm more apt to get some repair tape and adhesive to glue up the ripped out seams as RichH recommends.

 

[Hermit Scott]

They said if I spent the night on my boat with out getting a pass and a law enforcement officer sees me and asks for the pass and I don't have it I will get a ticket and have to go to court to pay it like a traffic ticket. The docks have gates on them as well and there are cameras on the entrance. The manager told me the overnight passes were to keep illegal live aboards out. It doesn't gaurantee a parking spot. I can only stay on my boat 15 nights a month. If I want to stay more it's $75 more a month(liveaboard). Plus I have to pay electric.
I did sign the agreement. The agreement doesn't break down the expenses. She told me I was in an oversized slip. It doesn't look oversized to me but i didn't have my measuring tape. The math wasn't adding up so I called to ask about the size of the slip.
I asked about hurricanes because I doubt my boat would fair well in that small of a slip. They said I could move to a large floating dock for free for a hurricane.
I will check out sailrite, and I knew RichH would come through for me also. He is the resident sail expert.

 

[kloudie1]

I am very lucky to have a marina that doesn’t have Nazis !. The manager is around a lot and is friendly and knows the cars and folks in the marina. He comes aboard at my invitation occasionally for a glass of wine and conversation. I’ve helped him with a couple of his maintenance projects around the place. The local police patrol occasionally.. There is an extra fee for live-aboards, but that term doesn’t apply to folks who might spend a week there doing projects or just day sailing. A very friendly place that I’ve been doing business with for 30 years.

 

[Hermit Scott]

the people of the nazi marina were actually very friendly. It's just the policies that are more like a greedy bank. For example I get there on Oct.6, instead of prorating the month, they charge you a daily rate of $30 per day for the remaining days of the month or I can pay the whole month at $165. I have never even heard of real estate leasing practices like that.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Soup Na*is???

...instead of prorating the month, they charge you a daily rate of $30 per day for the remaining days of the month or I can pay the whole month at $165.

Doesn't really matter what you've heard of or not, hermit. Didn't someone earlier ask about what the lease agreement YOU signed said?

 

[Hermit Scott]

Doesn't really matter what you've heard of or not, hermit. Didn't someone earlier ask about what the lease agreement YOU signed said?

I disagree with the policy not the contract. However these policies are not explicit in the contract.

 

[Phil Herring]

Just a note that I moved the discussion of former German political parties to the War Room. Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[Joe]

I disagree with the policy not the contract. However these policies are not explicit in the contract.

If the office is open 24/7 then there's no problem getting your parking pass, again... what's the problem. That's just their way of doing it.... I'm not understanding why this should upset you so much when you've got so much else to do. To me the extra $75 per month for extended stays is very reasonable. You are in a 32 foot slip, you pay for the slip if it's larger than the boat. If you had a 35 foot boat in a 32 foot slip you would pay for the 35 foot boat..... that's the way it is. I have 27 foot boat in a 25 foot slip... I pay for the 27 feet. Once you're there for a while you'll start appreciating it.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Joe- I pay for a 36' in a 32' slip. But my boat is 30'. Read the original post.
It's not a parking pass, it's an over night pass.

One thing I disagreed with is they don't prorate the month. Anyway, I really just care about the sail. I guess there is a trade off of freedom for securinty some people are comfoftable with. That's just not the way I think. I really don't want to advertise the fact when I am AT my boat, so now everyone knows when I am NOT at my boat. Should I check in with the city when I am at my house?
I am not that upset, or I wouldn't be there. I just disagree with what they do. If there is a REAL problem I will just leave and go back to the first marina.

 

[Ross]

Have you calmly discussed this with the management and learned the reasoning behind their policy? I have been reading a lot of presumption here but haven't read any explaination of policy. I pay for slip fees by boat length even though all of the slips on my pier are the same size.

 

[Barry B.]

Home sewing machine

Hermit, several years ago I ripped the top panel of my mainsail and bought V69 polyester thread and needles sized for V69 thread for a standard home sewing machine and a yard of the proper weight sail cloth from Sailrite and repaired the sail myself using my standard home sewing machine and I am still using the sail. I also restitched a couple seams and batten pockets using the same machine.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Have you calmly discussed this with the management and learned the reasoning behind their policy?

Are you serious? All the policies have one thing in common. All the rules are budget related. Their big boat slips are mostly empty. There was a lot of money spent on those and now they return nothing. For what ever reason people aren't docking their big boats there, so they are getting every penny out of the people that are there. A city marina is a service, but this one is ran more like a business. It's much like how banks get most of their money; through nickle and dime fees. The city marina is not able to command a high engough income through up front prices so they have stooped to more candid ways of getting the money.
If you see another posibility let me know.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Hermit, several years ago I ripped the top panel of my mainsail and bought V69 polyester thread and needles sized for V69 thread for a standard home sewing machine and a yard of the proper weight sail cloth from Sailrite and repaired the sail myself using my standard home sewing machine and I am still using the sail. I also restitched a couple seams and batten pockets using the same machine.

the thread on my sails now can be easily broken by hand if it's already loose and off the sail. The material is crisp and strong. I have thread for sunbrella but it's blue. I am going to order some thread from sailrite and see if this machine I have will do it. I am looking at a couple of machines. I don't know if I NEED a walking foot or not. when I sew 4 or more layers of sunbrella the machine I have now leaves some slack in the bottom stitch. I sewed the main sail cover I have with it making sure the slack threads were on the bottom. They can't be pulled apart or anything they just don't look as good.

 

[Ross]

Are you serious? All the policies have one thing in common. All the rules are budget related. Their big boat slips are mostly empty. There was a lot of money spent on those and now they return nothing. For what ever reason people aren't docking their big boats there, so they are getting every penny out of the people that are there. A city marina is a service, but this one is ran more like a business. It's much like how banks get most of their money; through nickle and dime fees. The city marina is not able to command a high engough income through up front prices so they have stooped to more candid ways of getting the money.
If you see another posibility let me know.

Of course I am serious! I negotiate with everybody about anything. At ourmarina all boats must be ready to be placed on the hard by Oct 31. They can't move them all in one day so I ask the yard boss to leave mine to the last.