Sew, sew, sew your boat, Part 2

The sewing projects continue, but for now, I've put the machine away in order to provision and prepare for our trip south.  Here is what I've accomplished in the last few days.....

When we use the mahogany table in the salon for any projects, it gets three layers of protection.  First we lay a double layer of an old sheet, then a three-panel layer of thin plywood (which lives under the starboard settee when not in use)........

.......and top it with an old vinyl tablecloth.

The thread used for Sunbrella fabric comes in large spools that don't fit the traditional spool peg.

David cut a segment of dowel rod, drilled a hole, and voila!

It fits!

This was our original grill cover.  An okay solution, but not great.

I took it apart and created a liner for the new grill cover. (Forgot to take a photo of the liner.)

Measure twice.  Cut once!

Sewing projects disturb the whole salon area.

Here is the finished grill cover, just in time for a rain shower.  The gray liner is underneath.

Next up was a cover for the outboard motor to our dinghy.  It rides on the stern of the sailboat and we wanted to protect it from the sun while not in use.  Here is the original square of fabric before pleating and sewing.

Sailrite has dozens of free how-to videos on their website.  Click on "How To" in the left column.  It's a gem of a resource center!

Despite installing a new bobbin case, I still haven't tackled the completely random tension issues with this machine <big sigh> Thankfully I have two seam rippers on board.....oof.

Finished cover for the engine (L) and its tiller (R).  Ordered spring stops from amazon so we don't have to tie the ends.

Sew, sew, sew your boat.......

Sew, sew, sew your boat.  I know.  Bad joke.  But let me tell you, after messing with my "new" sewing machine ALL THE LIVE-LONG DAY, my brain was going a bit nutty.

For those of you who follow us on Facebook, you know that we bought a new-to-us sewing machine last week......a 1957 Pfaff, to be precise.  I've heard fantastic things about this beast, so David found one on craigslist.org just down the road in California, Maryland (who knew there was such a town?!).  After I met Chris in the parking lot of Joann Fabrics and bought the machine, I wandered into the store, bought two pillow forms and a yard of all-weather fabric to make QUICK, EASY pillows for our cockpit.

Quick.  Easy.  Not so much.

Rewind back to October 2014 when I sold my nearly new Janome sewing machine (on craigslist no less!) thinking that it couldn't tackle sails.  Boo-hoo!  It could've handled canvas and all sorts of heavy fabrics (minus sails) and I wouldn't have had the day-long frustration of figuring out the tension on this machine.

Thankfully, I recently joined a Facebook group called Sewing on Boats (SOBs for short ;) ).  Once I posted my tension frustration and a photo, I quickly received MANY suggestions for fixing this problem.  Three hours and several suggestions later, I got it all worked out, and the pillows were finished.

The Pfaff 130-6, built in 1957

The case wasn't in good shape, but "we" saved it to make a pattern for a new one (personally, I would try Gorilla Glue to put it back together........)

I have the original owner's manual and applied a drop of oil (complete with Zoom Spout) to every crevasse mentioned in the booklet.

Threaded correctly....

From RIGHT to LEFT, my tension was getting better, but not correct (black thread was inserted in the bobbin at one suggestion which was a good one......proving that the top thread was not behaving).

It's a good thing there was a lot of spare material.

Close, but no cigar.  This is the photo I posted on Sewing on Boats.

As you can see in the lower left, I FINALLY found the sweet spot for tension.....it involved a new needle and an adjustment of the thread controller spring.

In the process, a needle broke.

But in the end, I won........the tension worked out and we have two new pillows for the cockpit.

Hopefully for my next two projects (grill cover and dinghy engine cover) everything will go much more smoothly!

Great sailing in October!

Yesterday morning we left Harness Creek and headed out to sail.  The wind was blowing 12-22 kts out of the NW.....perfect for enjoying a day on the bay.

Our friends, Bud and Sandy on Acadia, weighing anchor in Harness Creek yesterday morning

Waterman checking his trotline for crabs on the South River

Shimmering bay makes it harder to spot crab pot markers

Lots of jumbo blue crabs being hauled in these days!

Always thrilling to watch fighter jets

Although it wasn't terribly windy, we decided to "dust off" the staysail and reef the main.

Saw two eagles, but didn't capture them........there's no shortage of gulls!

7.8 kts speed over ground with 19.9 kts of apparent wind....not bad for Virginia Dare under reduced sail!

Blue sky day!

He doesn't like the title, "Captain," so I call him Captain Crunch. 

It's not often we see another Hallberg-Rassy!  This is an H-R 46, Indigo.

Keeping the sails trimmed for the best speed and efficiency

Trimming the staysail

Nice wind and a calm sea state make for a great day of sailing the Chesapeake Bay

Boat dog and a waterman checking his trotline just inside the breakwall at Herrington Harbour North

Schooner race

The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race started from the bay bridge yesterday afternoon, so we sailed north to watch these magnificent boats sail south.  My camera was giving me fits.....apologies for a few blurry pictures!

The race ended today (October 16th) in Portsmouth, Virginia. 

Bald eagle

Interesting little rig

A nice breeze!

Thomas Point Light

A fine day of sailing!

Anchored last night in Harness Creek with our friends, Bud and Sandy, on Acadia :)