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R E K

I messed a few things up on this first try but it doesn't show, only if you look closely, hehe ^^. I don't have a ton of sewing machine experience, the stitching isn't always straight.

The zipper plaque was a bit too narrow, getting the backing board in was super tough (will make zipper longer on other back rests).

I'll document what I had trouble with when I have a bit more time. As always, I'll put it up on our wiki.

93 comments
R E K

While removing the cushion I also found Katakana writing on the wooden backing. The writing is hard to see (pencil on wood).

I can make out: バック レスト(Bakku resuto, "back rest")

Our boat was manufactured in Japan(Yamaha), and we keep finding Japanese writing in the strangests of places.

a backing board for a Yamaha sailboat backrest with some Japanese katakana written on it in pencil (very pale).
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar

@rek All we had were German markings, but I left a message on a repair job I did that is hard to find. No message of discovery from the new owner yet ;-)

Vlad

@rek バックレストキャビン?☺️

R E K

@vladh thatd make sense :), my eyes are just too terrible to read the rest of the characters.

forresto

@rek I thought it would say something about the fuzzy eyes looking at the camera from the middle.

R E K

@forresto those dark spots are around the ends of screws sticking out on the other side of the board :>

Uli Kusterer (Not a kitteh)

@rek Seems weird that they'd write the English words — does Japanese usually not have back rests? Is the English noun phrase a word they use for a specific type of back rest?

R E K

@uliwitness no its super common, like they use the word "yotto"(ヨット) for yachts, even if they have a separate word for sailboat.
Laptop is "rapputoppu"(ラップトップ), bed is "beddo"(ベッド).

edit: dont know specifically about back rests though, as you said it may be about the specific type which doesnt fit with the Japanese word.

R E K

@uliwitness May also be to do with the fact that it was manufactured in Japan, but meant for assembly in Canada(maybe they had an English part list or something).

DELETED

@rek I used to work in manufacturing plants, and I loved leaving small messages on the parts I worked on.

R E K

Got no sewing work done today. Sewing machine is being difficult :angy:

rostiger

@rek Hang in there, you'll get it. Also zippers can be a real pain in the a**.

R E K

I just finished my third backrest, now the whole starboard side of Pino is done (will take pictures tomorrow). I've got the whole other side to do next.

I made a lot of mistakes on the zipper plaque for the first two backrest covers, but the third one I did just right! So happy with the result (having a good machine helps)!

the finished closed zipper on the bottom of the backrest
the look of the zipper when opened.
sewing a zipper onto the zipper plate boxing of a cushion
R E K

Photo of the finished backrests on Pino's starboard side :>!

a sailboat settee with new upholstered cushions and backrests.
R E K

Aaaad DONE! Port side is finished too 🎉 Pino's saloon has been fully re-upholstered!

I learned SO much doing this. I look forward to doing the same for both the v-berth and quarter berth cushions.

Currently working on documenting the process~

Pino(our saiboat)'s port side settee with newly upholstered backrests and seat cushions.
timthelion

@rek looks very professional! Did you do cut out corners or folded corners? It seems like they hold very well.

ndpi

@rek wow, these look great! well done!

rezmason

@rek Ooo! That's fun, so soft 😁

...whoa, deja vu

R E K

Acquired a 9m zipper strip and 8 zipper sliders! Time to continue the uplholstery project.

Next on my list, re-upholstering some cushions in the quarter berth! Then, I'll make my way to the v-berth cushions!

Yes. Our boat is mostly cushions.

duckpuck

@rek are you planning on making the documentation accessible on your website? That would be an interesting read for sure.
Do you have a special way of sewing the end of the zipper strips to prevent the sliders to fall off?

R E K

Getting better at sewing zippers :>! But corners are still weird and hard.

Finished the first quarter berth cushion, the one that has the most regular shape... the others are gonna be... difficult 😅 .

a view of the zipper plaque on a quarter berth cushion for a sailboat
a view of a newly-upholstered rectangular boat cushion sitting on the step of a sailboat
Anders Conbere

@rek dang, great job! Sewing is so challenging.

Max Cahill

@rek looking good matey! Honestly if it comes out a bit non uniform but is gonna work fine just call it character. Especially on irregular shapes haha

WimⓂ️

@rek It looks very neat to me. And a proper YKK zipper as well 😄 .

Gafanhoto

@rek I just bought myself a sewing machine, and although my family has been on the textile industry for a couple of generations, I don’t really know where to get started… do you have any tips? Tutorials? Or? (On sewing in general, and making clothes).

R E K replied to Gafanhoto

@gafanhoto I've never made clothes so i cant advise on that(although i plan to), so far my only experience is with upholstery.

I started out by watching the Sailrite videos, though they are specifically tailored to boats, outdoors, and all the tutorials use rly tough fabric, maybe not what youre looking for...

Brendan

@rek in the active sewing picture, the alignment is hard to see when it's sewn face down. Does the foot collide with the zipper and prevent sewing face up? Or is there another reason for the face down sewing?

R E K

@brendan this other photo may clear things up, the zipper is aligned to this strip underneath that I need to keep flat, it also helps me keep things in alignment. If i were to sew it face up i wouldnt see what im doing (keep in mind, im a bit of a newbie, and was following instructions from a video).

I ripped out the seams on the other side to reveal the zipper underneath (second photo).

sewing a zipper onto the zipper plaque of the boxing for a cushion
ripping the seams out from the top of the zipper plaque to reveal the zipper underneath.
Brendan

@rek ah, I get it now. Thanks for the excellent clarification!

R E K

@ryan It is~! Just got it a few days ago. Was an early christmas present to myself(and my partner).

Ryan Null

@rek nice! I love mine too. So good for working on any boat stuff. Redid the UV cover on my job with it.

Good looking work you did too!

R E K

@ryan Oh! Did you have any trouble re-stitching the cover nearing the clew and tack of the sail? Not sure if this is something the Ultrafeed LSZ can do, i know it can get through a lot of thickness but our jib clew is thick AF (its a thick jib) with don't know how many layers...

Ryan Null

@rek I maxed out the space under the foot. It struggled a bit, but it did it. Here’s some pics that add insight. When I did the clew, I had to use the thicker needle.

Walt Baldwin

@rek LSZ is a great machine and SailRite is a great crew to work with. upgraded mine with WorkerB motor last summer. amazing quality improvement.

R E K

@waltbaldwin Ours already came with it :), apparently they started shipping them with the WorkerB motor last Feb 2023.

Loving ours so far!

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