Sewing machines Singer vs Sailrite vs others?

Thanks for the reply.

The Consew 206 seems a bit expensive to start of with and only makes a straight stitch. I do like the foot height and arm clearance.

The Pfaff 360 is way less expensive that the Consew but is tiny under the arm, I dont want this limitaion when sewing in the middle of a large piece.

Does Consew makes a straight and zigzag machine thats comparable to the Singer 20U or Sailrite in price??

Where can I find the Singer 20U 143??

thanks again!

Sewing Machine

I've been making canvas and repairing sails for 3 years now.
I don't make sails as I haven't got enough floorspace to loft them.
My only machine has been an LSZ-1 from the beginning.

I live in the Canadian prairies so my season is about 6 months with some work during the winter, but greatly reduced.
Because of the location, the boats are in the 20' to 30' range.

The LSZ-1 has performed flawlessly throughout.
Occasionally it would have been nice to have a little extra room under the arm, but it hasn't been a real problem.
The machine will penetrate 8 or 10 layers of Sunbrella easily.
Occasionally, I have difficulty at the head of a sail where I'm trying to sew a Sunbrella UV cover through the reinforcing patches at the head. But it's usually me and not the sewing machine. A little tweeking and experimenting invariably sorts it out.

I've been thinking about buying another machine to avoid resetting the only machine I currently have. If I do, it will probably be a Sailrite Professional with long arm and 4 point zig-zag. Sailrite have great after sale service and are really helpful if you need advice about how to best put a piece together.

I like the idea of using a machine that is still in production and having a ready made body of expertise on which to draw upon.

sam

Well, having just made the leap of buying (just yesterday) a Sailrite professional long arm (four stitch zig-zag) to replace my Bernina 217N I hope I have made the right decision.
I mostly do windsurfing sail repair, kite repair and canvas work but living in the lower Caribbean I am hoping my new purchase is as faithfull as the Bernina 217n and my Consew 146RB-1A have been. Being that I live down island it won't be easy to get service and I will have to do most of it myself.
I searched for a long time on the internet for a long arm machine to suit my needs and came up with the sailrite-they seem to offer good support.
I considered the Consew 146RBL-3A but the dealer was not easy to deal with-wanted payment before ordering the machine and it was going to take weeks to get-Sailrite had one in stock and shipped immediately and have great customer service.
Anyone out there have this machine and some feedback (altho its now a done deal)