Weekly Reflection #3

Weekly Reflection.

This past week has gone by so quickly. I feel like the past 3 weeks have just flown by. I am going to defiantly miss working at the sail loft. The people there are so friendly and defiantly helped in making our time at the loft more enjoyable and productive. Not only was our sponsor, Ben helping us but also all of the employees, they really accepted us and helped us is our day-to-day activities. I feel like this week my sewing improved dramatically. I finally can sew in a straight line and control the stitching instead of the sewing machine controlling me. Sail sewing machines are much more powerful that regular sewing machines and harder to control. I can now find everything in the loft. When I first went to the loft I felt like it was so busy and complex and now I know where everything from a stapler to dustpan is found. By this week I really felt like I could be of assistance in the loft. Ben could ask us to do something and I would know what he meant and how to do it. On Monday of the week Trilbey and I took the Rhode Island safe power boating exam. Studying and taking this exam taught me a lot about how boats work and a lot about safe boating. The safe power boating license is a prerequisite to a course that I am required to take for my summer job as a sailing instructor. This week really wrapped up what we have been doing with our time at the loft.

May 22nd

I cannot believe that today was our last day at the loft. It feels like we just started. Today at the loft we worked pretty much all day on the bags that we started yesterday. We finished sewing them and then put grommets in them for the handles. We then put on a Sperry Sail sticker and seized on handles. This took us most of the day to do. It was sad saying goodbye to the people we have been working with all this time. We got some Sperry Sails t-shirts and sweatshirts and were on our way.

May 21st

Today at the loft Trilbey and I started out by working more on the parachutes that we were working on yesterday. Since we cannot bring an actual sail back to school to show what we have been working on so we discussed possible things to make. We though about flags and then decided that bags would be a nice option because they will be useful. We were given pretty much free range of the loft as far as what we wanted to construct out bags out of. We are making them out of an old sail lined with canvas with sailcloth scrap on the bottom. I am so excited for this project. We are going to finish them tomorrow. I cannot believe tomorrow is already our last day at the loft.

May 20th

Today at the loft Trilbey and I finished the pennants that we had started yesterday. They are noticeably better than the ones that we made on the first day. After finishing those we were taught how to make parachutes. We are making small parachutes for a local company that drops GSP’s into the water that track tides for oil tankers. At the sail loft they are not only making sails but also other items using the same material. After coming back from the loft I worked on my self evaluation.

May 19th

Today I went to the sail loft at 8 and finished the bags that Trilbey and I have been working on. After Trilbey and I folded the top edges of the bags down and taped them I sewed them. I then began working on the more of the same pendant flags that Trilbey and I worked on the very first day we were there. It is reassuring to see that out skills have improved since we have been working at the loft. The flags that we made today are so much better than the ones we made on our first day. After coming home I finally finish my poster. Today we discussed with Ben making something that we can bring back to school for out exhibition.

May 18th

Today I work up feeling very sick and with a fever. I decided to stay home today rather than go to the sail loft. Although I was at home sick I still have a productive day. After resting some I studied for the Safe Power Boating Exam. Today I reviewed what I had been studying. I began to work on my self-evaluation and put together pictures that Trilbey and I are putting on our posters. At 5 Trilbey and drove to Providence, RI for the boating exam. It took us about 2 hours to complete. After that I did some work on my poster.

Weekly Reflection #2

After the walk for breast cancer this weekend I am finally back to Marion. I am extremely sore but I made it. During this week at the sail loft Trilbey and I worked on the skills that we have been working on. We continued practicing sewing techniques and being able to apply them to fixing sails. I have improved a lot on my sewing abilities. I continued to work on fixing sails for the loft. I also learned how to make sail ties. I also put a hank on the sail. A hank is the metal piece that clips onto the forestay. I used a hammer to put it on. Ben also had us start a new project of making bags. The bags are going to be really big. We first had to write the dimensions on the paper and figure out the math part of designing something. I think that we started this project because it gives a feel of how sails are designed. They have to be planned out very carefully. I think that it was a good idea for him to give a little taste of what the entire process is like. We will be able to see the bags from start to finish. During this past week Trilbey and I studied for the Safe Power Boating Test. We learned about parts of the boat, boating emergencies, regulations for powerboats. The website we were using to study for the boating exam uses diagrams and moving games to teach you information. I found it interesting to be able to apply what I was learning to what I could see in the town of Marion. I learned about the shapes of hulls online, and then I was able to see boats out of the water and understand how they displaced water and floated. I was able to see whether they had inboard or outboard motors and how they were propelled through the water. I also learned about safety practices on motorboats. That will really help me this as well because I will be able to maneuver the boat safely. It was hard to focus while learning online but I enjoyed what I was learning. I believe that the information will help me in my job this summer teaching sailing lessons. I look forward to our final week at the sail loft and continuing working on and making sails.

May 15th

Today I did not work on my senior project. (This was approved months ago) Today I started a walk that I will be doing for the next 2 days, if I can make it. I walked 20 miles today around the town of Harvard, to Stowe for lunch and then back to Harvard. I am really feeling that I didn’t train for this. So far I am blister free and hopefully I stay so fortunate. Tomorrow I will be walking 20 miles to Concord, spending the night there, and then walking back to Harvard on Sunday. It is impossibly hard but I am determined to keep going. I raised over $1200 and it is great to be a part of something bigger than myself.

May 14th

Today after I work up I continued what I was doing yesterday. I studied online for the Rhode Island Safe Power Boating Test. It is cool to learn rules that I will be able to put to use while working this summer. On the website there is information about hull shape and displacement. Learning how boats work and how they are propelled through the water is information that I can use while boating. I worked on my poster some more and then drove up to where I will be starting my walk for breast cancer tomorrow.

May 13th

Today have after a much needed sleep in Trilbey and I made it to chapter 3 in our studying for the Rhode Island Safe Power Boating Test information. After studying for a bit I went outside and worked on the poster for out exhibit. I got more red spray paint on myself than the poster. After cleaning up the poster mess Trilbey and I had lunch and worked on our posters some more. After that we walked down town to the boat yard and looked at different hull shapes on boats. It was cool to see the boats out of the water and up on supports. We could really observe the shape of the hull and the keel. We were able to talk to a friend of mine about maintenance he was doing on his boat. Tomorrow we will continue to work on out posters and studying.

May 12th

Today at the loft Trilbey and I began by finishing the group of sails that we started yesterday. We did some minor repairs on them and put them away. On one of the sails I work on I put a new hank on, a clip that attaches the sail to the boat. I used a hammer to bend the metal so that the hank was secure to the sail. Today at the loft was a huge organization day. We organized many bins and put things back where they belong so that the loft can function properly. When we were done organizing I put my sewing skills to use and made a lot of sail ties. After lunch Trilbey and I started a new project. We went upstairs and Ben showed up the electric sailcloth cutter. It uses a computer program where you draw out shapes for a sail, lay down a piece of cloth and then the machine cuts out exactly what you want. It was amazing to watch. We cut out circles for the bottoms of bags that we are going to make. We then cut out large 5’ X 7’ rectangles for the rest of the bag. We sewed the rectangles into cylinders before the day was over. After we got home we started working on our posters for the exhibition.

May 11th

Today work at the sail loft flew by. We arrived there and finished the sail that we didn’t have a chance to finish working on while we were there on Friday. Then Trilbey and I each worked on the 2 very last sails for the Community Boating Center in New Bedford. For the sail that I worked on I had to replace the entire edge of the sail called the luff. I sewed on a new edging called a boltrope. I used a drill to make hole in the head board of the sail and hand sew the new edge on. I put all new tell tales on the sail and then was done. I then helped one of the sail makers, Rich. He had me hand sew the corners of the sail that he was making. After lunch we began working on another set of sails. These ones were from a much bigger boat. We unrolled them and checked them for parts that needed to be fixed. We replaced tell tales and fixed minor holes in the sale. Tomorrow will be out last day of work at the loft for the week.

Weekly Reflection 1.

Week One

This was out first week at Sperry Sails. After unplanned occurrences required us to begin work on Tuesday we have been extremely busy. Right when we got there we began work. First learning about the loft and its employees. At the loft work is done on the floor, barefoot. We began by learning the importance of double sided tape in sail making. It is used to place the sail where you want it to be while you sew it, and sometimes even holds the material in place permanently. After practice with the double-sided tape we moved onto sewing practice. Ben taught us how to use the machines, gave us some canvas and told us to be creative and practice sewing. Trilbey and I each made attempts at bags. With this practice on the sewing machines we were ready to sew the flags we had spent so long taping. When we were finished sewing all the flags Trilbey and I each had a basic understanding of how to sew a sail. We then moved on to working on actual sails. We began repairing sails for Community boating in New Bedford, MA. Throughout the week I repaired numerous sails and my sewing skills improved dramatically. I can’t even comprehend how much I have learned in the past week. When we arrived I had no idea what to expect. Everyone there is very kinds and welcoming. They are patient and have been helping us learn what is going on. I am really enjoying my time at the sail loft. The practice that I got in this week with tapering and sewing and general knowledge of sail construction will help me prepare to continue my work at Sperry Sails. I look forward to next week when we will continue work at the sail loft and finish studying to the Rhode Island Safe Boating Test. Which Trilbey and I will be taking on May 18th.

May 8th

Today at the loft similar to the past days we have been there. I began by replacing the leach tape on the sail I had been working on yesterday. I am starting to get more comfortable sewing and my work has been much neater. After that I put tell tails on the sail and moved onto the next one. This was a 420 jib, with Ben I made a new forestay. I used a hydraulic wire cutter to cut the wire to the correct size. I then put the stay into the sail and used a needle and thread to attach it. After lunch outside I began to work on the next sail with Trilbey. It was a Mylar sail for a boat called a Pico. It was full of holes that Trilbey and I repaired. It was a very tedious sail that we will finish on Monday.

May 7th

Today when we arrived at the sail loft we got right to work. I finished the sail that I had begun yesterday. I then began work on and even bigger sail. On this sail I replaced an entire sail edge using Dacron tape and then sewing it down. The battens (the plastic rods that help support the sail) all needed new pockets so I replaced all them. This was very difficult because I had to maneuver the entire a sail around while still sewing it. It was frustrating but I was so happy when I finally finished replacing the battens. With the battens on Ben taught me how to put tell tales on the sail and I did that. I then moved on to the head of the sail. I taped down a new boat rope, then I drilled holes into the headboard and hand sewed the boat rope to the headboard. I then used a machine to finish stitching. After finished that sail, folding it, and putting it away I moved onto the next sail. It was a 420 spinnaker that only needed a little bit of stitching, when I finished that I swept up my mess and was done for the day.

May 6th

Today, We arrived at the sail loft at 8 a.m. and finished what we began yesterday. I finished sewing the sail tape to the edges of the flags. When I had finished that Ben taught me how to put grommets into the flags, I put two grommets in each flag and then used wire ties to attach them to pieces of pipe. This took Trilbey and I up until lunch. After lunch outside Trilbey and I took a look at some old sails from Community Boating in New Bedford. I had a jib from a small boat called a Capri. The window in the jib had a rip in it so I had to replace it. Ben taught me how to put down double sided tape and then cut and sew the new window. Once I had done that I sewed the edge of the sail called the leach, to make it stronger. Once I had repaired the sail I moved onto the jib sheets. I whipped and burned the ends so that they won’t fray. It was great to work on sails. Tomorrow we are going to continue repairing sails

May 5th

Today was out first day at the Sperry Sail Loft we arrived there at 8 and met all the employees at Sperry. We talked with our sponsor, Ben, about what we hoped to accomplish and clarified his role as our sponsor. After that we got right to work. Ben showed us how to use double sided tape to fold over the edges sail material. We had a break from 10:00 to 10:30 but besides that break we worked till 1:00 taping and folding over the edges of what will be flags. After a short lunch break we began working on the sewing machines. We were shown how they work and how they differ from regular sewing machines. They are much faster and stronger and harder to maneuver. We practiced sewing with scraps of canvas and I made a bag. After we have gotten better at sewing we went back to work of the flags. Trilbey sewed around the edges we had taped and I put edges on the 4th side using sail tape and sewing it on. We did this until 5:00 when we left for the day. Today I learned how much work making sails is and the value of kneepads

May 4th

We were planning on today being our first day at Sperry Sails, but because of my concussion I had to go to the doctors this morning. Ben preferred that we start tomorrow rather than starting this afternoon. Today, I went to the doctors and then drove to Marion, MA where we will be living for senior project. We got here, had lunch and bought food for while we will be here. We unpacked and moved in to the house. Today since we were not working at Sperry Sails we began studying for the Rhode Island Safe Power Boating test. To pass the test and get the license that we need Trilbey and I will be studying online and learning important material. We need to have this certification in order to be Level 1 certified and teach sailing lessons over the summer.