[Essington]

I managed a commercial sewing shop for quite a few years, and have done both commercial sewing, and machine repair.

So, to answer your question, I need to ask you:
1) which sailrite you planned to purchase, and
2) what you were planning to do with it.

If you are just working on a few of your own projects and need something heavier than your wifes bernina, then It will probably suffice. The sailrite machines look like very sturdy self contained pieces of equipment. They should serve well for light duty work.

If however you are planning on doing production work, or building covers, the sailrite machines (LS and LSZ anyway) MAY fall a little short of your expectations.

I Haven't actually ever worked on one of these machines, so I am just judging from the pictures I've seen on their website.

The first thing that I notice about the sailrite machines is their feed system. Their "UltraFeed" system. This is just a modified drop feed system. This is the same way that basic home machines feed material. At the top of the needle stroke, the feed dogs grab the bottom (and in the case of the ultrafeed, the top) of the material and pull it forward one stitch length. This is fine for really thin materials of only a couple layers, but when you start working on anything heavier, you will want a better feed system.

Most commercial machines heavy enough to work covers and multiple layers of sailcloth are of the compound feed (or walking foot) variety. These machines have a foot that looks similar to the Ultrafeed (an outter foot, and an inner foot), the difference is that the center foot comes down on the material and the center feed dog comes up against the bottom of the material, at the same time that the needle plunges through all layers. Now that the whole mess is clamped (by the center foot an feed dog) and pinned (by the needle) the whole thing is dragged back. Then the outside feed dogs, and foot clamp the material, while the inside ones move to get another grip on the material. The whole process looks like the foot is walking down the material.

sailrite offers commercial grade machines, with compound feed, in both straight and zig-zag models, but they are something on the order of 3 times as expensive as their ultrafeed cousins. And I see no reason that the sailrite models would be any less reliable then their juki, consew, nakajima, or singer brethren.

Now, if you think you need the heavier machine, but aren't interested in spending the $$ for a brand new commercial machine, and you know someone in the textile business, they may be able to turn you onto somewhere that is getting rid of, or upgrading old commercial machines. Commercial Sewing machine shops usually carry used machines as well. You would probably be able to pick up a used commercial machine for less than the new price of one of the ultrafeed sailrites.

Our shop used to buy both new and used machines. Typically the used machines have been running for a minimum of 8 hours a day for decades, and they still worked flawlessly. Our production lead worked on a 20 year old Nakajima, and wouldn't trade up to a new machine for anything.

I would, however, be a little wary of buying a machine from a private individual. In a sewing factory, there is a set routine for the care and maintenance of the machines, and if they misbehave for any reason, they are fixed immediately. The seamstress are generally paid by the piece, so they care for the machines as if their livelihood depends upon it. Whereas someone with a commercial machine in their home may not be aware of the normal maintenance procedures, nor would they know how to keep the machine in adjustment. So, even though a private sale may appear to be a really good deal, it may take more money after the fact to get the machine tuned up and sewing properly.

As for binding, piping, and folding attachments, The ultrafeed bases have the same mounting holes that all commercial machines have, so you could easily start with an ultrafeed, and then upgrade to a commercial machine later, and not have to repurchase all of the attachments that you use.