Types of tape
On our boat we carry half a dozen different types of tape, each with a different use. We have on board the black electrical variety, the white equivalent to that which riggers use, the infamous duct tape, and some specialty stuff known as Rescue Tape. One other type which gets used quite frequently is the blue Scotch brand “painter’s tape,” which sticks but comes off easily without leaving any sticky residue, something we can all appreciate. With all of the projects we’ve had going on, we had just run out of that essential. Fortunately you can find it in just about any marine store here, or decent hardware store for that matter.
Yesterday we had another busy day and that included making a late afternoon trip to Grenada Marine to pay one final visit to ZTC. As expected, our PDQ looked just fine. We’re confident that she’ll rest comfortably while we’re up north helping other people to have fantastic vacations. Let’s hope all goes well today tying up our final projects so that we’ll be able to set sail from Grenada tomorrow AM.
You better not have black electrical tape on board, it better be 3M 33+! 😉
Nope, pretty sure it’s just some generic brand.
Disappointing.. 🙂 33+ resists UV rays, abrasion, moisture, copper corrosion, alkalies and acids, is good from 0F to 220F without residue, and is flame retardant.
It is the rescue tape of the electrical world.
Look at how wonderfully educational this blog is. 🙂
Mike you are so correct to have several different tapes aboard however if you leave the blue or green tape on for more than 48 hours in the sun, it will leave a sticky residue. IMHO
Thanks, Diane.
Blue tape is great – just as an heads up, sharpie written on it for tagging will NOT hold up after awhile…. guess who got to trace all their wires in their truck after putting the new engine in?
🙂
Good info.
TOMORROW morning???? Really?????? So I will miss you by less than 12 hours? 🙁 No way you can wait till Saturday or Sunday morning?
The weather decides this stuff for us. Of course, you could always call X-Marine and try to bribe them to delay our project. Someone might get hurt if that were to happen though.
Hmmmm. Got their number?
555-….
1-3. Rigging/electrical tape tape. At least 3 colors so that color coding is possible, particularly if wiring with the wrong color wire (mark the ends).
4. Duct tape.
5. Gaffers tape. A heavy duty fabric type of duct tape. MUCH more durable in the sun, lasts years. Comes in colors but I like white.
6-8. Athletic tape. Both athletic and first aid uses, but also may other fix-it uses. 2 widths + stretch type.
9. Teflon tape. Plumbing.
10. Sail repair tape.
11. Butyl tape. Bedding deck hardware and hatches. PDQ used it at the factory for hatches.
12. Blue masking tape, of course. The green doesn’t like rain as well.
13. Self-stick labels (sort of tape). DVDs, tagging wires.
14. Some folks like “rescue tape,” a self-fusing silicone, but I don’t use it.
You sure it’s just 6 rolls, or am I just “tape-happy?”
After reading that I guess we have more than I listed. We have most of those on board too.
I’ve been reading your blog for a while. I keep up to date with each new entry as well as trying to catch up on the back entries. I’m now at the point when you were travelling down the ICC. Just curious though, you keep mentioning visiting ZTC. Have you sold it or are you storing it while on One Love?
We are storing her. She is on vacation. 🙂
🙂
oops I meant 🙁
Hi
A friend of mine who serves with the Singapore navy, swears by something they just call “black tape”. It’s actually 3M splicing tape. This awesome stuff chemically fuses into a waterproof rubber lump after being stressed and wound around things like electrical terminals.
It turns out 3M makes self-fusing splicing tapes for just about every edge case : http://www.3m.com/product/information/Scotch-Rubber-Splicing-Tape.html
Cheers
Stephan
Interesting.