There’s no end to the creative uses
Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008
Sailors of good old boats are creative problem-solvers. So it’s great to discover a product that can be used in more ways than its manufacturer intended.
Take 3M’s 5200, for example. I’ve found that I can wrap wires or wire splices with 5200-saturated cotton or polyester cloth. Thus protected, the wires can be led through a hole so that the assembly provides strain relief or a secure and waterproof electrical connection (like for bilge pump wires in the bilge). Wire wrapped in 5200-saturated cloth isn’t a real pretty solution but it’s secure and, if you paint it, the result lasts a long time under the tropical sun.
This type of cloth can replace wire clamps. I’ve used it to glue wires inside the frame of solar modules (and other places). The application is probably not approved by the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), but it looks nice inside a refrigerator box. Use blue masking tape to hold the wires in place for a day or more while the 5200 sets up.
Hull material, perhaps?
Speaking of painting, I’ve decided to paint my boat with 5200 since the stuff is so rugged. To heck with patching holes, why not just start with 5200 as hull material? Wait — that’s what my dinghy is already.
It can be used to patch an inflatable dinghy too. But make sure there is no silicone wax on the surface or the patch will come off.
Those of us who are sewing-impaired can use 5200 to patch clothes. Of course, you are less likely to attract someone who is sewing-enabled if your clothes look like you patched them that way.
Keep in mind that 5200 uses moisture in the air to cure, so if you make a repair more than about 1/4 inch thick, it might never cure. I’ve tried to “mist” the stuff deeper than 1/4 inch, but the surface subsequently forms eruptions, and the repair becomes porous inside. Of course, this does not apply to the stuff left in the tube, which will harden completely before you next get it out to use. But I usually get at least one more use out of a tube by puncturing it with a knife down where the stuff is still semi-liquid.
Mineral spirits work great for thinning, can be used for cleanup, and help filet an edge around something that has been seated on 5200. If you place masking tape next to the filet area, then use a rounded surface (like the end of a popsicle stick) to remove the excess, you end up with very little extra 5200 to remove and a nicely rounded corner.
This stuff is durable — there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians were developing something similar for preserving the dead. So you don’t want to get it on your clothes. My wife has figured out how I can avoid that disaster: use it in the nude.
John Gambill and his wife, Libbie Ellis, sailed the Caribbean for four years on their 36-foot Bruce Roberts cutter, Hotwire. They returned to the U.S. in 1998 with a plan to sell KISS wind generators and make enough money to go cruising again. They currently sail OPBs — other people’s boats — for pleasure or on deliveries. John is a former motorcyclist, musician, baker, airplane/car mechanic, and blackjack player. He spends most of his time working on electrical problems.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
