UHMW Tape Thickness ?

[Douglas]

Ahoy Mates, I want to order some UHMW tape, but am not sure which thickness to order.

Brion's catalog doesn't seem to list any UHMW tape, nor does he say what thickness or size to use in the archive . Like, can you wrap layers of thinner tape over on itself to make a thicker layer ?

McMaster-Carr does list different thickness's , but I am at a loss as to what thickness to choose .

I will be mounting aluminum fittings to an aluminum mast, and was also considering to tape the mast sleeve before joining the mast sections.

Of course I need to order Tef-Gel too , but don't know if this stuff is a Haz-Met goo or just sheep fat type lanolin , is there a good place to order this from, to be shipped to Singapore ?

Douglas , BCC Calliste

[Jim Fulton]

When I overhauled my mast last year I think I used the thickest UHMW tape that McMaster-Carr offers under all of the fittings and Tef-Gel on the screws. It worked great. I think I ordered the Tef-Gel from Brion a couple of years before that but I could be mistaken.

Jim Fulton

[Brian Duff]

The .0125 is ok for the tape.
However I now use Boat Life- LifeSeal instead of that Tef-Gel.

I used to use Tef-Gel, but over the past few years have had a couple boats rigged 5-10 yrs ago, by me or a yard I worked at (meaning I know how the hardware was installed) ,now comming back from the tropics and the tef-gel didn't do the trick. As we take things apart, fasteners are comming out mostly, but not without heat and some corrosion damage to the aluminium. The Tef-Gel is still on there around the screws and bolts, plates and rivets, and it is even harder to get off, still as gooey as day one, or more so as it seems thicker now.

The places where silicon was used are comming apart easily without corrosion around them. I think the LifeSeal product is even better than straight silicon now, because it bonds well to aluminum and staineless, and plastic, for more water resistance. Also no silicon acid problem potential with the LifeSeal, which is a hybrid sealant.

Anyway, either way will be better than nothing, so as Brion says in the Riggers Apprentice, "...always coat any fastener with silicone, ...lanolin..., or other goo before putting it into any metal"

[davidsamuelson]

Hi Douglas,
In Phuket's Boat Lagoon (Thailand) there is a chandlery by the name of 'Yacht Supply" where you can order Tef Gel. They also have a rigging shop.
David