I was on the Boat US website this past weekend and remembered they had a s cool section dedicated to product testing. While scrolling through the archives I located this article from many years ago. Though it has some age on it I feel quite certain that the vast majority of the info is still accurate. I always carry a roll of duct or now a days Gorilla tape with me in my boat tool box. The new silicon tape is a must have as well. Check out these findings…
Foundation Findings
#28 Duct Tape - Through Thick & Thin
September 1997
If you’re like most like most boaters, your tool kit, tackle box or ditty bag contains an odd assortment of tools, spare parts, fasteners, and “whatzits.” The contents may reflect your personal proclivities, your boat’s idiosyncrasies or your most recent adventures in marine maintenance.
But if there’s one universal item among all boaters’ fix-it inventories it’s that common commodity among do-it-your-self-ers: duct tape.
Over the years, the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety has tested marine products ranging from life jackets to heaving lines and from chart plotters to binoculars.
But this time, as a special service to our members, we wanted to delve into a truly sticky subject, that gray roll we all seem to reach for in a pinch.
Since boaters roll out the duct tape so often for so many applications, we wondered what differences there might be among the various tapes commonly available. Would one brand adhere, resist tearing or seal better than another? For the results of our “ductorial” thesis, stick around.
The Little Tape that Could
If you find duct tape useful around your boat, thank bunions. Today’s tape stretches back to the 1930’s and the cloth surgical adhesive tape developed by manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson and Dr. Scholl’s. (See, you had duct tape’s first cousin in your first aid kit and didn’t even know it.)
With World War II came the need for a waterproof packaging tape to seal ammunition boxes. So the surgical tape troops turned their