Re: [Paddlewise] cable ties

 
>At 11:39 AM 5/14/99 -0700, M. Wagenbach wrote:
>>If the metal corroded, the closure would fail.  It could be backed up with
>>glue.  Does epoxy stick to nylon?
 

FWIW:

Most of the cable ties that I see used are made entirely of Nylon and are
typically white although other colors exist.  For most applications, the
standard Nylon is OK but it does not stand up well to UV radiation (aka sun
light).

Cable tie manufacturers have a UV resistant formulation available which is
typically black in color.

I have had several of the standard ones holding cork balls to the grab
loops of my spray skirts and also keeping the cut ends of deck bungies from
unraveling for several years without a failure but perhaps some caution
should be used with your skirt.  Here's why:

A couple of years ago I was with a group on an evening paddle on the Hudson
River near Cold Spring.  We stopped while a thunderstorm passed and, when I
was about to get back into my boat, the spray skirt bungy knot became
undone and the bungy slipped inside the skirt.  At first I didn't want to
hold up the group but I felt uncomfortable (both literally and
figuratively) so I borrowed a pair of needle nose pliers and took the time
to fish out the bungy and re-do the knot.  Later, during a very dark part
of the paddle, the wind kicked up and, if I had a loose skirt, I definitely
would have taken on a bunch of water, which may have made my boat tippy,
which may have led to a swim in the dark, which may have...

The moral:  Don't wait until the water is crashing down on your skirt to
find out the mechanism for preserving the tension in your bungy doesn't work.

So, this is my long winded way of saying that you can get cable ties that
are ALL Nylon.  Can't you tell it's late on a Friday afternoon?

Bill Leonhardt
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