Equipment- can't do without!!!

At the risk of getting the thread side tracked, which is not the intent, I have wondered about the "Duck" Vs "Duct". Dan's version is varified by the "Duct tape guys", the experts in the field. In our local area most of what is sold is "Duck" (registered trade mark, with a parent company of Henkel North America--who also holds the brands "Locktite", "Purex", Right Guard, soaps, cosmetics and a host of others). The Duck products company refers to their product as "duct tape". The "Duck" (r) tape come
in 5 strengths and 18 colors. The also make a HVAC tape with foil, as well as a host of other tapes (carpet, packing etc). Incidently I didn't find much differnce between the "utility" and the "ultimate" in the long term. But I suspose that it is best to use the most expensive in boat repair....after all it is "marine".

There is also Gaffer's tape or photographers tape--as noted in another post, which is occasionally confused with duck or duct tape.

3M also makes "duct" tape--both in silver, black, olive and assorted colors.
Shurford also makes both "duct" tape and Gaffer's tape.
Plus there are a host of Chinese and other knock offs of the various tapes.

Although I don't rely on Wikipedia for information it is interesting reading the various comments attempting to varify the story about the origin of the use of the word "duck" tape. I suspect that this may remain a mystery, but the WWII story sounds as good as any.

I have found a wide variation in both the quality of the fabric and the adhesive (both as far as "adhesive" property, and residue left--not always -correlating. Needless to say I always carry a roll of duct tape --usually 3M--(that is what I have called it for most of my life) on my boats. It is handy stuff. The Duct tape guys say that the "Duck" (r) Xtreme is the best adhesive--so maybe I should revisit it.
 
People might enjoy this link which refers to testing done a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on different tapes for sealing duct work. In brief, testing showed that "duct tape" of the type normally referred to as duct tape (e.g. duck tape) was actually the worst tape for sealing duct work. The foil stuff works well be the cloth duck tape was actually the worst tape of all for sealing duct work. Anyone whose ever been around hot air ducts that were sealed with duck tape knows the typical failure mode - dried out tape that separates.
 
dogon dory":1zyalq7w said:
<stuff clipped>

I can't believe Sea Wolf hasn't pitched in on this subject.
Click to expand...


The "duct" vs. "duck" tape issue had me wondering, too.

I just thought it was "duct" tape for HVAC use, and the "duck" was a misnomer spelling because the two words either are or sound like homonyms. Simple me. Should have consulted with Wickipedia, one of my favorite instant IT resources.

It's great for temporary repairs, but as noted, falls apart in the sun and/or when heated for any time.

For real strength, I often use the fiberglass reinforced packaging tape, which is incredibly strong when wrapped fully around something several times.

Some years ago when we were racing dinghy sailboats in S.F. Bay, one promising young teenage skipper from the San Francisco Yacht Club put the name "Duct Tape" on his transom to commemorate the fact that they used it to make "temporary" repairs on their boat that usually became permanent.

This young sailor name was John Kostecki, who has since matured into a world class competitive sailor and slippered in such events at the Volvo Round the World Race. We also were treated to the young likes of Paul Cayard and many others who later rose to world status in competitive sailing. San Francisco Bay is a great incubator of sailing talent!

Cheers! Joe. :teeth
 
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