ice and water guard?

[northstarjim]

I tried to find some Ice and Water guard tape (as recommended by some people on Sailnet) for use around the base of the mast, but the stuff at Home Depot is 3 feet wide by 24 feet long ($$$) Does it come in smaller size??

[bubb2]

Are you talking about Mast boot tape?

[lbdavis]

Grab a six pack of cold beer and head to that house in your neighborhood that's getting a new roof.

You'll barter yourself all you need.

Why do all my suggestions seem to involve beer?

[lbdavis]

Originally Posted by bubb2

Are you talking about Mast boot tape?

Bubb, I believe Jim is referring to Grace Ice and Water Shield, which is used on roofs. He wants to use it as boot tape as suggested by ?Freesail? I beleive it would be quite effective.

I was discussing this option with Soulesailor the other day (offline) and he suggested covering the ad hoc boot tape with some type of protectant as the Bituthane (Grace I&W) is not very sturdy against UV - it was never designed to see it.

[DrB]

on anything on your boat! I used to work for WR Grace and did R&D and Manufacturing of this stuff all the time. It is a black sticky and oily mess of Bitumen. Put it on anything will stain it severly. It is not UV or weather resistant. It needs to be covered with another membrane in order to not fall apart. The membrane it is coated on has some stretch, but not a lot. It won't drape or wrap around 3D contours smoothly.

If you don't heed my advice, it is a complete nightmare to clean up and you will curse yourself for not listening to me.

DrB

[Freesail99]

I have used Ice and Watershield without a major problem. Your also covering the same area all the time with the boot or Ice & Watershield. But if someone has made the stuff, they know far more then I.

[DrB]

As the Primary Boot Tape and then overwrapped it with cosmetic stuff? How did you get it to contour wrap without wrinkles or buckles? Did any of the adhesive come in contact with the gel coat/deck? Did it stain?

I am interested in your response, because everything that this stuff touched (when I worked with it) was stained and an absolute nightmare to clean if you ever wanted to remove it.

DrB

[lbdavis]

Originally Posted by DrB

because everything that this stuff touched (when I worked with it) was stained and an absolute nightmare to clean if you ever wanted to remove it.

DrB

Thus the lasting moniker of Bit@#athane, long after the trademark Bituthane was gone.

[Freesail99]

DrB,

I didn't have to much of an issue with the contours. I just took my time and smoothed it out as I went. As far as UV break down, I had it on as long as 2 years when it started showing signs of degrading. The use of this product was shown to me a long time ago by an older sailor.

Yes there were some black marks left behind when it was removed. But my point was when you redo the boot, you cover all that up again, so does it really matter. The magic eraser worked well in removing those stains for me.