Page 245 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Favorite Goops
Most of the things I carry with me are tools, but there and can say that even low-salt (creamy) peanut
are a few substances that I dispense in the course of butter is probably better than nothing, but that two
rigging work. Here are some of my favorites. products stand out. One is called Eck, and the other
is Tef-Gel. I cannot overstate the importance of hav-
One-Drop ing one of these on any dissimilar metal surfaces that
This is a lubricant/conditioner specifically formulated are in contact with each other. Either one will last
for open-race, plastic ball-bearings. If you have a longer than anything else I know of, even in the trop-
Schaefer or Harken furler, you need to put a drop of ics. Both can be used very sparingly; a barely visible
this into the bearing races. Do so after every time you coating is all you need.
rinse the bearings out. You do rinse the bearings out
regularly, right? 3M 4000UV Sealant
One-Drop is also perfect for things like traveler This is the stuff I use inside mechanical wire termi-
car bearings and blocks with open races. It really nals, and for most hardware bedding jobs (although
does only take one drop; the stuff distributes itself see below).
wonderfully.
One-Drop is made by the McLube company. Bedit Butyl Tape
Butyl rubber can make an extremely effective hard-
Zero ware bedding material. But it usually doesn’t. This
Another lubricant, this one for metal parts. It is bio- is because it comes in a, um, variety of formulations
degradable, non-toxic (including aquatically), doesn’t (i.e., most of it is crap). But the good formulation of
burn, doesn’t smell bad. A wonderful general-purpose this stuff is fantastic: suitably adhesive; tremendously
oil. Most frequent use: winch pawls. elastic, to stay with components as they shift and
vibrate; and very, very durable.
Eck and Tef-Gel
Galvanic corrosion is one of the banes of contempo-
rary rigging. I’ve tried many products over the years,

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