SUGRU - A Miracle for Boaters

[Roy M]

Check out this product, it is revolutionary for cruisers :sugru | the exciting new self-setting rubber for making, fixing, and improving your stuff

I have been using it for a couple months and I'm hooked. It's a moldable silicone putty that cures to a relatively hard surface that absorbs shocks, is waterproof, and easily removable. Look at the "hacks", the improvised solutions to problems, that users love to report. I recently used it to cover some nylock nuts on a hatch installation to prevent generating lumps on my head from bumping into the protruding bits. Simply amazing.

[zUrchin]

I can already think of a dozen uses for boats, home repair, or even just creating fun stuff. I'd have to give it a try before I'd give it a thumbs up though. Oh, most photos show the bright colors of this stuff, but I did check and it does come in black. They even showed of it for as a way to make a gasket for an engine since it handles a very wide range of temperatures.

The possibilities are endless! But then, there's all too often the wide chasm between marketing and reality. Only one way to find out.

I too would like to hear what others think.

[bobconnie]

Don't know about engine gaskets, but it might work really well for those darn bruise makers that almost all boats have !! just my 2 cents

[projectsugru]

Hi Roy, zUrchin, Bob and Connie -

I work at sugru and often see that this is a topic for discussion amongst sailors such as yourselves! We're aware that there are loads of ways for sugru to be helpful in marine situations, but as we're stuck in our offices in London we are best positioned to explore them...so if you'd like to get in touch to share your pictures or suggestions with us, that would be amazing! I may be able to send you complementary packs if there are particular uses you want to try

Anyway, if this appeals, please share your experience! Hopefully talk soon!

[noelex 77]

Looks like a great product. It would be very useful to waterproof electrical conection on boats. Glue lined heat shrink is often used, but it often cannot be applied after a joint has been made.
Self amalgaming rubber weld tape is often used on boats, but this looks better.
The only problem I can see is the shortish self life.

You need to get it into chandleries.

[denverd0n]

Like noelex said, the one problem that I see is that it has to be used in 6 months. Meaning that it is not a product that you can buy, stick in a drawer or tool box, and count on it being ready to use a year or two down the line when an emergency comes up.

Extend that shelf life to a couple of years, though, and then I might be ready to use the word "miracle" to describe it.

[HopCar]

I was considering stocking it in my store, but the shelf life is just too short. I think I'd end up throwing a lot of it away. Until the shelf life problem is solved I think internet/mail order direct from the factory is the best way to market this product.

[witzgall]

Ditto, Extend the shelf life, and you will have a new customer!

Chris

[Roy M]

I bought the small bag of black and white packets. It wasn't expensive. I just found it again, down in the bottom of one of my tool bags. It's still good. I think of it like a small tube of 5200. I seem to always be finding a use for it, and it doesn't take long for them to ship me a new packet.

If you don't have it, you can't try it. On the other hand, if you don't try it, you can still complain about it. Everybody gets a chance to be happy. Thanks projectsugru, I'll be sending in some photos. I love this stuff.

[s/v Beth]

It would be good if those that were using this stuff made a list of what they found it great for. I am usually against silicon but am willing to learn.

[zUrchin]

When exploring their website there was a small hidden hint I read. You can double the 6 month shelf life if you stored the unused/unopened packets in the refrigerator.

[Roy M]

For the moment, I've been using it solely for making custom "rubber baby buggy bumpers" to protect myself and others from hard edges, protruding bolts and nuts, and, most recently, as a cabin front bumper to protect a new Lewmar deck hatch cover when the hatch opens to its extreme. So far I've used only the white, but I'm considering using some on my sextant to protect some edges. In the home page for Sugru, they show lots of interesting uses. The stuff forms a firm, yet yielding cushion that takes the edge off of bonks. One guy formed little bits of it all around a digital camera, allowing his young child to take pictures, yet allow for the occasional drop or fumble, without any damage. There are some cool videos on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jLbR...e=results_main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdFtebwpsaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeJsH...=results_video

That's a good start. It really is a lot of fun to mess with.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by zUrchin

When exploring their website there was a small hidden hint I read. You can double the 6 month shelf life if you stored the unused/unopened packets in the refrigerator.

This stuff sounds interesting and with all the jobs I keep putting off I,ll surly get find some use for a pack.
Last time I stored something useful, frozen sand eels, in the freezer, they disappeared. Maybe it was the cat as no one ever owned up
Centaur

[projectsugru]

Hello all!

Thanks for all your observations and tips, we really appreciate the feedback!

Noelex 77 - waterproofing electrical connections is a great idea, we didn't know that current materials used to do that had drawbacks, so thanks! If you know of a few chandleries that you'd like to see sugru stocked in, do get in touch with us.

HopCar - the shelf life can sound daunting but we have a very carefully organized supply schedule to retailer and e-tailers that makes life easy for resellers. We now offer small taster packs too, which are handy if you want to gauge customer interest in a low key way.

And here's the blogpost zUrchin mentioned - yep, you can double sugru's shelf life by storing it in the fridge sugru.com/blog/new-tip-to-extend-the-shelf-life-of-your-unused-sugru-keep-it-in-the-fridge/

Roy M - looking forward to seeing your photos! We'll be sharing them with our community so they can pick up tips

If anyone wants to get in touch, please do - you can find contact details for Jane (sugru's inventor) on the website. Hope to chat soon!

[sharpey]

This is a zany idea...

How about lining the bottom of the bilge with Sugru... given it's resistance to oil... it'd keep water out of the fibreglass... wouldn't be cheap to do though!

Tell me this is a bad idea please... I just got my order of Sugru in and am feeling dangerously creative.