Tidbit: Wire hose clamps, repairs, and seizing

This is one of a series of brief, no nonsense posts that we call aTidbit: 

noun; small and [possibly] particularly interesting item of gossip or information...

The purpose is to share succinct posts about lessons learned, or things we use or do that work [or don't...] that are common to most of us boaters. 

The goal is to garner feedback from those of you having first-hand experience with a different approach/ solution/ product/ or additional useful information to share...  

We never assume what we are sharing is the ideal or only; it just seems to best suit our needs [and/or habits and/or budget] from our experiences thus far...

Note: The original blog post [below] has been inducted into Tidbits since it qualifies, but was published 3 years before we initiated the Tidbit series in Jan-2019...

[First published 11-Jan-2016; Updated 27-Mar-2019]

                               ➛ ➛ Peruse the right-hand sidebar for the up-to-date list of Tidbits ➛ ➛                               

One of my favorite tools is the ClampTite wire seizing tool.

It is great for clamping hoses of any diameter, repairs, safety wiring, seizing shackles, etc. 

The tool linked below is the heavy duty version I use. [Stay away from the lighter duty version with the aluminum wingnut as it is much fussier to use from my experience. The leverage and inertia gained using the bronze T-knob on the heavy duty version, below, really smooths the operation...]

CLT01L - Clamptite - 5 1/4" Stainless Steel Tool w/ Aluminum Bronze T-Bar Nut Lanyard Extension

There are two ways to use this tool:

• The double wrap is great for hose clamping, repairs, etc. 
• This is nothing more than a Prusik Knot using wire
• And a Prusik Knot is nothing more than a Cow Hitch with one or more extra turns.... 
• The single wrap is a good way to seize safety wiring 
• e.g., Anchor shackles, seizing cleats to shrouds, etc. 

You can use just about any wire, but I mainly keep the following sizes and alloys on hand:

• .032" [304 and 316]
• .041" [304 and 316]
• .051" [316 and 400- for seizing anchor shackles, etc.] 
• .061" [304]

Clamptite has a good overview of which wire and tool size to use for what, and some additional videos.

Here is another vendor with videos and photos which will help you better understand uses and using this handy tool.

The Clamptite site has good illustrations and a brief video demonstrating how to use the tool for both the single and double wrap styles I mentioned above.

Do you have some favorite unusual tools?