Do much electrical work on boat and you are sure to use cable ties – called zip ties by some. These are great at bundling cables and making everything neat and tidy but once pulled up nice and snug you have to trim off the excess tail. In some cases this is not a big deal, a pair of side cutters makes fast work of this, but in other cases where space is tight you can’t really see what you are doing. There is always the danger that you may inadvertently cut, or at least nick on the newly installed cables or the waste end of the tie will fly off and likely as not end up in the bilge or some other spot from which it cannot be retrieved. Trimmed ends of ties can also cut you very badly as they can end up extremely sharp which can be a hazard, I’ve lost blood to many a boat I was working on for this one simple reason.
But now it turns out there is another way. Anchor marine, makers and distributors of almost all things electrical for boats have come up with a self-cutting cable tie. With a simple twist the end is cut, no tools required, and best of all nothing to be lost in the bilge and no sharp edge to catch an unwary hand.
It’s so new there is no picture or pricing available yet. Apparently they will be in stores starting in December.
Hi Mark, I looked at these recently and found they do not have the same load capacity as a traditional wire tie. This test was not done in a lab but there was a noticeable difference. Everyone should be using flush cuts or wire tie guns.
Posted by: Adam | February 17, 2016 at 11:38 AM
Adam
Great to hear from you. I confess that I saw these at a trade show and as yet have not used these on any of my projects. However, I do like the idea that these self trim. In some places you may be able to get a set of cutters in there, but not another hand to catch the loose end. If you snip the end off it always seems to dissapear into the bilge.
Posted by: Mark | February 22, 2016 at 12:26 PM