Hose Clamps Done Right!

First of all I owe my loyal readers an apology...I've just been too busy the last several weeks to post here. But, the good news is I have been gathering literally hundreds of photos I can share with you over the next year. My excuse is that I was working as a judge for Cruising World Magazine's Boat of the Year competition. Not a bad gig in all, as I got to sail 22 brand new boats this year and tear right into their inner souls.

 This week I'm at the International Boat Builder's Exhibition (IBEX) in Louisville, Kentucky and I'm sure I'm going to find even more good info I can share. So, let's get started with some of my observations. Hose clamps done right is important to insure leaks don't happen and the truth is some folks just plain get it wrong. The photo below shows the right way to stagger double clamps where they are used:

As you can see, the clamps have several attributes that are important. They are made entirely of stainless steel, not the automotive variety which will use a stainless band and a plated mild steel screw mechanism that is going to rust up and make the clamp useless. The clamps are the right size. The "tail" extending out from the screw mechanism is not excessively long and not too short either. Finally, the clamps are offset and staggered in such a way that the puckered hose under the clamp creates a sort of labyrinth which will stop fluid flow in its tracks. Some people like to see all the screw heads lined up like a row of pidgeons on a power line. That looks good, but just doesn't work as well.