Help! Leaky packing gland

[garymcg]

Greetings

The packing gland on my fairly new-to-me boat is dripping about 15 drops per minute while the boat is at rest. How do I tighten up the gland pictured below:



I assume the outer nuts are lock nuts, and I just back them off then tighten the inner nuts.

Please point me in the right direction if you are familiar with this unit.

Thanks in advance.

Gary

[therapy23]

Yep.
Spray a little Corrosion-X on that stuff while you are at it.

Don't over tighten it!

Re-Packing A Traditional Stuffing Box Photo Gallery by Maine Sailing at pbase.com

[DrB]

That would be my approach. Before doing so, put some "liquid wrench" anti-corriosion stuff on the bolts to make them easier to turn and not snap them when you try to loosen the nuts.

DrB

[JimsCAL]

Yes Gary, the outer nuts lock the gland after adjustment. Just back those off, tighten the inner nuts (just a little bit at a time!!), then retighten the outer lock nuts. Make sure you don't overtighten the gland. You should get an occasional drip when running. Using two wrenches - one to hold the inner nuts while you tighten the outer ones - is the way to go.