Stuffing Box

[krozet]

Anyway to tell if I have to replace the fill in the stuffing box before I put the boat in the water?



Robert

[eMKay]

I would just do it, then you can get a look at your shaft too.

[CalebD]

And if you 'just do it' then you wont have to worry about it for a number of years.
Re-Packing A Traditional Stuffing Box Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com

[Faster]

Got a better angle? Sorry, but that could be (and looks more like) a picture of John Deere tractor parts than a standard stuffing box/shaft log!

[krozet]

Originally Posted by Faster

Got a better angle? Sorry, but that could be (and looks more like) a picture of John Deere tractor parts than a standard stuffing box/shaft log!

Sorry, I don't. The one area of the boat that I seem to be lacking on pictures in under the sole of the cockpit. I was hanging upside down barely able to get my shoulders in the hole with a DSLR snapping pictures. I have pictures of the transmission, the batteries, the seacocks, the plumbing in that area... But this is the only shot I seem to have of the stuffing box. Well i'll be honest, I think it's the stuffing box, the shaft coming out of it leads to the transmission and there is nothing else that exits the hull in that area other than the seacock.

Please forgive the green behind my ears.

Robert

[Faster]

Originally Posted by krozet

Please forgive the green behind my ears.

Robert

Hey Robert... just funnin' ya.

But to be honest, I've never seen an arrangement quite like that before. I do see the stuffing box, of course, but what's different is the rigid connection (looks like a pipe coupling) rather than the more typical clamped hose section. Also the plastic(?) follower looks odd, as does the slight angle it all seems to be at. Not a standard arrangement, and the various levers and links in the shot are blocking the view.

Now IS the time to take it apart and figure it out, while you're still on the hard. It may be worth your while to replace the whole lot with something more standard for future ease of maintenance.

[krozet]

Originally Posted by Faster

Hey Robert... just funnin' ya.

But to be honest, I've never seen an arrangement quite like that before. I do see the stuffing box, of course, but what's different is the rigid connection (looks like a pipe coupling) rather than the more typical clamped hose section. Also the plastic(?) follower looks odd, as does the slight angle it all seems to be at. Not a standard arrangement, and the various levers and links in the shot are blocking the view.

Now IS the time to take it apart and figure it out, while you're still on the hard. It may be worth your while to replace the whole lot with something more standard for future ease of maintenance.

I'm heading back down to my boat April 15th. I will be spending 10 days working on her and I have a budget of just about $12,000 for repairs, a refit and cleaning. The engine is my #1 priority, some fiberglass tabbing is #2, I guess #3 just got bumped to make room for a tear down and rebuild of the stuffing box. Guess I have A LOT more reading to do, I only know what the basic purpose of the stuffing box is, not how to build one.

The hope is to have her in the water before I head back to Canada. That way when I head down in May to sail her back to Canada I can spend more time just cruising the Chesapeake and getting use to the boat. If I need to do more work before her splash, I can do it in May before the launch...

That's the reason for all the questions, I am getting my ducks in a row as it were before I start tearing into each project.

[CalebD]

Faster is correct. The gear in your pic does not look exactly like the 'traditional stuffing box' pictured in Mainesail's project gallery link I posted earlier.
If your stuffing box is dripping a lot and can't be tightened any more to stem the flow of water with the shaft at rest then you already needed to replace the 'packing' material. If the packing material is 5 - 10 years old it probably should be replaced. I would hate to have this kind of problem pop up on my trip back up north to Canada where I might be motoring for perhaps hours at a time.
I hope you have a great trip on your way up the Chessy, the coast and the Hudson to home. Sounds like a fun trip.

[krozet]

Originally Posted by CalebD

Faster is correct. The gear in your pic does not look exactly like the 'traditional stuffing box' pictured in Mainesail's project gallery link I posted earlier.
If your stuffing box is dripping a lot and can't be tightened any more to stem the flow of water with the shaft at rest then you already needed to replace the 'packing' material. If the packing material is 5 - 10 years old it probably should be replaced. I would hate to have this kind of problem pop up on my trip back up north to Canada where I might be motoring for perhaps hours at a time.
I hope you have a great trip on your way up the Chessy, the coast and the Hudson to home. Sounds like a fun trip.

I've got the phone number of every marina between Annapolis and Toronto, and my insurance came with tow coverage, I'll have 2 backup bilge pumps as well as a new manual pump... Worst case scenario, I have a life jacket and a hand held VHF. Best of all I have 26 days to make the trip so anything comes up I'll have time to stop. Besides, if all goes as planned I will have the boat in the water in April and I will know if it is leaking long before I leave. If something happens on the trip, well I am planning for what could happen, heck I could get hit by lightening or attacked by a swarm of Canadian Geese... Cant plan for everything.

[krozet]

Am I an idiot? Is that what controls the rudder?