mystery design for rudder post seal

Jul 13, 2014
4
irwin 26 fort lauderdale
Hello all. I own a 1975 Irwin 26' 1040. i noticed water in the bilge coming in at about 1-2 gallons/hour while boat is in use, and about 2 gallons/day when not in use. the leak is definitely coming from the rudder post. I have never changed/repacked a packing gland before. so I don't quite know what I'm looking at. But upon initial inspection, Im positive that whoever had the boat before me created some sort of jerry rig that failed. can someone confirm or deny how i can move foreword with installing the right gear/parts to run as the boat was originally designed to do?

what i found:

a rubber hose overlapping the stationary part of the shaft, that extended upward to the moving part of the post. however, both sides were fastened with a hose clamp on each end, and the hose was found shredded in half due to the fact that rubber hoses don't have a flexible rotation that allows them to go 90 degrees like that. I was able to remove the hose and hose clamps and the attached picture is the hardware that remains. The graphite looking part is stationary with the hull, everything inside, and above it rotates with the steering. Is this what is needed to install a traditional packing gland? or is it supposed to be a different design all together.

any and all direction is greatly appreciated.
 

Attachments

Jul 25, 2007
320
-Irwin -Citation 40 Wilmington, NC
The white part is a stuffing box it is made of nylon plastic, (top nut screws into the bottom nut.) there should be a hose between it and the tube glassed to the hull. If the stuffing box is turning with the shaft it is stuck to the shaft. You will have to drop the rudder to replace the hose and you might want to go ahead and replace the stuffing box while you are at it. Good luck
 
Jul 13, 2014
4
irwin 26 fort lauderdale
Aha, sailvayu that actually makes some sense. Woodster, he's speaking if the plastic nuts at the upper part of that shaft. Would you concur?
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
The white part is a stuffing box it is made of nylon plastic, (top nut screws into the bottom nut.) there should be a hose between it and the tube glassed to the hull. If the stuffing box is turning with the shaft it is stuck to the shaft. You will have to drop the rudder to replace the hose and you might want to go ahead and replace the stuffing box while you are at it. Good luck
Bingo!!