Can't remove packing

Hermit Scott · Apr 30, 2009

I woudn't run it with two different types of packing. I would run it with the old and not put a new piece before I would run it with two different ages or different materials. The reason why is when you tighten it to slow the leak, it could be too much pressure on the old or the new and not engough on the other and burn a section of your shaft.
To get the old packing out you need to locate where the splice is on that first piece you are trying to get at, and pry from there.

Ross · Apr 30, 2009

How long do you think it would take to pull the shaft? I think you should go back and persist with picking at the old packing until you have frayed it, then it will start to yield to your efforts. I wouldn't get near it with any power tools. If you mar the shaft you could be in trouble.

Don S/V ILLusion · Apr 30, 2009

It's not unusual for old packing to be very difficult to remove and you have the proper tools. Keep picking at it with the dental pick until it begins to flake off at which point it will be easier to grab larger sections. Sometimes wetting it overnight may help but either way, you'll have more peace of mind knowing it's completely removed before adding new material.

chelsabella · Apr 30, 2009

packing removal

Did the job last year. Used the same tools you mentioned with no results. Purchased a craftsman pick with a 90 degree angle and sharp point and did as the other posts mentioned. Picked at it until it frayed and then was able to get all three rings out. Goes quick as they stated if you find the seam I repacked with GFO.,

Ron
Chels-A-Bella
C-30 3532
Narragansett Bay, RI

Ed Schenck · Apr 30, 2009

Common problem for sure. I have had more success with your idea than any other. A small drill bit can be used to break the ring(s) into small segments. Then the pick has something to get hold of. Persistent picking will eventually also work as others have pointed out.

Maine Sail · Apr 30, 2009

The 90 degree..

As mentioned the good quality 90 degree picks work well as do sheetrock screws. If it's that hard it really, really, really needs to come out!!

Ross · Apr 30, 2009

John said:
If I mar the shaft up beyond (forward of) or closer to the transmission from where the packing nut tightens down, will this cause a problem? In other words, my understanding is that the area of the shaft under where the packing is must be smoothe. But if it is a part of the shaft beyond this, how will this affect things?

Any damage to the shaft can serve as stress risers. Mainesail suggests drywall screws, they are a good idea and driven by hand will be safe. Unless you have much experience with power tools this a place you should work by hand.

Rick Degregorio · Apr 30, 2009

Packing removal

I've always had the best luck with a corse thred drywall screw. Just scew it in a little and pull out with pliers.Very important to use the right size packing and right amount,and also use two wrenches to lock it in.

jaysweet · Apr 30, 2009

Re: Packing removal

Just did this for the first time in March. I have to say, it was a b**ch to get 4-year-old packing out. Took me one hour for each ring. I just picked at it with the pick until it got looser and I eventually found the seam, at which time it just pulled out in one piece.

Guess I was a little dense about the "drywall screw" idea. I made one pick at home by sharpening the end of a drywall screw with a grinder, heating it, and bending it to nearly 90 degrees. Made another pick with a coat hanger, also bent to 90 degrees and sharpened on the end. The coat hanger worked better. It didn't occur to me until about 1 hour into the procedure that I was supposed to screw a drywall screw into the packing, but at that point, I was out at the boat without a supply of them anyhow.

Another thing that surprised me: when we launched with the new packing in place (4 rings went in easily), I didn't tighten the stuffing box very tightly, based on the warnings on Maine Sail's site. But the water was coming in at a pretty good clip, so we ended up tightening the nut another 3 or 4 full turns until the stream slowed to 2 drops per second. After motoring around to the slip, it had dropped to 1 per second. Unwilling to leave the boat like this, I tightened it up 2 flats until it stopped entirely. Plan to loosen it back up before we motor the first time, to avoid having it be too tight.

Comments on this last bit are welcome!

Jay

Guest · Apr 30, 2009

Packing

I had the same problem when we purchased our 1991 boat in 2002. I suspect it was the original material. It rook at least an hour or more using an angled dental pick to get the old hard stuff removed. But out it came. I replaced it with three rows of 3/16th inch teflon flax.

I've hand tightened the box twice since then so that the drip rate was zero at rest and about six per minute while spinning. I plan on replacing the packing this year even though it should be good for a few more years. If I can squeeze in four rows, that will be great.

Terry Cox

Ron20324 · Apr 30, 2009

chelsabella said:
Did the job last year. Used the same tools you mentioned with no results. Purchased a craftsman pick with a 90 degree angle and sharp point and did as the other posts mentioned.

The 90-degree hook is also called a cotter pin removal tool- An excellent tool to keep on the boat.

Stu Jackson · Apr 30, 2009

Rick Degregorio said:
I've always had the best luck with a corse thred drywall screw. Just scew it in a little and pull out with pliers.

Would simply add: use a screwdriver to screw it in. that's why they made screws: to use a screwdriver!

Last paragraph here: http://c34.org/faq-pages/faq-stuffing-box.html

Roger Long · May 1, 2009

Since you are going to all this trouble, use GFO packing. The Teflon impregnated flax isn't much better than the regular flax because the flax is still an insulator. The GFO (same stuff as Gor Tex) conducts heat to the metal stuffing box and cools the shaft and packing with minimial or no water drip.

More here:

http://www.rogerlongboats.com/Strider06work.htm#Flax

RAD · May 1, 2009

" in case all else fails - a stick of dynamite. But don't worry, if I have to use the dynamite, I'll have a long enough fuse that I'll be able to get off the boat before it goes off. "

John,
Make sure you tie a line onto the stuffing box so after the dynamite goes off you won't lose the stuffing box

Stu Jackson · May 1, 2009

Ooops, guess I should have added

that the gore packing is also an option. I wrote that in 1998 when I first did my own packing in the water and before gore was invented. Since back then Al Gore (NPI) hadn't yet invented the internet and we had a small website going for our C34s, and no one had yet written this up in any kind of detail, I gave it a shot. I keep referencing it, but keep forgetting to add the gore (and the wingbats and witches...

).

Blitz · May 1, 2009

Drywall screw is the key

I had similar problems with my packing a few weeks ago. Used all the tools noted, broke the flax removal tool in about a minute so I can't recommend them. The drywall screw (#4 or #6, about 2" long) was the key to success. Screw it in, pull a little but don't pull it out of the flax and screw it in a little more. Persistence, sweat and a drywall screw - good luck!

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