ok The dripless sounds great. Is installation ok for the boat owner or is this work for the pro. Bill
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Not much magic when the boat is out of the water!
Bill: From all of the postings, it is not magic. I believe that the most difficult part is getting the flange off of the shaft. When you put it back, you also want to be sure that it is securely fastened back on the shaft.
Bill: From all of the postings, it is not magic. I believe that the most difficult part is getting the flange off of the shaft. When you put it back, you also want to be sure that it is securely fastened back on the shaft.
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Edmund Shanahan
It's worth the trouble
I changed mine to a dripless 2 years ago, and it has performed flawlessly. There are two bumps in the installation. The first is removing the coupling half attached to the shaft. Use a shaft like piece of steel (like a sacrificial socket slightly less than the diameter of the shaft) and place it between the coupling halves exactly dead center. Have a selection of nuts and bolts long enough to bolt up the coupler with the steel piece in the middle acting as a pusher on the propellor shaft. Tighten the bolts, going aroung the bolt pattern half a turn at a time. This even pressure will drive out the shaft from the coupler, no banging, no fuss. If you don't get any movement, stop, you are not seated in the center of the shaft and will break something. You should have just a little bit of movement with each full circumference tightening sequence. Put a piece of tape on the shaft at the entry into the coupling for visual reference of movement. Also, that will tell if it goes back in as much when you are done. The second bump is the shaft itself. It must be straight, and between the new dripless seal and the coupling half it must be smooth without dings or irregularities. The dripless shaft seal is really two O-rings that slide very tightly with lubrication down the shaft from the coupler end. Just a simple ding or burr in the shaft will cut the O-rings. I took this opportunity to remove the shaft and take it to a machine shop. First I wanted to measure the shaft for bends and then have them smooth it. Since the shaft had a small S bend in it, I opted for them to make a new Almag shaft. Less than $150 for a 1" x 72" shaft, machined and fitted to my existing prop and coupler half. That was a no-brainer. I was so impressed with this machine shop I'll dig up the contact information if you would like. They're in Norfolk, not too far from you to work with. Ask on this post or email me. All of this is in the well written directions that are provided with the dripless device. But at least this will let you know it is certainly achievable, and worth it.
I changed mine to a dripless 2 years ago, and it has performed flawlessly. There are two bumps in the installation. The first is removing the coupling half attached to the shaft. Use a shaft like piece of steel (like a sacrificial socket slightly less than the diameter of the shaft) and place it between the coupling halves exactly dead center. Have a selection of nuts and bolts long enough to bolt up the coupler with the steel piece in the middle acting as a pusher on the propellor shaft. Tighten the bolts, going aroung the bolt pattern half a turn at a time. This even pressure will drive out the shaft from the coupler, no banging, no fuss. If you don't get any movement, stop, you are not seated in the center of the shaft and will break something. You should have just a little bit of movement with each full circumference tightening sequence. Put a piece of tape on the shaft at the entry into the coupling for visual reference of movement. Also, that will tell if it goes back in as much when you are done. The second bump is the shaft itself. It must be straight, and between the new dripless seal and the coupling half it must be smooth without dings or irregularities. The dripless shaft seal is really two O-rings that slide very tightly with lubrication down the shaft from the coupler end. Just a simple ding or burr in the shaft will cut the O-rings. I took this opportunity to remove the shaft and take it to a machine shop. First I wanted to measure the shaft for bends and then have them smooth it. Since the shaft had a small S bend in it, I opted for them to make a new Almag shaft. Less than $150 for a 1" x 72" shaft, machined and fitted to my existing prop and coupler half. That was a no-brainer. I was so impressed with this machine shop I'll dig up the contact information if you would like. They're in Norfolk, not too far from you to work with. Ask on this post or email me. All of this is in the well written directions that are provided with the dripless device. But at least this will let you know it is certainly achievable, and worth it.
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Craig Young
PSS
I've had my PSS shaft seal or packless for about 3 or 4 years. Installed it myself, burped it each time I haul out and I wouldn't have it any other way.Edmund has the step by step down pat. Between the PSS and the Feathering prop the only thing I have to do now is replace the strut. Good luck. Its worth it. The old saying "No runs, No drips, No errors.
I've had my PSS shaft seal or packless for about 3 or 4 years. Installed it myself, burped it each time I haul out and I wouldn't have it any other way.Edmund has the step by step down pat. Between the PSS and the Feathering prop the only thing I have to do now is replace the strut. Good luck. Its worth it. The old saying "No runs, No drips, No errors.
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Bill O'Donovan
Caution
There was a lot of commentary on this two weeks ago (see "stuffing box" under the Archives). Worst-case scenario was pretty scary if the seal breaks unattended or out to sea, but the odds seemed pretty remote too. Me, I'm going to compromise by using Teflon 3/16ths shaped in typical flax circles.
There was a lot of commentary on this two weeks ago (see "stuffing box" under the Archives). Worst-case scenario was pretty scary if the seal breaks unattended or out to sea, but the odds seemed pretty remote too. Me, I'm going to compromise by using Teflon 3/16ths shaped in typical flax circles.
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Andy Falls
What do the big guys do
I went back and read several articles in the archives and I'm still unsure about dripless or conventional. Can any of you charter dogs out there tell us what is on the heavily (ab)used charter fleets? Do they go dripless or do they pack regularly? Do they use goretex, teflon, or the cheap stuff?
I went back and read several articles in the archives and I'm still unsure about dripless or conventional. Can any of you charter dogs out there tell us what is on the heavily (ab)used charter fleets? Do they go dripless or do they pack regularly? Do they use goretex, teflon, or the cheap stuff?
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