FAVORITE SAIBOAT SUPPLT (free boat) Needs stuff

[sailormanbigd]

hi, I am going to replace the packing inside the rudder post on the morgan 33 out island on my next day off. Where do you get this stuff to stuffit with. A plumbers supply house. Did a search of forum archives and found no links for suppliers. So, for everything sailing, reasonable, proffessional, large selection-where do you shop. I will try to rebuild the free boat with good used stuff, but for something like rudder post stuffing box-and driveshaft for that matter, where do i get it new? Thanks, and by the way it is going good so far. The kids tore in to the removal of junk that was not needed, or rusted, rotten, etc. My youngest (14) even brought a friend to help/hangout. They spent most of their time fishing, though. THanks, Patrick.

 

[Ross]

Patrick, Mainsail posted a fine essay on

repacking a stuffing box some time back. I couldn't find it on a quick search but you may be more motivated than I. So do an archive search. West marine carries packing in several types and sizes and enough to do one gland costs about 2 bucks.

 

[letterman]

check this out

there might be some stuff you will need sooner or later Patrick. It will probably be on this sight.

 

[Bill O'D]

Here's how to repack Stuffing Box

Stuffing box best replaced on the hards, not in the waterREMOVALUnscrew thin brass jam nut to free up big oneUnscrew big brass nut completely.Spray WD-40 inside to loosen up flax.Turn corkscrew pick into first layer, pull Vise Grip offers better leverageRepeat until all layers removed two if was chinzy, three more likely, four if analClear out brass seating of any loose debris so new flax sits wellINSTALLBuy 13 inches Teflon 1/4 inch to cut into three piecesTurn first wrap tight, mark with thumbnail or do at home with 1-inch stanchionCut with share razor knife or Dremel sawCut remaining 2 wraps to same sizePoke first one in clockwise by turning big nut slowlyMark where it started with red penScrew down onto shaft to pack, by hand onlyLoosen and repeat two more timesDo not overtighten, or will burn flax and not seat properlyTESTWhen launch, be prepared to tighten using wrench keep jam nut looseShould be no drips at rest, do not overtightenIn gear, should be no more than 1-3 drops per minute preferably noneOptimum is no drips in gear “1-3 is an old wives tale,” says Fred at YardTighten one flat at a time while in gearIf the big nut is warm, back off as too tight burning the flax (unlikely)Always retighten the jam cleat to avoid inadvertent looseningWhen it’s right, try a day or week later takes time, be patientCheck again for three weeks then three months laterShould last three or four years okay to tighten one flat a time, over time

 

[Dave Groshong]

Get teflon packing and

Moldable dripless packing right here on this site:http://shop.sailboatowners.com/category.htm?fno=400&cat=2612Dave GroshongCustomer ServiceSailboatOwners.comToll Free 877-932-7245 ext.116, Mon-Fri, 9-5 Pacific.

 

[Maine Sail]

You need to know what size your rudder takes first

You'll need to know what size rudder packing your boat takes before you go and buy just any old packing. Packing comes in sizes anywhere from 1/8 of an inch dia. to 3/4 of an inch plus. remove your packing then order the replacement.As Ross said I have an article posted on repacking a prop shaft stuffing box but these are different from how a rudder stuffing box looks. The general principles however, are the same: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box

 

[CalebD]

What Maine Sail said and ...

Definitely check out his link for re-packing the stuffing box. It is very helpful with great pictures and comes highly recommended.As for the re-packing the rudder shaft and housing the way to do it is get the inner diameter (ID) of the housing pipe, then get the outer diameter (OD) of the shaft itself, subtract the ID of the shaft from the OD of the housing and divide by 2. The result of this computation is the size packing you should buy. My guess is that it is something like 1/8" whereas my prop shaft packing size is more like 3/16".We have some slop at the top side of our rudder shaft housing as the shaft moves around a bit in there. I tried to use a piece of the 3/16" packing material but it did not fit the opening so I unbraided a piece and tried to re-braid some strands together that would fit. Needless to say I got that gray teflon crap all over my hands and could not get a tight enough braid to make any pieces that were useful. The point being is that if you have the (close enough to) right size packing it will be a lot easier to do and last a lot longer than just some line/twine that will breakdown with all the pressure it gets being ground down between the housing and the shaft.Glad to hear that the not so little ones have taken some interest in your boat project. If you can make it fun for them they will keep coming along so plan a fishing expedition for the youngest. You have some great fishing down there after all.Best of luck.

 

[sailormanbigd]

thanks guys

as always good info. Mainsail-i have visited your site a couple of times. Very good stuff. You certainly went all out for a very good instructional video. I went t WM and found all the different sizes of flax. I purchased two, 1/8" and 3/16". I started with the 1/8" and cut three rings. There wasn't any packing in the nut, just toilet bowl wax. Three rings would'nt fit, so i used two. Worked fine, dry as a bone. Thanks for the help. Started pulling the engine apart, looks to be a total loss, although the bolts are comming out. Could'nt finish because i need cheater bar and larger wrenches. I could'nt even get the oil dipstick out. Not a good sign me thinks. Patrick