I had a successful day yesterday, mostly in part to Mainsail and my local diesel engine mechanic. Over the past months I noticed that my bilge was always wet. More recently it always had 3+ inches of water and the bilge pump sometimes kicking in. This was not typical; my bilge used to be quite dry (deck stepped mast...etc.) 
. Sure enough, a week ago, I checked my packing gland and it was dripping once every 3 seconds at the dock with the engine off!!!
I was determined to fix this myself. I came home and brushed up on Mainsail's packing gland "how to" guidance. I went back to the boat with my tools, removed the access "panel" and went at it. Those of you that are familiar with the C-30 know how small and tight this area is. I couldn't keep a spanner wrench on the female nut and get any leverage (at the same time) on the locking nut with a pipe wrench...heck, to me the packing nut and the gland (female nut) were so tight, I swore that they couldn't be two seperate pieces...and mine didn't look exactly like the pictures. I applied a little PB Blaster, let it sit, then tried again with no success. Doubt was creeping in...what if I bent the shaft or loosened the nut and had a stream of water coming in ? . I packed it up and called it quits for the day.:bang: The next day I called my diesel mechanic, he reassured me that those were in fact two seperate pieces. He answered a more questions, then walked me through the process and finally how to tighten the gland while running in gear.
This gets me to yesterday. I went out armed with confidence and a new tool (a Irwin Vice Grip - "GrooveLock Pliers")...nice. I applied a little more PB Blaster, tapped the nuts lightly with a hammer and did other boat projects for 30 minutes. I went back to packing gland, put that vise grip tool on the locking nut and SUCCESS...it backed off easily. It was a good opportunity to clean the threads. I tightened down the packing gland until I reached 1 drip per 60 - 90 seconds. Then I fired up the diesel, put it in forward gear and made small adjustments to achieve 2 - 3 drops per minute while running. Boy was I nervous and CAREFUL around that spinning shaft.
In hindsight, it wasn't that difficult. The proper instruction and tools made this a success. I now feel confident enough to change the packing material (if needed) while in the water.
. Sure enough, a week ago, I checked my packing gland and it was dripping once every 3 seconds at the dock with the engine off!!! I was determined to fix this myself. I came home and brushed up on Mainsail's packing gland "how to" guidance. I went back to the boat with my tools, removed the access "panel" and went at it. Those of you that are familiar with the C-30 know how small and tight this area is. I couldn't keep a spanner wrench on the female nut and get any leverage (at the same time) on the locking nut with a pipe wrench
...heck, to me the packing nut and the gland (female nut) were so tight, I swore that they couldn't be two seperate pieces...and mine didn't look exactly like the pictures. I applied a little PB Blaster, let it sit, then tried again with no success. Doubt was creeping in...what if I bent the shaft or loosened the nut and had a stream of water coming in ? . I packed it up and called it quits for the day.:bang: The next day I called my diesel mechanic, he reassured me that those were in fact two seperate pieces. He answered a more questions, then walked me through the process and finally how to tighten the gland while running in gear.This gets me to yesterday. I went out armed with confidence and a new tool (a Irwin Vice Grip - "GrooveLock Pliers")...nice. I applied a little more PB Blaster, tapped the nuts lightly with a hammer and did other boat projects for 30 minutes. I went back to packing gland, put that vise grip tool on the locking nut and SUCCESS...it backed off easily
. It was a good opportunity to clean the threads. I tightened down the packing gland until I reached 1 drip per 60 - 90 seconds. Then I fired up the diesel, put it in forward gear and made small adjustments to achieve 2 - 3 drops per minute while running. Boy was I nervous and CAREFUL around that spinning shaft.In hindsight, it wasn't that difficult. The proper instruction and tools made this a success
. I now feel confident enough to change the packing material (if needed) while in the water.
