Sebastion, what you describe is a "stuffing box" or shaft seal. Sounds like
it is time to repack it. Not hard to do. We have the same kind on our boat.
Your local chandlery has flax packing. I like the teflon impregnated kind.
It comes in various sizes, on Lyric we use 3/16". It comes in a roll and to
use it you will unroll a piece long enough to go around the shaft. Ideally
you should remove all of the old packing. If the boat is out of the water
this is easy but if you are in the water you will take quite a bit into the
bilge before you're done. Make sure your pumps are working first! Okay now
here is the process. Imagine the packing is a series of 4 or 5 washers on
the shaft. You will cut pieces just long enough to go around the shaft and
you are going to need 4 or 5 of these pieces. Make the cuts on a diagonal.
Next part is separating the two halves of the stuffing box. Put a wrench on
that aft hex and hold it still. Put another wrench on the forward one and
loosen it. Obviously you are going to need big wrenches for this so you
might as well go to the chandlery and buy a couple of packing wrenches. West
Marine sells one SKU 290280 for $8.99 so this isn't going to cost a fortune.
They also sell an extracter for removing the old stuffing, skip on this, you
don't need it. Quick fix is to seperate the two halves. As you do so you
will notice that after the male threads of the forward half clear the female
threads af the aft half that there is a flange extending into the aft half.
(This is an integral part of the forward half.) Slide the male half forward
out of the aft part. Put a piece of the flax around the shaft between the
two halves and push it into the aft half. Slide the forward half back and
use it to seat the flax. Tighten it up and your problem goes away.
To do it right you need to remove all of the packing. I just use a piece of
coat hanger wire which I flatten on one end and put a very small 90 degree
bend in. After the halves are seperated dig out the old rings of packing and
put new ones on one at a time and push them into the aft half until seated.
Stagger them so the diagonal cuts of each piece are well seperated from next
piece. Best done out of the water but you can do it in the water. You
mentioned that you have a rubber tube with hose clamps on it. This is one of
the hoses that needs double clamps and while you are at it get new clamps,
no telling how long the old ones have been on it. One last thing. get a
tapered wooden plug ant attach it nearby so if you loose the shaft you can
get a plug into it. All of your through hulls should have these plugs
attached to them, Not only is it a good idea, it impresses the hell out of
surveyors! West Marine sells these also, I think Defender and Boat U.S. also
carry them.
For folks who haul out at the end of the season. When you launch, do so with
the cockpit sole removed and watch for water entry at the seal. You could
put an extra tank under that sole. If you elect to do so make sure it
doesn't cover the seal. You could loose the boat.
On salt water pumps and through hulls.
We glassed in the one for the head and Tee off of the one under the
starboard settee. There is a one way valve forward (check valve) to keep
from pulling salt water in to the sink from the head but it probably is
overkill. Our boats sit in a soup made from numerous organisms and waste
from the animals that swim in it. Out of the marina it is quite dilute. In
the marina there is little cause to use the salt water pump.
The intake for the engine also has a Tee in it. If we are sinking I can
close the through hull and open another valve on the T that is connected to
a hose and strainer in the bilge. The engine has now become an auxillary
pump which is also recharging the batteries that are powering the 500 gallon
duty pump and the 2000 gallon emergency pump. While on the subject think
about hard wiring the pumps directly to the batteries. In case of a fire in
your electrical box you won't lose the pumps.
We also have a washdown pump. I've read that these should be mounted forward
so you can wash your chain and anchor easily. We mounted ours in the aft end
of the cockpit and take a hose forward as needed. It shares the engine
intake. We lost a Hallberg Rasey to a fire which we could have fought from
the cockpit if we had a means of pumping water.
Now we do. Once again it has a Tee and can also be used to pump the bilge.
The manual pumps that came on the Vega went from horrible to inadeaquate.
Think about replacing it also.Carry a bucket too. It has been said that the
most effective water removal system on a boat is a scared crew with a
bucket! Walt S/V Lyric #120
Hi Mort. I just went back to the in box and see that you are responding to
Sebastian also. Did you get the trailer? I replyed to your message out side
of the group but have not heard back from you. Please contact me at
pelagicasd@....
it is time to repack it. Not hard to do. We have the same kind on our boat.
Your local chandlery has flax packing. I like the teflon impregnated kind.
It comes in various sizes, on Lyric we use 3/16". It comes in a roll and to
use it you will unroll a piece long enough to go around the shaft. Ideally
you should remove all of the old packing. If the boat is out of the water
this is easy but if you are in the water you will take quite a bit into the
bilge before you're done. Make sure your pumps are working first! Okay now
here is the process. Imagine the packing is a series of 4 or 5 washers on
the shaft. You will cut pieces just long enough to go around the shaft and
you are going to need 4 or 5 of these pieces. Make the cuts on a diagonal.
Next part is separating the two halves of the stuffing box. Put a wrench on
that aft hex and hold it still. Put another wrench on the forward one and
loosen it. Obviously you are going to need big wrenches for this so you
might as well go to the chandlery and buy a couple of packing wrenches. West
Marine sells one SKU 290280 for $8.99 so this isn't going to cost a fortune.
They also sell an extracter for removing the old stuffing, skip on this, you
don't need it. Quick fix is to seperate the two halves. As you do so you
will notice that after the male threads of the forward half clear the female
threads af the aft half that there is a flange extending into the aft half.
(This is an integral part of the forward half.) Slide the male half forward
out of the aft part. Put a piece of the flax around the shaft between the
two halves and push it into the aft half. Slide the forward half back and
use it to seat the flax. Tighten it up and your problem goes away.
To do it right you need to remove all of the packing. I just use a piece of
coat hanger wire which I flatten on one end and put a very small 90 degree
bend in. After the halves are seperated dig out the old rings of packing and
put new ones on one at a time and push them into the aft half until seated.
Stagger them so the diagonal cuts of each piece are well seperated from next
piece. Best done out of the water but you can do it in the water. You
mentioned that you have a rubber tube with hose clamps on it. This is one of
the hoses that needs double clamps and while you are at it get new clamps,
no telling how long the old ones have been on it. One last thing. get a
tapered wooden plug ant attach it nearby so if you loose the shaft you can
get a plug into it. All of your through hulls should have these plugs
attached to them, Not only is it a good idea, it impresses the hell out of
surveyors! West Marine sells these also, I think Defender and Boat U.S. also
carry them.
For folks who haul out at the end of the season. When you launch, do so with
the cockpit sole removed and watch for water entry at the seal. You could
put an extra tank under that sole. If you elect to do so make sure it
doesn't cover the seal. You could loose the boat.
On salt water pumps and through hulls.
We glassed in the one for the head and Tee off of the one under the
starboard settee. There is a one way valve forward (check valve) to keep
from pulling salt water in to the sink from the head but it probably is
overkill. Our boats sit in a soup made from numerous organisms and waste
from the animals that swim in it. Out of the marina it is quite dilute. In
the marina there is little cause to use the salt water pump.
The intake for the engine also has a Tee in it. If we are sinking I can
close the through hull and open another valve on the T that is connected to
a hose and strainer in the bilge. The engine has now become an auxillary
pump which is also recharging the batteries that are powering the 500 gallon
duty pump and the 2000 gallon emergency pump. While on the subject think
about hard wiring the pumps directly to the batteries. In case of a fire in
your electrical box you won't lose the pumps.
We also have a washdown pump. I've read that these should be mounted forward
so you can wash your chain and anchor easily. We mounted ours in the aft end
of the cockpit and take a hose forward as needed. It shares the engine
intake. We lost a Hallberg Rasey to a fire which we could have fought from
the cockpit if we had a means of pumping water.
Now we do. Once again it has a Tee and can also be used to pump the bilge.
The manual pumps that came on the Vega went from horrible to inadeaquate.
Think about replacing it also.Carry a bucket too. It has been said that the
most effective water removal system on a boat is a scared crew with a
bucket! Walt S/V Lyric #120
Hi Mort. I just went back to the in box and see that you are responding to
Sebastian also. Did you get the trailer? I replyed to your message out side
of the group but have not heard back from you. Please contact me at
pelagicasd@....
