I need to replace my current stuffing box and am not able to pull the boat. Does anyone have any experience replacing the seal with the boat in the water?
Replace stuffing box with dripless
- Thread starter FlimFlamII
- Start date
Flim,
It will be very difficult to do so in the water. Part of the changeout is uncoupling
the shaft from the coupler flange at the tranny, all the while finding a way to block
outside water from coming thru the shaft log because you will need to push back
the shaft for room to install say, a PSS shaftseal. Then there is shaft cleaning & prep.
Impossible no, difficult yes. As an option, have the yard haul your boat & leave it in the sling
while you do the switch. You should save money because they won't have to block it up on stands.
After all, it's a boat $$. I tell folks that in my next life, I'm coming back as a firstmate only. It's
alot cheaper, good luck.
It will be very difficult to do so in the water. Part of the changeout is uncoupling
the shaft from the coupler flange at the tranny, all the while finding a way to block
outside water from coming thru the shaft log because you will need to push back
the shaft for room to install say, a PSS shaftseal. Then there is shaft cleaning & prep.
Impossible no, difficult yes. As an option, have the yard haul your boat & leave it in the sling
while you do the switch. You should save money because they won't have to block it up on stands.
After all, it's a boat $$. I tell folks that in my next life, I'm coming back as a firstmate only. It's
alot cheaper, good luck.
+1 on what Shadow said. You need to have the shaft out of the water to do the change to dripless. Changing the shaft bushing at the same time is worth the effort too. Lots of time and work involved. Maybe a marina would agree to lift and hold your boat for an extended time if they are not busy. Not really a "short haul", but worth the time to ask. Can you wait until haul out in the fall (If you do such a thing)? Also, the install of the dripless requires not only uncoupling the shaft coupler from the transmission, but the shaft coupler must be removed, cleaned and the shaft prepped for the new equipment. There is some careful measurement involved in the installation of the new collar and graphite ring and vent tube. Time consuming.
Best done out of the water. In the process of doing the swap, there will be a 1 1/2 to 2" hole in the bottom of the boat below the water line. The bilge pumps will not be able to keep up with the flow.
This is also a job that can grow quickly. While the shaft is out, inspect it for wear especially where it passes through the stuffing box. Bronze shafts in particular often show significant wear and need to be replaced. SS shafts can also wear.
Changing the cutlas bearing is also a good idea, even if it only shows a little wear.
This is also a job that can grow quickly. While the shaft is out, inspect it for wear especially where it passes through the stuffing box. Bronze shafts in particular often show significant wear and need to be replaced. SS shafts can also wear.
Changing the cutlas bearing is also a good idea, even if it only shows a little wear.
As the others have said, changing to a dripless while in the water is very ambitious. As an alternative, depending on what's wrong with your current stuffing box, you can probably just change the packing while in the water. There are threads in the archives about how to do that.
Until I can pull the boat, any ideas how to reduce the amount of water leaking from the seal? This seal has two orings.
Tks,
Tks,
