Shouldn't that be 1-1/4" as per @sail sfbay 's drawing ?Boat is a 450 with 1 inch shaft in water so
You can also download that manual here too.From the owner's manual [H450]
FWIW I used Ralph's method (tks Ralph) + added an old boat mechanic's trick to stiffle water ingress. I prepared the rope, unscrewed the paking gland, pushed back the cap, then before installing & tightening the rope I packed the opening with marine grease (the old boy's trick !). The tensioned rope and the grease stopped the flow so much that I had lots of time to clean the old packing out of the cap and install the new one properly. A slow trickle of water spurted in when I removed the rope and screwed the cap back on. As for the remaining grease, it gets spun off the shaft as soon as you put it in gear. Good luck with your installation.Shouldn't that be 1-1/4" as per @sail sfbay 's drawing ?
This is how I pack mine in the water and control water ingress
View attachment 191923
Don's right. We've been suggesting this for, oh, like the last 20 years.It’s either 1/4 or 3/16 inch. If you don’t get a definitive answer, buy both and return the unused one.