Stern tube hose

A

alvy

.
Mar 23, 2020
11
o day o day 26 Bay Harbor- Erie,Pa
Hi all -
I'm in the process of replacing my stern tube hose on my 84 O Day 26.After removing the coupler and the stuffing box assembly, I noticed a slight wear on the shaft .I was thinking if I replaced the 4" long hose with say a 5" long piece that would move the packing nut to new area of shaft. I was wondering if this was an old trick everybody uses or is it a bad idea for some reason . I have the room to accomplish this. I guess would like to hear the thoughts of somebody who did this Thank you
 
D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
11,398
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
While you have this all apart, take the time to check the shaft to see if it is still straight. Bronze shafts tend to wear and can become slightly bowed. If it is not straight it is time to replace it with a SS shaft.

Assuming the shaft is still good enough to use, the limiting factor in your plan is the distance between the end of the stuffing box assembly and the flange. Will there be enough room to actually install the stuffing box and will there be enough room to replace the packing?

It is tempting to use any underwater rated hose for this application, don't. This is the most critical underwater hose on the boat, if it should fail there is no seacock to close and you have a large hole in the bottom of your boat. The hose is also subject to a lot of torque and twisting. Every time boat goes into gear some of the torque is transmitted to the hose. It needs to be strong enough to withstand that torque for many years. Hoses are specifically made for this purpose.
 
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JoeWhite

JoeWhite

.
Mar 6, 2008
1,089
Catalina 1999 C36 MKII #1787 Coyote Point Marina, CA.
Delochner has a good point. If the hose is longer it will twist easier and potentially ki prematurely break. I replaced mine with the same 4" length and 6 ply hose made for this purpose. A longer hose will also reduce the space needed to replace the flax.
I replaced the bronze shaft with SS 322 and new coupling trued by the machine shop.
 
D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
11,398
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
rgranger said:
How old is your boat? If the wear is slight, why worry about it?
Click to expand
As the shaft wears, it weakens. More importantly as the shaft wears the packing may not make up for the wear and the shaft will leak more than it should.
 
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A

alvy

.
Mar 23, 2020
11
o day o day 26 Bay Harbor- Erie,Pa
Thank you for all your reply's. I just ordered a new Buck Algonquin stern tube hose 1/2 " longer than the original hose. It's not much longer ,but the wear isn't that bad.
Thanks again for your time and help
 
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Likes: rgranger
B

Blitz

.
Jul 10, 2007
676
Seidelmann 34 Atlantic Highlands, NJ
That is what it would suggest. I did a similar thing in that the extra space (even a 1/2") allowed the wrenches to fit better.
 
A

alvy

.
Mar 23, 2020
11
o day o day 26 Bay Harbor- Erie,Pa
That's what I did - found online a Buck Aglonquin stern tube hose 1/2 longer than the original . Thanks for the reply
 
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