Stuck on stuffing box

[bawlmer]

I apologize for the long pause. I finally got back to the boat late last week. I spoke to Lowell at Catalina and he said he heard once before the 3/16" flax did not fill the void on the Catalina packing box. He said to used two layers of the 1/4" flax. That is what I did. I will not know if I did a good job until I splash. That will be three weeks. Lots to do until then. I want to thank everyone who responded to my post for their wisdom and experience.

 

[JoeWhite]

If you have 1" shaft then it needs 3 rings of 1/4" flax. I use GFO gore-Tex. You can order a 24" length for $14.00 from www.emarineinc.com. After inserting the 3 rings - then force by hand about a table spoon full of Lana-Cote ( found ad West Marine for $ 13.00) into the stuffing box - on the left side . This makes a water tight and leak proof seal. Some water will drip as expected, when running the shaft - but much less than with any other product. Hand tight the large nut only - then secure with lock nut. There is no dripping when shaft does not turn. After 18 months it is still in good shape and I have made no adjustment.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Steve, over the years MOST but not all 1" shaft Catalinas used 3/16" flax. SOME used 1/4". On our C34s, 1,801 hulls were built and a handful use 1/4". In these kind of posts I've suggested you buy boxes of both and return what doesn't fit. If you're buying online it's harder, but for the $16 I spent for 3 feet of Ultra X, it's not that big a deal. Now that you've found the right stuff, just make a note of it for next time. Good luck. Not all 1" shafts use 1/4" and not all 1 " shafts use 3/16". It all depends on the box, not just the shaft.

 

[bawlmer]

Joe and Stu. Thanks for responding. Good timing as I launched this weekend. I tightened the packing nut for my 2.5 hour motor trip back to my home marina. I had some leakage while motoring but it stopped dripping after the engine stopped. I will check regularly as the boat is across the street from me and probably will have to adjust further. I did use 2 rings of 1/4" flax. There was not enough room for 3 rings. So far it seems to be working. I will provide updates if needed. Thanks again.