Stuffing Box

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Hello Maine Sail. I hope your sailing season is going well.

I have a quick question about my stuffing box. I had planned to repack before launch but didn't get to it before our launch date came up back in April. I believe it may be the original stuffing on our 2001 C310 but the boat only has 440 hours and from what I have learned about the PO, it rarely left the dock.

When not in use, it is leaking about a drip a second. In use there is a fair amount of spray.

So I am considering repacking in the water. Is this a bad idea?

Thanks for the help.

Jesse

 

[Rag Bagger]

I have a Catalina 30, 1984. I would try to just snug the packing nut a little first. This might get you past the sailing season. Do not over tighten. Check the shaft to see if it gets hot after running in gear. If this does not help...repack.

 

[Tom J]

Have you tried tightening the packing gland? A very small adjustment is usaually sufficient to reduce the dripping, less than 1/8 turn at a time. I just repacked mine. I had packed it 4 years ago with teflon packing, and the packing still looked new when I pulled it out.
I've never repacked the gland in the water. It might be worth it to do a quick haul if you feel you have to replace the packing. I have the T-handle "corkscrew" for pulling out the packing if you need it. My C310 is still on the hard at Town River Yacht Club while I await delivery of a new raw water pump.

 

[Maine Sail]

Jesse,

The C-310 is a relatively decent access box and can easily be done in-water if you know what you're doing but I'd suggest trying to adjust it first.

Traditional flax takes a few days to swell up so don't adjust right after put in. The adjust an 1/8 of a nut flat. at a time max. The box should remain only slightly warmer than the ocean temp after being run for about an hour. DO NOT over tighten as traditional flax has no memory. Once compressed won't uncompress. Tighten in very small increments. If you go from leaking to really hot, in a very small incrimental adjustment, the packing has likely "packed" it in..

Try adjusting first then re-pack if necessary.

 

[zeehag]

in my formosa we found that the flanged unit had not been packed before installation. is not a big deal to install packing in the water--just make sure the bilge pump runs well as that makes life much easier..LOL goood luck. if my boat can get 'er done, so can yerz..... many things are done hauled that really dont need to be hauled for.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Some people worry about "all that water" getting into the boat. A bilge pump consumes 5 to 10 amps. Even if it took an hour to do the stuffing box (that would be for first-timers), that's 10 AH at most. Most of our boats have at least two Grp 27 batteries, good for a couple of hundred AH. Unless the batteries are dead flat, battery power to power a bilge pump during this work should not be an issue. Plus, most are doing it dockside, and most folks plug in all the time...

If you have an absolutely dry bilge (like it's sooo clean that it's dry enough for spiders to live in there) then maybe I should rethink this approach.

 

[zeehag]

my 500 gph pump took care of all that water--lol less than a gallon, in reality, and the pump i use takes 1.9 amps when on and cycling, and 3 amps per hour for running...whenye coming out to play????\

what is it like to have a dry bilge????LOL.. my ericson has one , but this formosa is wet inside bilge sump under engine.....that holds many many gallons--is good it isnt filling fast.....

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Since I am still really new to the hole inboard thing, I thought I would post how I plan to try and adjust the stuffing box to see if my approach seems ok. I have attached a photo of my stuffing box so you guys can see what I am starting with.

Also, the boat has been in the water since April 29th and we have already sailed and motored over 300 nm since the launch. Part of that was our relocation cruise, the rest has been day sailing. I keep saying I am going tackle the stuffing box "this weekend" but then this weekend comes and it's good sailing conditions. So I go sailing instead. This Sunday looks like it will be thunderstorms so this may be the weekend for it. (sorry for a bit of a side track)

So my plan is as follows:

1. Clean up some of the patina with a scotch brite pad.
2. Spray the stuffing box with some PB Blaster.
3. Loosen the locking nut with a slip-nut wrench on the locking nut and pipe wrench on the packing gland nut.
4. Tighten the packing gland nut about 1/8 turn with slip-nut wrench and pipe wrench on metal of the stuffing box where it meets the hose.
5. Re-tighten the locking nut.
6. Run the engine for about an hour checking the stuffing box for excessive heat.

Please let me know if you see any flaws with this plan.

Thanks again.

Jesse

 

[Warren Milberg]

Boston: A couple of random thoughts --- make sure the four hose clamps on your gland are tight. Make sure the rubber hose part of the gland has not sprung any leaks, particularly the underside of it where the the water pools. Run your hand under there and feel for leaks or use a small articulated mirror to look. Also, after you tighten the compression nut (closest to the coupler) and retighten the lock nut behind it, make sure you snug up your dock lines and run the engine in gear to determine the leak rate. Finally, if you have a corroded compression/lock nut that defies loosening with PB Blaster, et al, try tapping the lock nut in a counterclockwise direction with a ball peen hammer.

 

[zeehag]

almost looks like a pss dripless product--- keep hose clamps at the ready in case of emergent failure and goood luck--- your plan sounds fine. make sure pumps are working before starting this job. smooth sailing!

 

[Stu Jackson]

1. Clean up some of the patina with a scotch brite pad. Good idea; also slather Lanocote on the threads.
2. Spray the stuffing box with some PB Blaster. - May not be required if you can back off the lock nut. Lanocote, see above, for future ease.
3. Loosen the locking nut with a slip-nut wrench on the locking nut and pipe wrench on the packing gland nut. -- Your choice of tools, some have reported that these may mar the nut surfaces.
4. Tighten the packing gland nut about 1/8 turn with slip-nut wrench and pipe wrench on metal of the stuffing box where it meets the hose. - Shouldn't need to do this pipe wrench where it meets the hose, the packing nut should tighten without having to hold anything else.
5. Re-tighten the locking nut. -- Yup.
6. Run the engine for about an hour checking the stuffing box for excessive heat. -- This is really unnecessary for this amount of time. Take the boat out and run it under load and you should know in five minutes or less whether it's too tight 'cuz it'll be too hot. Don't waste the hour. If you have that much time, then repack the entire box.