Stuffing box

[Bob]

I am nervous about my packing gland. Right now it drips about 1 drip every 10 seconds when the boat is at the dock. I have adjusted the packing nut several times but do not seem to be able to make any improvement on this rate. I would like to make the repair myself if possible. The boat is in the water.I have been told by one person that I can simply add a ring of packing without removing the old. Any comments would be appreciated.Is this something one can do by themself?Can this safely be done with the boat in the water?What about adding new material without removing the old?

 

[John Buckham]

Have a big pump handy...

....a 120 volt one all plugged in and ready to go at the flick of a switch!Although you can try and repack the box with the boat in the water, you'll be dealing with a flood of water just gushing in spraying all over, pushing the packing out that you are trying to push in.My next door neighbor tried this with his C-30, and although he was ultimately successful it was not fun and quite stressful. The electric bilge pump didn't have enough capacity to keep the boat bailed during the process.So yes, it has been done. Would I try it on my boat? No.

 

[Larry Watkins]

Bob; I replaced the packing in my c-30 with the boat in the water. It wasn't that hard. The key is preparation and confidence. If you're good with tools, you can do it. The day before, WD-40 the gland and let sit overnight to loosen everything up. Have the proper wrenches before starting. Get a packing tool to pull out the old packing. Go over the steps necessary to do the job and arrange tools and parts accordingly, near to hand. Once you start, ignore the water and do the job. You'll be surprised how little water actually comes in. Grease the rings a little and slide them in the gland, one at a time, being sure the joints are staggered around the shaft. Slide the keeper into place and tighten up, until the water just stops dripping at rest, with about six drops a minute with the shaft turning, the engine at idle, the trans in gear. Good luck. Larry W.

 

[Ron]

I concer with Larry. Not much water comes in when you undo the packing nut and just keep a rag or towel handy. Do the rest like Larry suggests.

 

[John Buckham]

What years were your C-30's?

I wonder what the difference was? The boat I got called to was one of the earliest C 30’s, and the water came in at an alarming rate. We got the job done, afterwards it worked out fine. You guys say it wasn’t that bad, maybe something was changed on later boats?

 

[Larry W.]

More on the stuffing box

John; My C-30 was an '82 with a 5411 diesel and the Federal coupling on the shaft.