Stuffing Box

[Mike Hancock]

removehtml]Our Sea Scout Ship on Galveston Bay has a 1989 Hunter 27. The packing is leaking. On this boat, which may be modified from original design, we cannot seem to back the packing nuts off far enough to change out the packing. There is not enough clearance. We are somewhat worried that we have to remove the engine to get enough clearance to do this. By the way, we did not get a manual or any other material with the boat that would have been of help.Any ideas?Thanks,Mike HancockSea Scout Ship 468Pearland, TXError: Error: expected [/URL], but found [/removehtml] instead[/removehtml]

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Mike ..................................

........... perhaps you could send a photo of the gland arrangement and someone may be able to advise you how to retract the packing nut far enough to remove the old packing. And without moving the engine, which is a fate worse than death to align, if clearance is at a premium.You may also want to check the archives for different packing materials as this is undoubtedly the most important thing you can do for your packing gland.Best regards,s/v Island Hunter

 

[Mike Hancock]

Thanks for the reply. I will try and get a photo tonight. I did a search on "packing" and "stuffing" and got no hits. Maybe I am searching in the wrong way.I wonder if a manual for this boat is available, and if it would be of any help to me?Thanks,Mike

 

[amcmahon]

HAd a similar problem on my 1984 27. Solution was to remove 8 bolts holding engine mounts to stringers. Use macic marker to mark exact location of the mounts (front and sides). Without disconnecting anything, slide the enfine foreward 1 inch (NO MORE!!). Stuffing box can be servised. Slide enging back, carefully to exactly same position and reattach. Should not be any vibration and no alignment needed. Good luck.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Try the Archives Again ......................

........................ as I was blown away with 500 hits under "stuffing box" (choose "exact phrase").A word of caution however, do not get caught up in the debate over dripless mechanical seals. IMO, firstly they are way over priced (compared to industrial seals) and secondly, when they fail, they can fail catastrophicaly (resulting in major leakage). That has been my experience with industrial mechanical seal failures.Best regards,s/v Island Hunter

 

[Mike Hancock]

Try the Archives Again

Thanks for the tip. I am totally new to this forum. Probably was not doing the search correctly. Might also have something to do with trying to work this stuff into rare free moments at work.

 

[Mike Hancock]

Thanks so much for the help. That is exactly what we will do.

 

[Mike]

H27 packing gland

Mike, you should not have to move anything to do this. I have replaced mine ('93 model) without a problem. Send me a picture if you can. mdfoster@esisnet.comRegards, Mike.BTW, I assume you have the correct size stuffing to replace, right?

 

[Marco Garcia]

How to replace a stuffing box seal..

This link shows how to replace a stuffing box seal:http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box&page=1I'm planning on doing it myself.

 

[Mike Hancock]

Thanks

That is a great website.