Winterize the stuffing box?

[rpell1@msn.com]

How many sailboat owners leave their boats in the water for the winter? If you do, have you ever tightened the packing nut to prevent increased seeping resulting from temperature change?

Just wondering...........

 

[Terry Cox]

Belle-Vie remains ready to go at a moments notice year around. Usually I will tighten the stuffing box maybe every other year, or when it begins to drip at rest. Our sea water temperature usually never drops below 46 degrees so freezing has never been an issue around these quarters.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

If anything changes, the coupling would contract making it tighter decreasing any leak so why tighten it?

When we stayed in the water in Rhode Island, we never touched either stuffing box (rudder pst or prop shaft)

 

[Ken Cross]

Our marina usually freezes over in winter for a week or so, but only about 1/4 inch of ice. I never had a packing issue due to temperature. I did once have a toilet pump freeze and break in a heated cabin. I had left the head door shut. Oops. I'm sure glad the through hull was shut off. That boat had no automatic bilge pump.

Ken

 

[Bill Roosa]

dito Don and Ken, cold makes them drip less so
yes I've left the boat in and had ice around it and no I did not notice any dripping from the gland.