Mystery Stern Gland

Rickm505

Rickm505

Active Member
Joined
7 Aug 2005
Messages
54
Location
Florida (ICW), USA
www.catamaransite.com
Hello from across the pond!! My British made Catalac 8M has twin inboard diesel engines, each with a stern gland which is dripping a little too much. I've searched the internet to locate tightening procedures for them, but alas, these 20 year old stern glands don't seem to be anywhere on the internet.


Stern_Gland.jpg


I was hoping someone here would recognize them and off advice on how to reduce the dripping. Yes, you will notice a very black bilge in the photo. My next step is to locate the problem on my Yanmar 1GM10's.

Thanks

Rick in Florida
 
Can't help with the stern gland, but I might be able to with the Yanmar. There is an oil return line running underneath the engine which can become corroded through (hot pipe + salt water is a pretty good recipe for corrosion). It's the most likely problem if your stern gland is letting in enough water to reach the bottom of the engine.
It happened to one of mine, so I upended the mainsheet, fashioned a strop on the boom immediately above the engine and lifted the engine out. Attach the main halyard to the same position on the boom, directly above the engine. It's easy to swing the engine into the cockpit and replace the pipe. Don't forget to order new banjo couplings at the same time.
 
Can't help with the leak, but I have found the address of the UK Catalac Owners Association. You may have to phone someone to get an answer, unless a Catalac owner sees this post.

Catalac Association
Mary Lack
Flagstaff House
Mudeford
Christchurch
Dorset
BH23 3NP. U.K.
Tel: +44 (0)1202 485995
Fax: +44 (0)1202 499669

You may find someone here

or here-
Catalac Owners of America Association, Brian and Claudia Ellis, 60 Canterbury Court, Orange Park, Fl.32065. E mail is: littlekellyanne@hotmail.com.

......and would you believe it - in Florida.
 
Don't recognise the gland either, but looks from the picture that you tighten each bolt till it stops leaking, and there is also a lock nut.
Of course this does assume that there is grease in it to press against the packing, and that the packing itself is servicable.
Re Yanmar - agree the oil pipes are favourites. There are two located just beneath the water pump at the front, and if the water pump leaks then chances are they will corrode. They can be replaced from the front in situ.
 
They look very much like the glands on my boat.very
simple to stop them leaking if they are the same.
Just undo the two bolts, pull out the male collar,
inside the female collar you should find some sort
of stuffing material, usually like a cord .Dig all the
old stuffing out, fit new stuffing, re-assemble and
tighten till it stops dripping, if the boat is in the water
dont be too alarmed by the water coming up the
shaft, just work quickly. Easy job.
If that does'nt cure it, then have the shaft alignment
checked, and also shaft wear.
 
Unfortunately, Mary Lack passed away last year and that USA Catalac web site isn't very active. The Webmaster has his Catalac listed for sale. So, it appears that the learned gentlemen from this forum are my best chance at "Stern Gland" recognition!! (did I say that right?)

a close up of the offending gland
close_up.jpg
 
Northshore is right. Take off the collar (not afloat), take out the old, clean it all up, inspect shaft for wear and fit new packing. The collar should be tightened sufficiently to stop leakage but allow an occasion drip. It should be so tight as to allow the shaft to get hot.
 
Hmmm..... procedure noted, however she's in her slip at the marina. Making a rather embarrasing mess when the bilge pumps kick on.

Also, may I point out that the lower bolt in the photo appears to have significant corrosion, and might not be agreeably extracted.

We are boatyard challenged here in Florida, USA when it comes to yards which allow users to service their own boats. As real estate prices have increased, any property on the water immediately became much too valuable to be a mear boatyard. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
HI, repacking, as others have suggested will help. Before that though, adjust the gland, quite simply tighten the two nuts on the forward face of the forward flange by approx 1 turn only, check that the shaft still turns freely. If this is not sufficient then further turns on the nuts may be required - be careful not to overtighten to the extent that the gland heats up and binds onto the shaft.

What you have is one of the simplest and most common 'stuffing glands' and it should work forever, given a little TLC. It does rely on a very small degree of weepage to operate effectively though.
 
I agree with what Northshore and others have advised.
The lower bolt, especially when compared to the upper, looks like it is completely out of tightening adjustment. That indicates the packing is knackered. Ideally, both bolts should adjust about the same when the new packing is installed.
 
if you move all the weight forward and add additional weight, you might even get her sufficiently out of the water to be able to do the job in place!
 
Hi, Could I suggest that you take the opportunity to either update to a dripless seal system eg PSS or if you want to keep to original, you replace the flax packing with moldable packing. Try West Marine I use them from the UK !
the contact for you is 1-800-BOATING, Also the hose looks a little er "old" !
 
Thanks to all who've responded. Putting the boat on the hard isn't an option for many months, as we're in perfect sailing weather this time of the year.

I've found the packing flax listed at the West Marine web site, and it appears they sell it in different sizes. Obviously, I'll have to disassemble the gland to discover the required size. West Marine also sells packing lubricant. Would there be any advantage to shoving some of that into the stuffing box and leaving the current flax undisturbed? I'm thinking that it may not be possible to remove all of the old flax while the boat is in the water, and am considering all options.

I'm going to measure the gland bolts and pick up a couple of spares, as there may be a corrosion problem which will interfere when I attempt to disassemble the stern gland.

Mark, any idea how much weight would be required on the foredeck to lift the stern gland clear of the water?
 
You could try freeing off the bolts. Yes they look a bit cruddy but they are bronze so you may be pleasantly surprised. That said the top bolt is not original so presumably the original went where the bottom one is trying to go. If the bolts do free up, you could try gently tightening up, getting the collar square whilst maintaining a freeing rotating prop shaft to see if that reduces the excessive dripping. But the heart of your problem is that the packing is pretty tired. This is a routine maintainence jobby and the gland will last forever. Grease under the collar - not really likely to do any harm but to do this you have to remove the collar and if the packing has really gone home, you will get some significant water ingress. I take it you have no tides down there? So putting her on the beach at high water, tackling it at low water and coming off at the next high water is out of the question? If not, you best get planning a lift. It will only get worse! Bronze replacement studs are pretty easy to get here which is no help to you of course but make sure you get silicon bronze and not manganese bronze.

Bon chance
 
To add some more: the correct way to install the cord material (which comes in brown grease, Teflon grease, or graphite ) is to turn it round an upper part of the propshaft, overlapping side-by-side, and cutting across the overlapping bits in an oblique way. You end up with a ring a bit like a piston ring. Try to fit in at least two, and stagger the cuts. And resist the temptation to tighten them, as it will heat and eat into the shaft metal.
The glands are still made by EXALTO.
 
Hi rick ,
Its possible the gland you have was supplied by a company called T.Norris Ltd . They used to supply a range of stern gear and all different stern glands back in the 70's- 80's.It looks very much like a gland which I had on a boat back then.They are still going and I have included there address and web address below, it might be worth contacting them with a picture to see if its one of there's or if they have something similar.

regards Philip

T Norris (Industries) Ltd
6 Wood Lane
Isleworth
TW7 5ER(Road Map)
Middlesex
Tel: 020 8560 3453
Fax: 020 85697446
Internet: www.tnorrismarine.co.uk
 
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