Stern gland advice. mine failed and filled the boat with water

MarkGrubb

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After a bank holiday weekend of sailing and getting to know my new boat I was motoring back to the mooring, and waiting for Poole bridge to open, when I noticed a pool of water on the cabin sole. Closer inspection showed that the bilge below the engine was full to the cabin sole with water. The boat is a longer keeler and the bilge therefore quite deep, so as you can imagine this was a bit of a shock. I later found that the stern gland had become detached from the hosing that connects between it and the stern tube and keeps the sea out.

We managed to pump the water out and keep on top of what turned out to be only a steady trickle, while we motored back and secured the boat to her mooring. I found the stern gland had come loose, pushed it back onto the rubber hose and tightened the jubilee clip. Panick over.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had or heard of a smilar problem and can offer advice.

The gland is a PPS type with 3 rubber seals and is lubricated from an oil reservoir in the cockpit locker. It slides over the prop. shaft and is postioned about 4 inches from the stern tube, through which the shaft passes and out into the sea. A length of rubber hosing is connected between the stern gland and the stern tube. It is pushed over the ends of each and held in place by two jubilee clips at the stern tube, but only one at the stern gland. The gland end isn't long enough to accomodate two clips. I've tried fitting two, but the second just slides off as I tighten it.

The stern gland is smooth where the hose is pushed on. I've seen some models that have a raised ridge over which the rubber hose is pushed helping to keep it clamped in place.

I bought the boat last year and it was launched in April this year. As part of the refit I replaced the rubber hose. The new one was bought from a reputable marine engineer after I described what I needed. He replaced the stern gland oil seals at the same time. The boat has approximately 10 engine hours since launch. It's a 29ft sailing boat with 10HP diesel engine.

Do these types of stern gland installation need regular checks to ensure the jubilee clips are still tight and that the rubber hose isn't working its way off the gland, or is my problem unusual? Bearing in mind I've had 10 hours on the engine since I refitted the installation, this would suggest that checks should be made at slight less than every 10 hours, does this sound normal or excessive?

Is it advisable to use some sort of adhesive to ensure the hose is held firmly to the gland, or should jubilee clips surfice?

Any oberservations or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Mark.
 

michael_w

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It might be worthwhile having a look at the engine mounts. I used own a boat fitted with a "deep sea seal". Fine at rest but underway the thrust from the prop pushed the engine (Volvo 2002) forward on its mounts and hey presto! Seal opened and the Hamble River came in rather too quickly for comfort.

Replaced the mounts, including the volvo "britching band" rubbers, problem solved. Later, for blue water cruising I changed the seal for an old-fashioned stuffing box.
 

Pye_End

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Mine's never leaked since the day it was installed - over 10 years ago. Never needed to tighten anything.

Sounds like checking it after an overhaul sounds sensible though! Frightening to find a boat full of water. Checking for water leaks is easy - see how much is coming out of your bilge pump. Should be dry - if more than a couple of squirts then look for the cause.
 

Billjratt

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Interesting that you're "going backwards" technology-wise. I have '78 boat with the original stuffing box and now have mastered the technique of gently tightening the bolts to balace water ingress against heat generated. I was thinking of going modern but now that this old system is "tuned", it works very well and can't fall off. Doesn't even have a greaser to pollute the boat and sea with emulsion.
 

robbieg

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Are you sure its a PSS seal. I've just fitted on & don't really recognise your description. PSS seal has a rubber belows that attaches to the stern tube with 2 hoseclips and at the inboard end to a carbon facing fitting which presses against a stainless steel rotor on the shaft. The carbon facing part is attached to the bellows with 2 hoseclips and its doesn't have an oil feed. If it is a PSS it shouldn't leak & should need minimal maintenance. If you do a google search on PSS seals it will give you some pictures of the seal to compare with the one in your boat.

If its an oil feed seal I think one like that was made by Halyard but is no longer in production. Posting a picture may help with identification.
 

fluffc

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[ QUOTE ]
of gently tightening the bolts to balace water ingress against heat generated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure that it doesn't need grease lubrication??
 

clyst

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Just had a similar problem with a leaky DSS . Threw it away and had a good ol' "FLEXY" stuffing box made by C&O engineering in Newton Abbot . Very reasonable priced and prompt service . No problem now.
 

fisherman

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I've had an ugly mistrust of these for years. The least you can do is get the best quality hose clip, one with a bolt running through two bosses, rather than the cheapest, which have a screw running in slots cut into the strip.
 

MarkGrubb

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Thanks all for comments. I have a photo but I can't work out how to post it. I've been all through the help sections of the website. Can someone advise? Thanks.
 

Kylora

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[ QUOTE ]
Thanks all for comments. I have a photo but I can't work out how to post it. I've been all through the help sections of the website. Can someone advise? Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you do a forum search on Dogwatch as a Usename you will find that he has a Photo Tutor in his signature line. Have a read through that.

DogWatch Post

Basically you first need to upload your photo to something like Photobucket, using the resizing option, then generate an URL which you copy and then paste into your post.

PhotoBucket Web Page

Ash
 

Birdseye

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No it isnt a common problem - never heard of this happening amongst our club members nor has it happened top me.

Much more likely is that you failed to tighten the jubilee clip properly, maybe combined with not cleaning any oil off the bronze so the tube could easily slip. Maybe vibration helped. Who knows - but 2 jubilee clips is belt and braces , one should hold. You shouldnt need back up.

Without doubt more people get problems with the old style stuffing box simply because it has to be adjusted, re-packed etc. It isnt "fit and forget" like a modern seal.

All the seals on your boat engine and your car engine are the modern lip seal types (as indeed they were on the container ship I sailed on a few years ago). You dont hear of them failing and garages replacing them with a stuffing box do you?
 

Andrew_Fanner

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Sounds like a Halyard seal. Although the seals are no longer made the company are still prepared to offer support and advice (or were 18 months ago) if you catch them when its quiet. Should be two hose clips on the stern tube at the very least.
 

djc

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Sounds like your shaft seal is a Halyard HMI seal with the oil reservoir. Had mine seven years never been any prob's just leaks the odd drip only of oil per 10 hours of use. Two j-clips fitted my stern tube, try to change the oil every 1- 2 years, and make sure you follow halyards fitting measurement when refitting the seal to propshaft.
 

vyv_cox

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I think the question you need to answer is what caused the hose to come off? All my experience tells me that a hose that is a reasonable fit over the stern tube will not be forced off by the very low water pressure at that point, even if a hose clip was not fitted. Having one on there that is a smidgen too loose does not seem to be a credible cause.

It sounds more likely to me that there is another force at work and the most obvious is a partial seizure in the seal mechanism. Over your short period of use this may have tried to turn the hose on the tube. I would be inspecting the seal faces and their lubrication very carefully.

Another possibility is that the shaft is eccentric in the gland, giving it a circular bending movement whenever the engine is running. It is quite common for this to occur to a small extent but anything bigger could be a problem.
 

dedwards

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Michael, your description sounds suspiciously like a problem i'm having at the moment. how did you diagnose that it was the engine mounts at fault and what sort of job was it to put it right?

Cheers.
 
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