Stern-gland Identification

[PlankWalker]

This stern-gland is from a 1988 Van De Stadt steel boat professionally built in Holland.

The external end of the shaft log appears to be a stuffing box with the bolts locked with seizing wire, it has a grease nipple! Though diving on this with a grease gun in cold latitudes doesn't appeal.
The inboard end of the shaft log seems to be another stuffing box, with a remote greaser, but its adjustment isn't clear.


I've never encountered a set-up like this, and before we start pulling it apart to learn its mysteries, I would welcome advice from the forum as to what kit we'vegot, weather its that unusual, and what maintenance is required.

 

[Caer Urfa]

If you don'y get any joy on here send your pictures to T Norris http://www.tnorrismarine.co.uk/ as I have found them very helpful in the past and they will probably identify it as they supply various types.

Mike

 

[ianat182]

Vyv Cox has a website with several different types of stern gland fitting which may be of assistance with your query, or a PM to him for advice.

iana182

 

[vyv_cox]

Vyv Cox has a website with several different types of stern gland fitting which may be of assistance with your query, or a PM to him for advice.

iana182

Thanks for the mention but this one is new to me. I could make some guesses but I don't think that would be very helpful. Undoing the bolted flange seems to be the answer and should reveal a lot. I would be pleased to add some strip-down photos to the website if that can be arranged.

 

[AndrewB]

Interesting. I've seen two stuffing boxes on a rudder shaft but never on a drive shaft. The lower end looks quite similar to that on a steel boat of the same age I once owned: that held a grease-packed bearing rather than a stuffing box. It isn't as satisfactory an arrangement as a modern water-cooled cutlass bearing. The upper box appears to have an unusual but neat arrangement for compressing the stuffing. Anyway, it looks overdue for inspection and re-stuffing, and nicely arranged for ease of dismantling, so go for it.

 

[NormanS]

Kelvin (engines) used to supply stern-tubes with a packing gland at both ends. Your outer one looks conventional, but the inner one is unusual. Maybe if you wipe off the grease you will see that there is a means of turning the threaded part, to compress the packing, and that the hex is a nut to lock it in position. Has one of the set screws holding the inner gland to the stern-tube, sheared off?

 

[vyv_cox]

The 'Lady in red' arrangement towards the bottom of this page http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/Sterngear.aspx looks similar to your outer bearing, although with not quite the same fastenings. As Normans says, the only way to find how the inner one works is to dismantle it. It looks like a sound engineering design to me.

 

[PlankWalker]

Thank's for all your input, especially vyv_cox nod of approval.
The gear box end of the shaft is a Centaflex coupling,and everything turns very smoothly.
Is there any need for any other bearing within the shaft log other than 2 lots of gland packing

Plank

 

[alan17]

I would dismantle to thoroughly inspect. Clean up, repack and reassemble. No need to do any thing else. I tend to work on the "if it ain't broke don't fixit" theory.

 

[vyv_cox]

The Centaflex coupling may suggest that your shaft has a bearing top and bottom, the top one maybe a steady type to limit shaft contact with the stern tube. In this case shaft movement would be limited and a flexible coupling needed to take care of engine movement. It would be unusual to have a bearing outside the seal, so I am interested to see what is inside.

 

[Tranona]

The amount of grease suggests there is a bearing in there as well as some sort of seal or packing at the outer end.

 

[ripvan1]

In the second photo. am I alone in thinking that the area surrounding the coupling looks a bit rough