Stuffing box ?

O

oldgit

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All my previous boats have had more sophisticated shaft seals but my present one seems to involve wrapping bits of fancy rope round my shafts and doing up a couple of bolts.
Had quick look the V Y Cox most excellent website and it infers you can do this while afloat ?
Have visions of steadily rising water levels and extreme panic while attempting the job afloat !
Any comments from the brave among you.
Adjustment point on one of the shafts appears possibly to be close to its maximum.


https://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/pages/sternglands.aspx
 
yes you can do it - water ingress not much different to pulling in a speed sensor. Have a rag handy to stuff in the gap just in case.
Get everything prepped before hand, pre cut rope sections of the correct dimensions etc and have the rope extractor tool handy (looks like a long thin corkscrew). Make sure the threaded studs are nice and clean and greased so everything rotates/slides easily. Make sure the relevant bilge pump is working too as you will get a bit of a puddle.

Pull out the first ring of cord and not much happens
Pull out the second ring and water starts coming in
ready...
Pull out the third ring and water flows in quite rapidly. Don't panic it takes an unbelievable amount of water to sink a boat. Make sure you have all the old cord out.
Now slide your first new piece of cord into the stuffing box and push it home with the compression part of the stuffing box.
Water flow will slow dramatically.
repeat with the other two making sure the "joins" don't align (set the rings 120 degrees offset to each other)
 
kashurst said:
...Pull out the third ring and water flows in quite rapidly. Don't panic it takes an unbelievable amount of water to sink a boat. Make sure you have all the old cord out.
Now slide your first new piece of cord into the stuffing box and push it home with the compression part of the stuffing box.
Water flow will slow dramatically.
Click to expand...

I've read your description of the process, and have made a mental note:
"To change the packing in the stuffing box, first have the boat lifted out of the water".
:)
 
I did mine 2 weeks ago afloat. Water ingress was never more than the electric bilge pump could cope with.

I would not have been able to do it without the removal tool, https://www.asap-supplies.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Drive+Force+Medium+Gland+Packing+Removal+
in fact I got 2 sizes 6-8mm and 10-13mm and used both, the removal of the old gland packing material was hard work. Over the years it was very hard and very compressed so the corkscrew tools would not get a hold of it until I have dug around a bit with a screw driver creating a bit of give in the old packing so the corkscrew could then bite/penetrate, then drawing it out without it breaking... all done from on top with not great access. I guess took me just over an hour to get the old gland packing out and as I had pre-cut the new probably no more than 2 hours start to finish and all tidied up and tools away. That was with quite restricted access in that there is a water tank located just behind the stuffing box and a bulkhead 40cm in front of that so not the best... but also not the worst I imagine.

use and plenty of marine grease to assist the smooth slide of the packing material into the stuffing tube but pretty straight forward job. First time you use your boat you will need to tighten up a few times as it will soon compress and leak as it settles down..
 
kashurst said:
yes you can do it - water ingress not much different to pulling in a speed sensor. Have a rag handy to stuff in the gap just in case.
Get everything prepped before hand, pre cut rope sections of the correct dimensions etc and have the rope extractor tool handy (looks like a long thin corkscrew). Make sure the threaded studs are nice and clean and greased so everything rotates/slides easily. Make sure the relevant bilge pump is working too as you will get a bit of a puddle.

Pull out the first ring of cord and not much happens
Pull out the second ring and water starts coming in
ready...
Pull out the third ring and water flows in quite rapidly. Don't panic it takes an unbelievable amount of water to sink a boat. Make sure you have all the old cord out.
Now slide your first new piece of cord into the stuffing box and push it home with the compression part of the stuffing box.
Water flow will slow dramatically.
repeat with the other two making sure the "joins" don't align (set the rings 120 degrees offset to each other)
Click to expand...

Exactly what he said. Outdrives are great!:encouragement:
 
Firefly625 said:
David, honestly not and issue.. although I am the person who happily takes my log out every time I leave the boat...
Click to expand...

I am a Chicken.

The idea of deliberately opening up a hole in the bottom of my boat whilst in the water would give me the screaming heebie jeebies for months.

I'm possibly scarred by an earlier attempt to remove a paddlewheel where the check flap didn't move...
 
hm,

I must be doing something wrong, as all ppl down here just said, ADD new chord/rope/whatever you call that thing, and that's what I did!
Never bothered removing the old one.
I just assume it slowly disintegrates and disappears, so you keep stuffing thing in, no?

cheers

V
 
vas said:
hm,

I must be doing something wrong, as all ppl down here just said, ADD new chord/rope/whatever you call that thing, and that's what I did!
Never bothered removing the old one.
I just assume it slowly disintegrates and disappears, so you keep stuffing thing in, no?

cheers

V
Click to expand...
No it hardens and grinds a groove
 
Have the right diameter stuffing, remove the box cap, remove the first ring, measure or copy with the new stuffing, cut at 45 degrees then make 3 copies. remove any more old stuff, then offer up the new with joints offset, replace cap and tighten up, should be a grease nipple or similar to inject grease, keep an eye on it and tighten as needed, 2/3 drips a minute is acceptable but suit yourself. No danger of sinking boat.
 
Firefly625 said:
I did mine 2 weeks ago afloat. Water ingress was never more than the electric bilge pump could cope with.

I would not have been able to do it without the removal tool, https://www.asap-supplies.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Drive+Force+Medium+Gland+Packing+Removal+
in fact I got 2 sizes 6-8mm and 10-13mm and used both, the removal of the old gland packing material was hard work. Over the years it was very hard and very compressed so the corkscrew tools would not get a hold of it until I have dug around a bit with a screw driver creating a bit of give in the old packing so the corkscrew could then bite/penetrate, then drawing it out without it breaking... all done from on top with not great access. I guess took me just over an hour to get the old gland packing out and as I had pre-cut the new probably no more than 2 hours start to finish and all tidied up and tools away. That was with quite restricted access in that there is a water tank located just behind the stuffing box and a bulkhead 40cm in front of that so not the best... but also not the worst I imagine.

use and plenty of marine grease to assist the smooth slide of the packing material into the stuffing tube but pretty straight forward job. First time you use your boat you will need to tighten up a few times as it will soon compress and leak as it settles down..
Click to expand...

+1
 
When you come to cut the new cord to length, wrap it round the shaft, until there is more than one complete turn, get a sharp blade (not some rusty old thing in the tool box, cut through two thicknesses where it passes if you see what I mean, so you know you have the length for a complete ring.

Space the cuts around the clock, one at midday, one at 4pm, one at 8pm. See?
 
Thanks everyone.
Have discovered short length of packing in a locker,assume it was the stuff used last time.
About 7mm square,black woven structure and with a slightly greasy surface.

The real dilemna will of course be making the job last at least for as long as the only sunny week in ages and finding something to spend all the money on that I would had spent repairing any outdrives.
Actually the closest solution is probably, nip to the bank, withdrawn a enourmous amount of money, drive down to the boat in tears and simply chuck it all over the side . :)
 
Last edited:
oldgit said:
Thanks everyone.
Have discovered short length of packing in a locker,assume it was the stuff used last time.
About 7mm square,black woven structure and with a slightly greasy surface.

The real dilemna will of course be making the job last at least for as long as the only sunny week in ages and finding something to spend all the money on that I would had spent repairing any outdrives.
Actually the closest solution is probably, nip to the bank, withdrawn a enourmous amount of money, drive down to the boat in tears and simply chuck it all over the side . :)
Click to expand...

Or use new £5 ers as packing. LOL
 
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