Dripless shaft glad

[FranklinGray]

This old boat new to me has a dripless glad on the prop shaft. It doesn't seem to drip when motoring or sitting still so all seems good now, but it is in a very bad spot and I dread the day something needs to be done, especially at sea.

Not knowing anything about them as I've always had a packing glad, I have to ask a few questions:

1) what is the typical lifespan of a dripless in miles motored?
2) Boat has a Velvet drive system with free spinning shaft while sailing, should those miles sailed be counted as miles motored?
3) What are the signs it is near the end of it's life?
4) What happens when it is at the end of it's life? I assume lots of water coming in. That could be bad when crossing an ocean.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by FranklinGray

Not knowing anything about them as I've always had a packing glad, I have to ask a few questions:

1) what is the typical lifespan of a dripless in miles motored?
2) Boat has a Velvet drive system with free spinning shaft while sailing, should those miles sailed be counted as miles motored?
3) What are the signs it is near the end of it's life?
4) What happens when it is at the end of it's life? I assume lots of water coming in. That could be bad when crossing an ocean.

What model?
Q1. Volvo at least 7 years.
Q2. Not particularly.
Q3. It drips.
Q4. It drips more, but progressively worse, not catastrophic.

Overall, brilliant bit of kit and means we have dusty bilges rather than wet. Change it when you are next out of the water if you are not sure. About £70 in the UK for the Volvo version, others more expensive.