Stuffing box stern tube issues

[pcmm]

This winter I decided that it was time to renew my cutlass bearing on my Morgan OI 41 and while I'm at it I decided to refurb my stuffing box and mid bearing. Cutlass bearing is on it s way out. some PO decided that they needed to glue it in place (grr PO's!!) so that's a challenge but it will come out eventually!

The real challenge is the stuffingbox stern tube. I took apart the (original) stuffing box and tube and now have a problem. the brinze stuffing box has an external diameter of 2 1/4 inches. but the stern tube ( and I've measured it several times while scratching my head) is 2 3/8 inches in diameter. how do I get 2 1/4 inch stuffing box hose to stretch enough to fit that? or do I buy 2 3/8 inch hose and hope that I can compress it to fit the 2 1/4" stuffing box?

[motion30]

How was it attached when you took it apart?

[Pelagic]

What is your boat/tube made of...Steel/fiberglass??

[pcmm]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that the boat is a 1978 Morgan Out Island 41. The stern tube is a fiberglass tube with 2 inch ID and 2 3/8 OD. Originally the stuffing box was connected to the tube with a piece of black hose, just like a regular stuffing box. The issue is that the stuffing OD and stern tube OD don't match. There is an 1/8 inch difference

[foufou]

You could shim the stuffing box with a piece of hose that fills the difference in diameter

[jhulmer]

Have you tried soaking the end of the hose in very hot water and putting a little dish soap on the inside and forcing it on to the tube. It should stretch that 1/8"?

[Elie]

My recommandation is to modernize your set up, by installing instead of your old cutless bearing by a PSS Shaft Seal.(https://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/...ft-seals).Easy to install, no maintenance for life, but mostly, not a drop of water leak from stern tube.... I alway had to in my differents sailboats, and quite happy with the concept.

[jewt]

The dripless are great until they fail and they will fail then you have to haul the boat or sink. You can easily and safely repack the "old style" whileat anchor.

Jewt Collyar

S?V Bifrost

[Squanderbucks]

Buy a piece of Fiberglass Stern Tube of the proper OD and thin it as needed on the inside to fit over the one in the boat. Clean and sand to clean fiberglass the outside of the tube in the boat. Then epoxy the new piece over the clean stub of the old tube and now the reinforced tube will be of the proper diameter.
I had to cut out and totally replace my old tubes back in 2013 but this should be much easier if you have sufficient access. I hand to pull fuel tanks etc to gain access.
I have used a similar trick to reinforce the fiberglass exhaust tubes to keep them from being crushed when tightening the T-Bolts to the rubber of the engine exhaust.

[Squanderbucks]

Sorry your case is the other way around. Forget my suggestion.

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by jewt

The dripless are great until they fail and they will fail then you have to haul the boat or sink. You can easily and safely repack the "old style" whileat anchor.

Jewt Collyar

S?V Bifrost

what? I've had one for over 30,000 sea miles and it hasn't failed! still in great shape. but, the failures I think you might be referring to have been on the collar working loose on some of the early modals. You can put an additional collar behind the factory collar for extra insurance. Maintenance just like everything else!

But they are not going to arbitrarily fail.

[Squanderbucks]

I believe the 2-3/8 ID hose will be fine. The 1/16" slack all around will compress just fine. I would rather do that than overstretch the smaller diameter as it ages the hose faster IMO. If you trial fit it and still feel like the two T-bolt clamps or at least ABA clamps are not doing the job by themselves - use a little coating of Permatex Black gasket material insurance.

[Elie]

Originally Posted by jewt

The dripless are great until they fail and they will fail then you have to haul the boat or sink. You can easily and safely repack the "old style" whileat anchor.

Jewt Collyar

S?V Bifrost

Technically it is a much smarter idea to have 2 flanges(one stainless, the other graphite), sealed and lubricated simply by the present water pressure in the stern tube than the old style BECAUSE they don't drip, and I never saw one failing. I have dripless PSS on my boat since the last 30 years, without failure. But I've seen many friends with stuffing boxes trouble, with water ingress, overheating gland, glazed packing, scored propshafts beyond repair... I'm the exception in this conservative world ?...

[Training Wheels]

Love my dry bilge and PSS!

[stbdtack]

I had a similar situation in that my bronze stuffing box was 1/4" smaller than the stern tube. Being that a failure in that recess of the boat could be very serious indeed and, like you, in my boat removal of the fuel tank is the only way to get to it I chose to "do it right". I built up the surface of the bronze stuffing box with a bronze epoxy mix made by Devcon. After a few days cure I mounted the stuffing box on a lathe and turned it to give a line to line fit with the hose. A 0.050" lip was created to secure the clamps. Any local machine shop could easily assist. The epoxy is very easy to shape. Don't be foolish by attempting to short cut this one.