Stuffing Box Hose Has Died

[tinkrman69]

I've replaced the stuffing box on one boat and the hose and dripless seal on an other. one had a cutless bearing and the other had a strut bearing. altho the latter had more water flow during the exchange process, they were both quite easy. On both boats we put a line to the shaft to secure it from the outside as there was wave and wake action in the area. we didn't want it knocking around when we slid it back. the one had to be slid back, almost to the shaft log. the one boat only had a 500gph pump and it handles the job quite well. we had everything we needed to do the job, before removing anything.

as suggested, get a thick walled hose and make sure it is straight as can be. just a slight bend can cause damaging wear on the shaft. Think of how little pressure it would take for, say, a screw driver resting on the shaft for thousands of turns to cut a groove?

[bsurvey]

you need a diver to plug the outside with foam rubber


then you can take it apart. it will be exciting as it will still seep water through the rubber

[coastalexplorer]

I note that the OP is listed as Miami? So perhaps that presents a very limited opportunity to use the tides. It seems to me that as the world turns the oceans build higher tides of the west coasts of continents? Here on the west coast of Canada we can have on occasion over fifteen foot tide hight's: So tidal grids are available in most harbours for just this sort of work. Historically Careening was done on sailing ships that had a shallow full length keel. Principally to remove barnacles from copper sheathing, Often with fire to both sides of the hull on alternate tides.

IF a modern yacht with a deep fin fixed keel were ever allowed to lay over that far, I would expect that it could most likely flood on the incoming tide before it developed enough buoyancy to right it self. clearly one of the main reasons twin bilge keels are popular is some parts of the world.

The suggestion to take everything apart and re-purpose it back to new condition seems to have merit, Suggesting to buy a new boat seems to me ridiculously sarcastic. Not amused!

Just how 'absolutely' drip-less is a PYI seal is a question I would like to know the answer to?

[tinkrman69]

I had occasion to allow water to come in through a 1 inch through hole about 16 inches below the water line....an other story;-) It was about 3 to 4 gallons a minute...real time. 4 times 60 is only 240 gals/hr a 500gph bilge pump with a two foot discharge head is about 350 to 400 gph. If you have everything ready and leave the shaft in the log It'll only take about 30 minutes from open to close( not including the flange removal and reinstallation) maybe 5 or 10 gallons. a boat your size should have at least a 10 gallon bilge sump. and with the pump running....plenty of time. worse come to worse tape it shut with a rag and go get the what-ever you forgot.

Good luck
Lance

[HopCar]

I guess it can vary from boat to boat but on my boat the clearance between the shaft tube and the shaft is pretty small and my bilge pumps can easily stay ahead of what ever comes in.

"Buck Algonquin sells short pieces of the correct hose. Your local marine store can easily order what you need. You need to know the ID of the hose you need. "

I just noticed you're in Miami. I guess that makes me your local marine store.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by tinkrman69

I had occasion to allow water to come in through a 1 inch through hole about 16 inches below the water line....an other story;-) It was about 3 to 4 gallons a minute...real time. 4 times 60 is only 240 gals/hr a 500gph bilge pump with a two foot discharge head is about 350 to 400 gph. If you have everything ready and leave the shaft in the log It'll only take about 30 minutes from open to close( not including the flange removal and reinstallation) maybe 5 or 10 gallons. a boat your size should have at least a 10 gallon bilge sump. and with the pump running....plenty of time. worse come to worse tape it shut with a rag and go get the what-ever you forgot.

Good luck
Lance

Bernoulli`s formula, well established as accurate shows that a one inch hole 18 inches below the water will allow 21.2gpm to flow into the boat, that`s 1,272 gallons in an hour. Your 500gph bilge with a corrugated hose and a 4`lift will be operating at somewhere around 200gph ....... I still don`t think this is a job for a newbie in water.

[Roniszoro]

Thank you all for your input. The super tape has stopped the leak completely for the moment and I've got the boat scheduled to be hauled in 10 days. I'll go to Hopkins-Carter to buy the appropriate hose and keep you all posted.

Thank you again for your help.

Capt Ron

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by HopCar

I guess it can vary from boat to boat but on my boat the clearance between the shaft tube and the shaft is pretty small and my bilge pumps can easily stay ahead of what ever comes in.

"Buck Algonquin sells short pieces of the correct hose. Your local marine store can easily order what you need. You need to know the ID of the hose you need. "

I just noticed you're in Miami. I guess that makes me your local marine store.

Buck Algonquin is the proper hose and Hopkins Carter is your local marine supplier. Sounds like a no brainer to me.

By the way, I replaced my stuffing box hose. Looked fine but I'm pretty sure it was the original and since I had the shaft out anyway figured may as well. The Buck Algonquin hose is heavy duty and specifically for this application. Don't even think about a thin walled hose. This is a boat sinker if not done properly. Don't forget double clamping both ends of the hose with the proper hose clamp from AWAB. Bet HC has those as well.

[Roniszoro]

OK all ...An update and perhaps a problem?

I had the boat hauled and had a new stuffing box hose installed. It was a Bock Algonquin with super 50lb. torque double clamps to hold it.

I've launch and as it was a no wind day, I motored to my slip, about a two hour trip and at only 1500 RPM. Upon checking the stuffing box while under way, it was dripping quite a bit which I expected. I have assumed that as I use the boat motoring, I'll have to tighten the stuffing box as the flax seats itself. The drip was about 30 drops per minute. But what has me confused is that the stuffing box was quite hot. I could not keep my had on it. I measured the temperature with at laser temp gun, and it was 140*. It stayed at that temp and did not go higher. Once in my slip with the engine off, I checked the dripping again and it did not drip at all.

Any thoughts? Some how I think that the stuffing box should not be that hot.

Thank you in advance for your input.

[skipmac]

It does sound like the stuffing box is too hot. You should be able to put your hand on it without burning yourself.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Roniszoro

OK all ...An update and perhaps a problem?

I had the boat hauled and had a new stuffing box hose installed. It was a Bock Algonquin with super 50lb. torque double clamps to hold it.

I've launch and as it was a no wind day, I motored to my slip, about a two hour trip and at only 1500 RPM. Upon checking the stuffing box while under way, it was dripping quite a bit which I expected. I have assumed that as I use the boat motoring, I'll have to tighten the stuffing box as the flax seats itself. The drip was about 30 drops per minute. But what has me confused is that the stuffing box was quite hot. I could not keep my had on it. I measured the temperature with at laser temp gun, and it was 140*. It stayed at that temp and did not go higher. Once in my slip with the engine off, I checked the dripping again and it did not drip at all.

Any thoughts? Some how I think that the stuffing box should not be that hot.

Thank you in advance for your input.

You may have used the wrong size stuffing. I actually did that once & the stuffing box got too hot to touch even though it was dripping & loosening it made no difference. I changed to the next size smaller & it fixed it.