Stuffing box , seizing ?

[gonesail]

how long has it been since you repacked it and looked at the shaft? something seems to be seizing up which sounds bad but maybe not? take a good look at the stuffing box hose .. is it viable and not slipping around the stern tube? check all the clamps. not an easy job from the looks of it

[sailormed]

If you have an iPhone (maybe also on Android) retake the video in slow motion and put an additional light for clarity. This maybe helpful for you and forum members. There is a lot you can see in slow motion.

[Suijin]

I'm with Cheech on this...corrosion on the shaft and it's "catching" occasionally and twisting the boot. I would be extremely concerned. Depending on what's going on between the boot/gland and stern tube you're risking a catastrophic failure of some sort. I would haul the boat, pull the shaft and inspect, and recondition the whole system. Personally, I would not motor any distance before I did that.

[Mike Banks]

That sounds to ma as though immediate attention is required.

In some vessels the stern tube protrudes beyond the hull, not so much these days but it happened in the past. If a piece of rope fouled the end of the stern tube and the propeller, that could cause the stern tube to experience rotational forces from the engine even if the stuffing box is free. Unlikely, I know--but possible--and Murphy's Law applies at sea just as is seems to on land.

I never had any trouble with stuffing boxes because I never over-tightened them. I used greasy hemp stuffing, and clamped it down on to a clean shaft lubed with water pump grease, and allowed a slight drip. like one or two drips in every twenty seconds into a small sump box containing a float switch and a small bilge pump. In the event of any serious flooding that is above the level of the sump sides, that bilge pump becomes part of the emergency pumping system.

My last vessel had a drip-less shaft seal which also worked fine, but I never felt 100% happy with such a potential leak disaster installed below the water line.

[01kiwijohn]

Originally Posted by paulg222

Here is a link to a short 10s video of my stuffing box shown while the engine is running: https://streamable.com/f8i4hi

During the video, you'll see 2 incidents of what I'm talking about. The first is about 3-4 seconds in, the second at around 8s.

Both times you'll be able to see a slight rotation of the stuffing box. It sort of quickly rotates counter clockwise and then back (I think). Small rotation. Also there is a noise when this happens (which is what alerted me to it).

It does not happen all the time. After noticing this it seemed to stop and I did end up motoring for about an hour and did not hear that noise.

Did you try loosening the packing nut a little, increasing the drip rate, and see if it still does this?

[captnknopf]

It looks like what you have is a Leopard 38 with the Volvo shaft seal. When launching it needs to be burped (squeezed to lt the air out) and greased once a year or so. Since it has run dry, replacing it would be in order. They are not expensive but are easier to replace on the hard, altho it could be done in the water. If that is what you have, feel free to pm me.

[Michael Pope]

Now I was trying to be really, unusually , polite and not direct as I have heard comments about Mizzerable old man. I was hoping this nice fellow would say.
Hey what I need to do Is buy one of dem new fangled dripless stuff box things for a few Bucks and it would then maybe not matter that I had just
F--- d up what might have been a good shaft because I would have more latitude as to where I situated the Part of the new fangled ting on a good part of the shaft by changing the length of the Rubber Hose (Cheap) Thats me!
Because if I told him to do that . Some guy would say There goes Mike trying to peddle more stuff for Frederique ( Who happens to be a bit P--- Off with Mike) Fred sells the Maxiprops and shaft seals and a surprising number of things that the Europeans Copied from the mother lode in Blighty. Whooooo!
So you point out that the old mans sight must be failing as it was obviously a Bronze Wilcox Crittenden Stuffer. I KNEW THAT! My eyes work it is my ears and 756 other parts that have quit.. also many Polite bits. Just Kidding
I do like "Dripless" Dey More easy ! Cheers and survive to enjoy a happy if poor Summer everyone! Michael Pope

[mvweebles]

Is the stuffing box hot when running? Should be only slightly above ambient temp (maybe slightly warm, but never hot - have seen them hot enough that water steams). Hard to imagine what would cause intermittent grabbing like that.

I've field dresses lightly scored shafts by backing off nut and removing old stuffing. Yes, water comes in but not gushing. With engine running and gear engaged, hold a strip of wet/dry sand paper looped around the turning shaft for several minutes. Does wonders to reduce friction prior to replacing stuffing.

Agree with others. Replacing stuffing should be top of your to do list.

[Jim Cate]

Have we really determined if the shaft log is twisting in the hull or if it is the hose? Makes a big difference in the remedial effort required.

Jim

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Have we really determined if the shaft log is twisting in the hull or if it is the hose? Makes a big difference in the remedial effort required.

Jim

Good point. Two items for OP to check. Does the shaft turn freely? Engine OFF and gear in neutral, should be able to turn shaft freely by hand.

Second (engine OFF) , is there any play in the stern tube? Grab the rubber hose of stuffing box and push / pull; and twist back and forth to see if there is any play. There should be none. As in zero. The hose may flex, compress, or twist slightly , but there should be no lash whatsoever because the stern tube should be rigidly affixed to the hull.

While you're at it, check hose for wear and cracks, and hose Clamps for deterioration.

[stormalong]

The fact that the stuffing box returns to it's original position after the twist says to me that it is twisting the hose.

If the shaft log was turning what would cause it to spring back?

The elasticity of the hose is what does it. While it is being twisted a lot of torque is being stored in the hose until the accumulated force is enough to unstick the shaft and turn the stuffing box back to it's original position..

[paulg222]

Originally Posted by Michael Pope

This seems to me to be a stupid suggestion from me but maybe the man-- you do not know that when you are using a "NoDrip" stuffing box the seal that keeps the water where it should be is a lapped face between two lowfriction flat surfaces ( Ceramic to Carbon ---- many choices) this seal needs water to cool it and microscopically lubricate it.
When you launch the boat you need to push back the face to allow the air trapped in there around the shaft out in to the boat until water appears and then let it close. This provides the cooling and lubrication of the seal. If you launched and failed to do this it would be doing exactly as you described.
If you leave it like it is it will slowly degrade the seal face or even seize( unlikely but does happen)
If this happens you are left with a hard to seal opening. Cheers Mike Pope

It is supposed to be a dripless. I bought the boat (my first) last year, and the listing says this, but my inspection report lists it as "Bronze stuffing box w/ flax packing". I will try to reach out to the previous owner, who should definitely be able to confirm dripless or not. It is difficult to tell from the pictures and visuals I've been able to get, as the access is a bit of a challenge. I did confirm that I could reach down and slightly rotate the stuffing box by hand, I believe this is the hose (or bellows) that allows this as I did not have to use much force at all to do this.

One other pic I have is this: https://i.imgur.com/MAc9rxt.jpg which doesn't show much of the full stuffing box but perhaps can be a clue as to type.

EDIT: Found a slightly better picture https://i.imgur.com/cu448l6.jpg

Have to get some better pics and information from previous owner.

[mvweebles]

Surveyor would have no idea what type of packing. Just that it's a traditional stuffing box that was designed for flax packing. From your picture, access is worse than typical so I would not be surprised if maintenance has been deferred.

There are many flavors of "dripless" packing. After a while they eventually wear out and need to be replaced. And they all need periodic adjustment though much less so than the old flax stuff.

Based on strong and consistent recommendations, I recently installed GFO packing in my traditional stuffing box.

http://gfopacking.com/how-to-install...king-material/

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by paulg222

It is supposed to be a dripless. I bought the boat (my first) last year, and the listing says this, but my inspection report lists it as "Bronze stuffing box w/ flax packing". I will try to reach out to the previous owner, who should definitely be able to confirm dripless or not. It is difficult to tell from the pictures and visuals I've been able to get, as the access is a bit of a challenge. I did confirm that I could reach down and slightly rotate the stuffing box by hand, I believe this is the hose (or bellows) that allows this as I did not have to use much force at all to do this.

One other pic I have is this: https://i.imgur.com/MAc9rxt.jpg which doesn't show much of the full stuffing box but perhaps can be a clue as to type.

EDIT: Found a slightly better picture https://i.imgur.com/cu448l6.jpg

Have to get some better pics and information from previous owner.

Quite sure it's a packing gland in these pictures.
There's green bronze in the frame.
I'm not a fan of dripless, not robust enough for me.
The Dripless used to have a better thicker bellows, the new ones are thin, and IMHO will tear quite easily, leading to water in the boat.
SV Cloud Duster

[MicHughV]

some thoughts
(a) the propellor shaft can have growth on it inside the shaft log right up to where the stuffing box is attached. Unless you pull the shaft, you won't know it's there, but that growth can have frictional resistance on the stuffing gland. When you put the boat in gear, the prop shaft will move forward a bit from the propellor thrust and can catch the stuffing box material.
(b)I've seen cases where the shaft bearing at the prop is worn, causing the prop shaft to sag down and to be out of alignment and actually rubbing up against the inside of the stuffing box.
(c) the stuffing material is too tight, ie, the screw part of the stuffing box is on to tight and compressing the stuffing material against the shaft too much, causing excessive friction. The stuffing box should drip a bit while running to ensure the stuffing material is lubricated.

just some ideas to get you thinking.

If I saw that stuffing box rotate....I'd be nervous...very nervous !!