What Type of Seal is This?

[scoobert]

its dripping at 50-70 drips a min. i understand it suppose to be 1-2 per min.
what do i do to adjust it?
sorry for the bad photo, its not in an easy to reach spot.

[Teknav]

Hiya Scoob! Definitely it is not a seal that flaps its flippers or balance a ball on its nose or eat fish! UH UH UH UH!

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[wingless]

The hose clamps are shot and should all be replaced.

[Lancerbye]

It's an older style stuffing box. They were very common on older Commercial Fishing boats. There should be a packing follower that pushes against the packing in the stuffing box. The two nuts that are against the packing follower are normally tightened just enough to reduce the drips to a couple drips per minute. However from the looks of your picture it appears that you already have the thing adjusted to the end which means you have to replace the worn packing rings. There are a variety of different sizes and materials you can make them from. They have to fit tightly into the stuffing box and the material used is determined by the speed your prop shaft turns and the application. If you haven't done this procedure before get some help. It's an easy job once you know how to do it.

[zeehag]

that looks like an older hybrid dripless seal plus flanged unit--there is a blue cap and a looks like blue fitting at the far end---this bronze stuff is not the only part of this system.

looks like the scary looking part of that mess needs to be replaced--the metal stuff looks to be still ok. clean off the metal to see what you have. zinc the mess when done replacing. you do need to replace AT LEAST the hoses and clamps part of it all. let a good boatwright/mechanic see the metal bits for accurate diagnosis---he will prolly want you to haul and do all of it no matter what ,,isnt a bad idea, as it will save you a lot of problems in long run. keep spare stuffing on board

btw--this stuff is not easily done. is really a good idea to haul to do it all. i have been doing bit by bit in water as i sail .... but i also know how much water this boat took on daily before i bought it, and how to fix it ... or at least get it this far..

[jgbrown]

Originally Posted by scoobert

its dripping at 50-70 drips a min. i understand it suppose to be 1-2 per min.
what do i do to adjust it?
sorry for the bad photo, its not in an easy to reach spot.

Pull it out. At the very least: New hose, New hose clamps, clean the bronze(alternating muriatic acid and clr). once back to new metal, sand it well, coat with anti corrosion spray or oil, reassemble, put in new packing and reinstall.
Should probably get the shaft checked at the same time.

[RaymondR]

The small round blue thing at the back with the stud and nut is probably an old type grease injector, try unscrewing it and if you can fill it with grease and screw it back on, if this is what it is you need to give it a turn down now and then to inject more grease. The nut and stud are probably there to bond the metal stern tube to the other hull penetrations. This is done to prevent electrolysis. Bit of a controversial subject as some people say it actually accelerates it.

I agree with Lancerby regarding the packing follower, it is hard up against the packing housing and this indicates a need to repack the gland.

The packing material used to be a square woven cloth of cotton or asbestos saturated with graphite. Don't know what they use these days instead of asbestos but you can still buy it. Try marine or engineering or pump supply places. The size you need is the ID of the housing minus the OD of the shaft then divide the answer by two.

To install it you wrap it around the shaft then cut it at the full wrap point then push it into the housing. Push each piece to the bottom and use enough to half fill the housing then tighten it down with the two adjusting bolts. Only tighten so much as to allow it to still drip the one or two drips a minute. If you hire someone to do it watch them closely as adjusting it is something that needs to be done regularly.

The hose clamps are rusty and do probably need replacing. I gave up on the light ones years ago and now use the heavy gauge ones with tightening bolts.

If the outer case on the hose looks perished it definitely needs replacing, it's one of those things the prudent do about every five years or so whether it needs it or not. However on most boats you have to take the coupling off the shaft or pull it and is best done whilst the boat is out of the water.

[barnakiel]

I do not know the type but the whole thing looks horrible. I hope this is not the boat you are sailing right now.

b.

[jgbrown]

I agree almost exactly with what Raymond suggests as well, with one addition, and one difference. When pushing the new cut packing back down inside make sure the cut ends do not line up, if you think of it like a clock, the first cut ends at 12, second at 4, third at 10 etc.

I prefer good quality all stainless non perforated hose clamps. (Awab brand is commonly available). The ones with a bolt are called T-clamps and I find they are harder on the hose, slower to install. Also many times I've gone to remove them in boats and they've failed as I was loosening them. Typically they fail right on the two small dots(spot welds).

[Cheechako]

The whole thing needs attention for sure. You need new packing. One of my asian boats... maybe the Hans Christian had that type. I liked it, easier to adjust those two nuts than to try to get a big spanner on two big bronze nuts.
You are dripping way too much, although most my boats dripped more than a couple drips a minute, even with new packing. It doesnt appear you have any adjustment left. Bes thing would be to remove everything, clean it up, new hose and clams and new packing , the basic traditional packing or the newer teflon or graphite type. Persoanlly , I like the traditional.

[RaymondR]

I do not know the type but the whole thing looks horrible. I hope this is not the boat you are sailing right now.

It may look terrible but it is a good, solid old piece of equipment which will clean up quiet nicely. From the look of it it is solid brass and if you clean it, give it a polish and a couple of coats of brass varnish it will look very impressive.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by scoobert

............... its not in an easy to reach spot.

I think this sums it up. It's likely all would be in better shape it you could reach everything. It's probably best to arrange for this at the next haul out. It might require some time with some cables and hoses moved for access. I've even known of times when a small person needs to be hired! When the time and access suits,- do it all!

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

It may look terrible but it is a good, solid old piece of equipment which will clean up quiet nicely. From the look of it it is solid brass and if you clean it, give it a polish and a couple of coats of brass varnish it will look very impressive.

1) "will clean up" ...

2) is brass the material for this application?

Keeping things clean is only the first step to proper maintenance. I say stay in port with a boat like this, best on dry.

Why buy a boat in this condition? Are there no same make, cleaner samples around? Think about it: if this important area looks this bad, what other surprises could one expect?

PS I'd rather go bronze.

b.

[Jim Cate]

If the packing gland is really hard to reach one might well consider replacing it with any of the many dripless seals available. Having dry bilges is great, and conventional glands that are hard to reach are seldom properly serviced.

If you decide to keep the conventional packing gland, I have had great success with the teflon based packing material. On our previous boat it essentially eliminated the drip, yet ran cool to the touch and didn't wear or score the shaft. Easily worth the lsight extra cost for material and its special lubricant (used only at installation).

Cheers,

Jim

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

1)

Why buy a boat in this condition? Are there no same make, cleaner samples around? Think about it: if this important area looks this bad, what other surprises could one expect?

lets see,
garden hose parts in the bilge,
tail light bulbs in the nav lights,
steel hose clamps,
batteries disconnected and dead,
arching in the electric panel,
non-working bilge pumps,
leaking teak,
stuck thru-hulls,
engine electrics all a mess,
raw water pump installed sideways,
bad fuel filters,
worn out belts,
and a $100-150,000 discount over the price of a model in good nick.