Quest for Redemption: Our Ill-Fated Stuffing Box Repacking Project | SV Ramble On

[@Hookmodo]

So we got the new "stuff" delivered.... HA! Great video guys, thankful for all you share!

[@svrambleon]

You bet!

[@captainsalty56]

Good to see you sorted it out in the end. When I first went to sea as an engineer stuffing glands was the realm of what we could do unsupervised. Literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of repacks later we learnt some tips and ideas from the old hands, most of which you finally incorporated in your repack. Yes 45deg cuts are normal. If in doubt for which size packing to use go bigger than smaller and use a hammer to flatten the packing if needed - it will then form nicely to the available space - we had to use this method if the gland was an in-between size or we simply ran out of packing. Rotating the joints is one method you've used - different folk will advise either 120deg offsets or 180deg. The former caters for any irregular curvature of the stuffing box, the latter maximises the distance any water bypass needs to travel. I generally use 120deg. I place as many rings of packing I can and then tighten up the follower to its max, then back off and insert any further rings required. I use as many rings as possible so that as little as 1/4" of follower is into the housing. Tighten again, than back off to the follower being loose. Ensure shaft rotate by hand then start engine and slowly tighten the follower measuring to ensure it remains parallel to the shaft i.e. check distance between follower and stern tube fitting and that there is a gap all around the shaft. A drip per second is probably as wet as you might go - as long as some water is coming out the housing and follower generally remains at the correct temperature (we used our hands in the days before digital temperature gauges). I prefer to use Teflon based packing as this lasts longer than pure flax or traditional materials. Never use any packing material that has wire reinforcing (used for steam or high pressure applications etc), as the wire will bind and score the shaft. Finally cut one or two spare rings of packing and tie to a nearby visible location with cable ties, so that if a major failure occurs you can simply put in another ring (keep a record of the number of rings you insert, so you can be sure that these are removed next time). In a emergency such as stuffing failure at sea, simply replace the first 3 or 4 rings leaving a couple in place to keep the water out. When I was at sea I would regularly find this to be the case, where those that had done the maintenance before simply couldn't be bothered removing all the rings. Works for a while, but fails early. And for those that advocate dripless mechanical seals - I have seen some spectacular failures and prefer the humble soft packing.

[@svrambleon]

Great advice Terry, and thanks for the detailed comment. I can always appreciate learning new tricks and tips from those who've been there/done that before me.

[@anamcharaenergy]

Wow! That is excellent information - makes this already useful video invaluable. Thank you.

[@From_Refugee_To_Yacht_Owner]

Hi, thanks for the great information. Any Teflon based packaging that you recommend?

[@ketchingmy2ndwindsvchopsticks]

Great idea on using the piece of PVC as a tool to push the pieces of Shaft packing in!!! 😎🥢⛵️🏴‍☠️🤙

[@svrambleon]

Thanks 👍

[@JCs-Music]

Thanks for being straight up with your experience

[@svrambleon]

Thanks Jeff, and thanks for watching. Trust me, I'm not gonna sugar coat something as serious as replacing shaft stuffing material while the boats in the water, tied up in a slip. I tried to think through the worst case scenario and come up with a good plan, but even then, best laid plans sometimes fall to $hit. I probably should've ordered both sizes of packing material for that "just in case" situation, but thankfully Jeni was there helping me out and passing me tools from the other side of the camera. Since there's not a lot of "reference material" available here on KZbin regarding this particular scenario, hopefully others' will learn from my trial & error. Good thing is that she still floats, and her shaft stuffing is good for another 10+ years.

[@svrambleon]

@@RichardEberhart_Rialta We steered away from the "dripless" stuffing box due to the fact that when everything's going well, these things perform impeccably. However, when the $hit hits the fan you now have a 2-inch hole in your boat. Thank you, but I would rather change/add a wrap or two of GFO packing with a slight inflow into the bilge while I'm working, rather than try and cork a giant gusher when the bellows seal around the prop shaft blows out. Search "dripless stuffing box" and see what you come up with before you make a life-changing decision that determines whether or not you boat still floats. Short answer: I don't trust them....

[@ralph9987]

what do they say? ""If it aint broke, dont fix it"! lucky ey. 😛

[@murphmurph2124]

Thanks for posting this it is invaluable information and will be extremely helpful when my time comes to do this, planning on buying SB about a year from date of my comment, thanks again.

[@svrambleon]

Thanks for watching Murf.

[@stevenpaulsagle2226]

Sorry to see you had so much trouble. I used the Teflon packing from West Marine on my Catalina c34 which was about 28 years old at the time. I had to adjust it about three times to get the drip just the way I wanted it. Never had a problem after that. Good luck

[@labrat3305]

Can't wait for more, thanks I love this channel and its vibes, hope to see you out there one day

[@dougrutherford9261]

If you don't succeed try again. You learn by doing. I have just bought my next boat a Sceptre 36 BC Canada built. Looking forward to learning what I need to be self-sufficient. Keep your fingers crossed for my sanity. Love boating through thick and thin.

[@svrambleon]

Yeah buddy, that's most of what this old-boat refit is: learn by doing (and dispelling mis-information garnered from the internet in the meantime). It's all good now, and probably wasn't as bad as it could've been. I feel sorry for those without dual redundant electric bilge pumps, dual redundant manual bilge pumps, and a high bilge alarm system (just in case ya fall asleep while your boat is filling up with water). ;)

[@randallpatrickc]

Very well done I thought it was hilarious when you’ve got to the point with the wrong size stuffing visions of going to West Marine. Hoping that the bilge pump battery doesn’t run out meanwhile! I found this very useful I was concerned about the temperature on mine so you have reassured me. Thank you very much

[@svrambleon]

Glad you enjoyed it, and glad to help out. Thanks for watching.

[@charleshoffacker4019]

I have to take care of that tomorrow or the next day at most. Scared stiff but from what I've seen, its not a super big deal. You seemed calm throughout the whole ordeal. This could be the last day I own a boat. Cheers

[@phygital1]

Wow, really excellent.

[@svrambleon]

Thank you John, Tragedy averted..... Sometime you just have to make things up as you go along. Often they work, and almost as often, they don't. Just gotta' roll with it and make $hit happen.

[@larrybouget7959]

Just watched your video of replacing your packing. Sorry but I snickered. Having worked in the marine industry I'm familiar with what you're doing, only on larger scale. We order our packing slightly oversized and gently tap it with a hammer to flatten the packing then we cut it to fit then we lightly grease the strips of packing the help it slip into the stuffing box. Just a mariners tip.

[@svrambleon]

Thanks man, that was a real hoot, first time repacking and got the wrong size!! Do, and learn I suppose.

[@larrybouget7959]

@@svrambleon keep the videos coming. Really enjoy. We don't have a sailboat but rather a 43 foot Hatteras double cabin.

[@buzzart410]

great video

[@SMM-Mystery]

Hey Rich, I know you did your stuffing box repack awhile ago but I was wondering if you remember the "Adjustments" that you and Adam made while underway that enabled you to get a 40 degree temp drop on the shaft and stuffing box? I appreciate any info or insight you have on this subject and wanted you to know that I love your channel due to the fact that you and Jeni cover things in a simple straight forward and clear manner. Thanks for all you do for us Sailors who would otherwise struggle without your guidance.

[@svrambleon]

All I did was tighten and loosen the bolts on the stuffing box until the temperature was where I thought it should be. Thanks so much for the kind words. Glad you found something useful!

[@SMM-Mystery]

@@svrambleon Thanks Rich, and I have found all of your videos informative and useful. I just made a purchase of a 1986 Endeavour 42 and am about to embark on many of the same types of projects you have already undertaken and will most definitely use your videos as reference as I dive into them.

[@DScottDay]

Question: when you say "We made a couple of adjustments" to bring down the heat in the stuffing box, do you mean you took a couple of layers of stuffing OUT? Allowing the water to cool it? This is an obvious question, but I'm looking at the same job on my Olin Stephens 1958 sloop with No Access except for the team of crabs I hire for this work. Thanks. Serious question. D Day, VALENCIA, Maine

[@DScottDay]

Ah, I just saw the same question answered to MisterMystery. Thx, DDay

[@svrambleon]

🙂

[@elliotadd]

A GOOD TIP IF YOU HAVE TO MUCH WATER COMING IN THE BOAT; Roll up a cigar size with play doh, then roll it with saran rap. Go in the water and stuff it between the shaft and the inlet of the opening. That will slow down the water from coming in the boat.

[@gking5522]

What a great idea for the "stuffer". That's why I keep you around! 8>) I notice you use bungees on your awning. How long before the UV eats them?

[@svrambleon]

Thanks for keeping us around G King, we always enjoy the feedback on our videos. As for the awning and the bungees, we got the shade cover from www.shadetreefabricshelters.com and couldn't be happier. They have a bunch of different boat designs in their database, so one will probably fit yours. Just don't tell them that we sent you, because we never get any kickbacks from the companies we recommend. We use what we use because we like it, and we pay for it out of our own pockets. If it's good, we say so, and if it's $hit, we say so TWICE! We got a 2-piece set with one for forward of the mast, and a bigger one for aft of the mast. Nowadays, we really only use the smaller forward piece, but we use it for aft of the mast. Smaller footprint, but it sits higher and has less overall windage than the larger one when were tied to the dock with prevailing westerlies on the beam. The whole kit was close to a grand for our boat, but money well spent in both Jeni's and my opinion. It came with bungees, but in order to make it fit we had to do a little customization. The bungees we use are from Lowe's or Home Depot, and a set of them lasts about 2 years or so in the blistering Northern California sun. For $12 a set, who cares if they fail? It's observable and predictable, so when they get all gnarly we just change them out. Thanks as alway for watching and following.....

[@balckrover2]

Nice video. What adjustments did you do to lower the the of the prop shaft?

[@svrambleon]

Thanks Edward, I simply made some small adjustments to the front and rear engine mounts to line the shaft with the stuffing box.

[@balckrover2]

@@svrambleon thanks!

[@hanssolo4ever]

You never cut the packing in a 90-degree angle, 45 only so you can overlap it and then each layer has to be offset so the cuts don't line up.

[@svrambleon]

Hans, did you bother to watch the video all the way through? No worries, skip ahead to 2:14 where I proudly display my GFO stuffing material cleanly cut at a 45 degree angle. And of course, I offset each cut in the rings with the ones previously installed. No need for a new stuffing box, and definitely no need for some hoaky drip fitting plumbed from the wet exhaust to the stuffing box. Thanks though, as always.

[@svsweetchariot2370]

What adjustments did you make

[@svrambleon]

We got 1/4" packing material, instead of the 3/16" that was recommended to us.

[@bigblockcutlass123]

It hurt to watch this.

[@theislandpackrat]

Now you need to test it, Go on a three thousand mile trip then you'll know it's right!! It takes at least a thousand miles to see.

[@svrambleon]

Well, we only motored for something like 7.5 miles, but I noticed we still have a bit of adjustment to do over the next couple trips. Thanks again for following, watching, and commenting as always Islandpackrat.