Packing and Stuffing

Last weekend I went to the boat and measured the propeller shaft, and found it to be 1-1/4" in diameter. Based on discussions that I read on the web, I concluded that I needed either 1/4" or 5/16" packing. West Marine carries GoreTex packing in both of those sizes, and since it was three times as expensive as the cotton flax packing, I figured that it must be the best choice!

Today, Dennis met me at the boat to lend morale support and guidance. He has replaced the packing on his boat, so I figured that having an experienced hand around would be a good thing. We went through the process methodically, and everything went perfectly. The amount of water leaking around the shaft after opening the nut was very tolerable for the bilge pump. I had the right size packing, 1/4". The packing cut easily with the fresh razor knife that I had on hand. The clearance for the packing nut allowed me to slide it way down the shaft to an area with great access under the floor board. The PVC pipe section that I made to use as a tool to help the packing push into the nut did it's job. And when I hand-tightened the packing nut, the water flow stopped. Total time working: 55 minutes. The sea gods smiled on me today, and I am grateful.

Stuffing Box

Last season it became clear that it is time to re-pack the stuffing box. The adjustment nut has become hard to tighten as the packing has become compressed. It's been about 5 years since the last re-packing, so the timing seems about right. This time, I plan to do it myself, with the boat in the water. This should be exciting, since once you open up the stuffing box nut, the boat will begin to take on water around the prop shaft. I'm using the following link as a reference: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box&page=1

This is the best example that I have found on the web so far. I need to take some measurements from the shaft this weekend, and then collect some supplies for the job.