gland/stuffing box question

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greigwill
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Joined: 3/28/10
Posts: 174
gland/stuffing box question

I am unable to see any compression sleeve on the flexible gland (shaft)side...as far as i can see its solid bronze around the shaft,no room for flax packing....soo..i put 2 wraps in the hollow of the NUT and tightened it down till it weeped...this cant be right?Is it?I put the term strip upgrade on the engine panel today as well,worked great,kind of a long day.

"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
 Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca

Allan R's picture
Allan R
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Joined: 6/26/07
Posts: 177

Try this link for a reliable source (Maine Sail). It gives a step by step how to.

[URL]http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box[/URL]

Allan Rex
# 2216

greigwill
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Joined: 3/28/10
Posts: 174

Thanks Allan,exactly what i needed...great photography that leaves no doubts..turns out the C36 gland has no compression sleeve,just the nut.

"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
 Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca

capestarr
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Joined: 12/8/18
Posts: 20

Repacking the stuffing box packing gland (PG) nut has been covered a number of times including this post from August 2010. Nonetheless I do have some questions and need some additional tips that I have not able to find thus far.
 
Two Rings.
Are two rings of packing material sufficient for the job? What experience has anybody had with using just two rings?
 
Greigwill on Sailing Still posted on 08/21/2010 that they used two wraps/rings. I am not seeing how this actually worked out for them.
 
I have only been able to get two rings into the packing gland nut. I have tried getting a third ring into the PG nut but there does not seem to be enough room in the PG nut.
 
I have reviewed previous posts as well as the highly recommended article: https://marinehowto.com/re-packing-a-traditional-stuffing-box/ ; all seem to advocate three rings.  In my situation three rings do not seem to fit.
 
I am using the Western Pacific Trading Packing GTU for Stuffing Box, 3/16" from Catalina Direct.
 
Inserting New Packing.
I am also interested in additional tips for pushing the packing rings into the PG nut.
 
Trying to get the 3/16” GTU packing into the PG nut has been a challenge. I have tried to avoid using anything with a sharp tip to avoid damaging the packing or scratching the shaft.
 
In inserting the new rings I tried the PVC “tool” mentioned in https://marinehowto.com/re-packing-a-traditional-stuffing-box/.  The clearance between the PG nut, when it is as far forward as possible on the shaft against the coupler, is only about 2 inches on my boat. Partly for this reason, I have had limited success with this “tool” as a means to insert the new packing material into the PG nut.
 
I also tried, with very limited success, pushing the packing in with a wooden tongue depressor. The only thing the really worked was a blunt screwdriver.
 
I am certain I removed all of the old flax packing before inserting the new packing. There seemed to be three rings of the old flax packing.
 
My boat has the 1” shaft and is a 1985 MKI hull number 397.
 
The drip rate toward the end of the 2019 season was 60 drops a minute and I was not able to tighten the PG nut any further. This is the reason I am doing the repacking during the off season while the boat is on the hard.
 
Any other tips or words of advice are appreciated.
 
John O
The 7OCs
Catalina 36 MKI
1985 Hull Number 397

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Haro
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Joined: 11/7/14
Posts: 403

The flax is 1/4". It takes 3 rings for me.
I have a writeup at the link below that may help you.
http://mei1970.org/saillavie/stuffing-box
The drip rate is about 1 Oz per week. 60 drops per minuite is too many drips.
The flax I am using is much better and lasts about 5 years with adjustments.
Apply Lana-coat before installing the nut to make it more dripless.
Haro.
 

capestarr
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Joined: 12/8/18
Posts: 20

Thank you for the info. Great pictures!

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