Mayday Mayday Mayday

[zeehag]

ok this should get there--only thing i didnt picture was the stuffing box itself--is in same condition as flange...i thought i had some but i think i musta sent to someone without recording that--yipes....never do stuff in a hurry....



Picasa Web Albums - zeehag - formosa shaft...

[boatman61]

Zee.... I'd clean and grease up that shaft while your down there...
Just a thought...

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Zee.... I'd clean and grease up that shaft while your down there...
Just a thought...

yeah--it needs it-- whatkinda grease do ye recommend?? i will pb blast the flange nuts and assorted screwing things needing to be moving for installation-- but what do i use on shaft for maintenance!? as long as i am able to reach into the spaces i must maintain this-- dont want to have to mortify me self with making a mayday call for whatever stoopit reason i didnt need to .....

[Charlie]

I need some clarificaton. Are the pictures on the Picasa Album the stuffing box or a bearing? It looks to me more like a bearing. Does the bearing need to be replaced as well as the stuffing box?

The first step on this would be to clean it up. I would start with just soap and water. Use a spray bottle to get some pressure into the threads to get as much gunk out as possible. From there I would apply a penetrating oil to all the threads (four bolts and the flange and stuffing box). Not WD-40 but a real penetrating oil. Run down to Coronado Ace Hdw if you don't have some on the boat because you should. Apply the oil two or three times a day. When doing so strike the flat part of the nuts with a hammer firmly. Not real hard and not a tap. If you have some heat apply that too. IF you do this for a few days it will make the job a lot easier when the time comes. I would also match up all the parts making sure that you don't have a problem because you don't want to take the boat out of the water.

From the pictures I don't have an idea of whether or not the four SS bolts go all the way thru the beam or not. That would be good to know. Can you take some more pictures of the stuffing box and post them? This isn't making sense to me right now. A lot of the pictures focused at a different point then the flange.

[boatman61]

Zee... give the shaft a good scrub with one of those green pan scrubbers and neat washing up liquid till as clean as possible (wrap the pan scrubber right round the shaft then close eyes and fantasizetwisting movement works well) then wash/wipe down with fresh water...
wipe dry and coat with a light grease.... Vaseline works well being petroleum based... apply liberally....

[SaltyMonkey]

boatman ROFL!

That flange looks like its gonna crumble. Actually, the whole configuration looks crumble enabled.

So your plan is to replace?

[beetle]

Originally Posted by zeehag

ok only thing i didnt picture was the stuffing box itself--is in same condition as flange...

Can you indicate what is extending to the right in the image? Is this the prop shaft, a shaft tunnel/race, or something else? Where is the stuffing box located?

It's unclear exactly what the bronze element is that is attached to the wood athwartships beam/bulkhead/plate, e.g., a shaft bearing of some sort. I take it that that the bronze element is NOT the stuffing box, and that the stuffing box is off somewhere to the right off the photo?

What's the plan for stuffing box replacement? - for example, are you going to remove the propeller and slide the prop shaft forward to gain clearance for removing and re-installing the stuffing box?

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Zee.... I'd clean and grease up that shaft while your down there...

I'll bet you say that to all the girls......

[zeehag]

rofl...i love ye allayez...lol jkeep me laffing so i dont die of abject fright..LOl
yea entire mess is scary dead. needs shaft shoved back to wards ruc]=dder 4 in to work inside the tight space to get the various parts onto shaft and into [place. i will take more pix after i rob my bank of my last food money tomorrow-lol i should eb back afore 1400 as i dont have much left--is penance month--i was naughty with my money and spent tooomuch so i am penalizing me for that so i can fix more of this boat before i am ejected into mean cold pacific. lol ...lemonade!!!! only thiing i wasnt able ot make lemonade of was a ford torino, 1972 -- pos car..LOL
so this should essentially be easy. rofl. boat-easy--not in same sentence..LOL
there HAS to be SOMEONE who has done this in the water ..i know i am not the only crazy soul in this life of boats and wetstuff......

as far as i know, the pink thing attached to the beam is th flange for the packing gland-- or ......
yes i will take more pix tomorrow and post them tomorrow evening. hopefully this puzzle will unfold into something not toooo fatal.....
i will spray the helloutof it but i am askeeeereded to beat on it with a hammer-- powder happens and leaks sink..has been put off so long-- i got boat 2 yrs ago almost-- and i was sailing opb for 1 of htose years, placed engine afore i went to sail in gulf....postponing the fear factor job from hell.....this was bad when previous owner sailed boat down here fom san francisco 5-6 yrs ago.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by beetle

Can you indicate what is extending to the right in the image? Is this the prop shaft, a shaft tunnel/race, or something else? Where is the stuffing box located?

It's unclear exactly what the bronze element is that is attached to the wood athwartships beam/bulkhead/plate, e.g., a shaft bearing of some sort. I take it that that the bronze element is NOT the stuffing box, and that the stuffing box is off somewhere to the right off the photo?

What's the plan for stuffing box replacement? - for example, are you going to remove the propeller and slide the prop shaft forward to gain clearance for removing and re-installing the stuffing box?

My take on it is that the bronze item is a combination bearing stuffing box. It connects to a fiberglass tube that leads the shaft outside the boat. I can't figure how it seals though. I could be wrong but don't know what else it would be.

[zeehag]

the actual thing i think is stuffing box is over to the left and out of the pic--is why i need to take more and post those tomorrow... to get a better pic of this mayhem.

[DeepFrz]

Zee, there have been several posts on this forum of people who have replaced/repacked their stuffing boxes while in the water. They have all said that the leak was far less than they expected. Good luck.

[beetle]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Zee, there have been several posts on this forum of people who have replaced/repacked their stuffing boxes while in the water. They have all said that the leak was far less than they expected. Good luck.

Repacking the stuffing box in the water is easy - I do it routinely and get perhaps 3-5 gallons of water in total that squirts in past shaft and into the boat.

Replacing the internal components of the stuffing box (e.g., rubber hose, internal gland) lets in a lot more water and you have to be prepared, not get alarmed at what's going on, and simply work through the water spraying into the boat. And have a good bilge pump up and running to empty out as much as you can.

That said, I'm not sure I'd want to actually remove the entire stuffing box while in the water and expect to install the new box - that's a big hole. The approach I would consider is a variation on other work I've done in the water: from inside the boat push the prop shaft aft and out, replacing it with a short section of prop shaft material that slides into the shaft log (I have a 12" length of shaft for just this purpose); tighten shaft log down to stop the leaking; go under the boat and retract prop shaft further, then pack the external hole with a bung, or bung and wax, or bung and underwater epoxy filler (e.g., plumber's putty) to stop the leakage or make it manageable; returning to the inside of the boat one could then pull the shaft plug out, and then move through the procedure (quickly but carefully) of replacing the entire stuffing box. The key feature is how does the new stuffing box form a watertight seal with the hull? If it' some sort of adhesive/sealant caulk material, it could be a day or more of waiting for the sealant to set up before you could re-introduce the prop shaft into the boat again and make it truly watertight.

There's also an alignment issue - you want the stuffing box to be in line with the prop shaft, but if the prop shaft cannot be run back into the box during the installation process how do you know the alignment is good? Perhaps alignment is not that critical - I don't know. I do know that on my boat the shaft log is a 15 degree down angle bronze plate that's been fiberglassed into the hull at the right place, and that would be easiest with the shaft in place to nail down the fore and aft location of the log - on the Formosa 41 it looks more like the shaft log is attached to a more-or-less vertical deadwood in the keel, and perhaps this a simpler arrangement.

- rob/beetle

[Bergovoy]

i would offer a couple bucks to offset an cost to help fix this. sorry i cant help. maybe someday i will know wtf is going on here...

and from my aquarium keeping days, i understand leaks and plumbing issues..and have had to deal with leaks while keeping fish and houses safe... maybe something similar to fixing water scuppers and inlets and seals and thru hull fittings...

I am going to offer a guess at a suggestion on how to minimize the water entering thru the outside...

if youcan cover the inlet from the outside, maybe a trash can over the prop, or a bucket between the rudder and the prop, so the open end of the bucket is against the hull, and if you can use a rubber seal on the bucket or even towels, and then remove the seal.. the water will flow into the hull, but the water pressure should press the bucket tighter against the hull, and prevent sea water from coming in..

not sure if that makes sense or if youcan get a bucket or a temporary seal with the bucket...


my other comment, 'cause i thought of this happening to me, is to wonder, and please dont take this the wrong way.. but, for me, i would never think of living on board if i couldnt afford to pull the boat out in a moments notice, at least if i were close to a dock with service...

i dont mean to sound 'snobish' or rude, and I know that everyone leaves at whatever means possible everywhere... and i wish you continued success, and luck andsupport from other sailors...

and like i said, I can offer a few bucks and maybe others who arent geographically close or cant help, will offer some funds too? we can all help in different ways .. i hope...


bb

[smallyachts]

Back in the day when there were no boatyards and/or lifts available the simple solution would be to careen her on a sandy beach do the job, float off on the next high tide.

To Marine patrol (while batting long eyelashes):

Oops, I appear to have dragged my anchor and just happened to go aground on the backside of this spoil island, oh well, might as well fix this stuffing box issue while I am waiting on the next high tide. Could one of you hold this wrench for me?

Just make sure it is not some type of sanctuary or such.

Of course I am one of the basin ratz and known to do such things (except batting long eyelashes of course).