Stuffing Box

[sjreib]

I have a 2017 Cutwater 30 and have had difficulty controlling the drip rate of the stuffing box. My stuffing box doesn't have the usual big nut adjustment(as shown in the webinar), but has a plate with two bolts and two sets of 14mm nuts the can be turned to tighten or loosen
Question 1. Which other boats have this configuration-models, years?
Question 2. Have any of you with this configuration had difficulty with drip control?
Question3. Have any of you had this type of stuffing box serviced and has it been problematic. A marine mechanic recently looked at it and thought it might be very difficult to service and repack

Thanks for your response and help

Steve

 

[Shano]

I’ll try to answer your questions in order,
1: as far as I know this type of stuffing box is used only with the D6
2. Unless something is atypical on your stuffing box it should not be that hard to get adjusted. Tie up your boat very well at the dock and with the engine running at idle in forward gear count the drips which should be about 1 every minute. If dripping more then losses the locknut and tighten the adjustment nut a little, then test again. Mine took a few adjustments and then settled into a situation where I just check it once in a while, I haven’t had to adjust it for maybe 75 hours of running.
3: I replaced the stuffing myself and it is not a difficult job. Way better to do it in the slings or on the hard. Apparently a lot of water comes in so....
What exactly is your situation, too much dripping or not enough?

 

[sjreib]

Thanks, too much dripping after running and need to tighten after each trip. Burned out bilge pump from excessive use.

 

[bob daily]

Steve, might I recommend removing old packing and replace with new packing! The packing system installed on your boat sounds like the system that is on every irrigation and commercial pump around. A packing removal tool (looks like a tiny cork screw on a flexible wire) can be purchased along with the packing from Amazon or any pump supply store. Once a packing is over tightened or over heated its trashed and needs to be replaced. Removal tool and packing will cost less than $35.there should be 3-three rings of packing. Be sure to staged them and cut them at 45 degree angles. Lots of U-tube videos on line and is a simple DIY project. For packing size just measure what you pull out, is also a good guide for length of new packing. If time is p problem just get all the sizes (1/4 in or 3/8) and return the one that doesn't fit. Good luck Bob

 

[Shano]

Thanks, too much dripping after running and need to tighten after each trip. Burned out bilge pump from excessive use.

Your situation sounds very similar to what mine was when I didn’t realize that the drip rate of 1 or 2 drips per minute is when the shaft is turning. I was adjusting to that rate when out of gear so it dripped way too frequently when in gear so I was always adjusting it. You may be able to put off replacing the packing if it will adjust to no drips out of gear and the 1 or 2 in gear per minute. Definitely worth a try. If you are down to only a few threads left on the adjusting studs then you have no choice but to repack. The packing size on our CW30 is 3/8”.

 

[SJI Sailor]

We had the same problem with our new C30. It was essentially impossible to adjust the stuffing box appropriately. We had multiple attempts by mechanics as well as by myself. After a year we gave up and replaced the stuffing. It has been better since then, although we replaced with graphite stuffing and that has made a huge mess in the bilge. It is very oily. I would probably go back to regular stuffing if I did it again.

For what it's worth, two different mechanics looked at putting a dripless shaft system in it and did not want to do it because of the tight tolerances.

 

[bob daily]

Steve, just for your info I use teflon packing manufactured by Palmetto Packing co.
(Www.palmettopacking.com) I seem to get better results and longer life out of this product I run it in my pumps that operate 24-7 for 7 months a year. And yes I use it in my boat too. Bob