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Stern gland packing coming out towards prop


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Hi,

Fair warning, noob boater, terminology still being acquired. I went down my weed hatch this morning to dislodge something caught on the prop and while checking things over found two rings of what I assume is stern gland packing (see pic) were outside in the water around the prop shaft in a state of advanced knackeration. What are they doing there?! This can't be good, right? Is my stern gland kaput, having a tantrum and throwing it's rings into the cut? Having lost two rings am I safe to cruise on? Can/should I head straight to the nearest boatyard? We just had her out of the water and the yard said the gland didn't need repacking when we'd asked for them to do it but we had a terrible experience at the yard so not sure how much to trust their word.

 

IMG_20200918_160404.jpg

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Stern gland packing usually looks like this, of various thicknesses. It does deteriorate, but not like that....so ..WOT e says too.

You may find you can actually go forward and reverse slightly more easily now, hopefully the line wasnt round there too long as it would wear the prop shaft eventually....looking closer, looks like it was nylon rope, its melted where the prop was turning.

s-l400 (1).jpg

Edited by matty40s
  • Greenie 1
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Some rotten boater who leaves his fenders down to get ripped off in locks and you have picked the remains up on your blade. The gland packing is at the opposite end of the shaft bearing, no way it could get out at the back end.  If it ever did,  boy, would you know, the water would be up to your knees.

  • Greenie 4
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Aah. That's a relief.  It confused me because it was in two distinct rings and one of them has I guess melted so much it almost looks plastic-backed (see pic) but it absolutely does not look like that pic of packing. The prop does strange transformation to stuff it encounters. Feeling glad it's not packing but a bit daft now for thinking it was. So much to learn. Thanks a million, this community is great.

IMG_20200918_193246.jpg

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That rope has got caught on something fixed like the skeg, with the free end wrapped around the prop shaft. The rope has partially melted where the shaft has been rotating while the rope was held stationary. Surprising the rope has got hot enough to melt under water. Must have had an effect on the amount of power available at the prop.

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1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

How does a fender end up in the water and around a prop?

 

Can't give a definitive answer to the first part of your question, but in the case of the fender below, the answer to the second part of your question is "by manoeuvring below Wardle Lock, Middlewich while the lock was emptying". Got the stern a bit too close to the bank, then went into forward gear and there was the most tremendous thumping noise going on below the counter. We don't have a weed hatch, so once through the lock, pulled onto the lock mooring and out with the short shaft.20200906_105725.jpg.8af0f590fda7d3f2e233459e8b065421.jpg

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9 hours ago, David Mack said:

 

Can't give a definitive answer to the first part of your question, but in the case of the fender below, the answer to the second part of your question is "by manoeuvring below Wardle Lock, Middlewich while the lock was emptying". Got the stern a bit too close to the bank, then went into forward gear and there was the most tremendous thumping noise going on below the counter. We don't have a weed hatch, so once through the lock, pulled onto the lock mooring and out with the short shaft.20200906_105725.jpg.8af0f590fda7d3f2e233459e8b065421.jpg

Similar experience leaving a lock in Fradley, I now always give a quick burst of forward to start moving and then drift until away from the lock.

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I met a man who said he's never had to buy a fender as he picks up all the fenders lost by those foolish enough to cruise with them down.

 

Starter rope sounds like a great idea with my batteries; I'll pop down the weed hatch with a few metres of rope while I'm cruising along to get that fitted nice and snug ?

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1 hour ago, BobbingAlong said:

I met a man who said he's never had to buy a fender as he picks up all the fenders lost by those foolish enough to cruise with them down.

 

Starter rope sounds like a great idea with my batteries; I'll pop down the weed hatch with a few metres of rope while I'm cruising along to get that fitted nice and snug ?

Just like me, I have sold the rubber slab types and the like new rope ones for charity, I have a couple on ropes for when I moor up, on for the exhaust to land on it I don't drop it in time. half a dozen ready incase the two I have need a bit of help and the rest in the bow locker. I have stopped picking them up now unless I see a sparkling new one well out in the channel. 

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I never boat with fenders down however I've been boating for the last 3 days with fenders down on one side,

My reason/ excuse is that the boat has just been painted and all the Nene locks have swages of chain down the side, I can't stay on  the boat in the middle of the lock  because I have to help C work the locks ;)

 

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