stern gland nuts very loose

[reg]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

http://www.tb-training.co.uk/10sgear.htm

Was typing a long answer on how I do it then, whilst doing some checking, found exactly the same link

Will the man not let me have my moment of glory

One little tip I was given for routine tightening was if you don't have feeler gauges (my preferred method) or measuring calipers is to just use a longish nut and bolt, adjust the nut on the bolt to fit the gap measuring the stud length and the make sure that both gaps are the same length. This works because the actual measurement isn't Important but the  distance should be the same. Not as accurate as the feeler gauge method but works well enough. 

 

 

[rusty69]

6 minutes ago, reg said:

Was typing a long answer on how I do it then, whilst doing some checking, found exactly the same link

Will the man not let me have my moment of glory

Post it anyway Reg. That TB fella gets everywhere! 

[matty40s]

1 hour ago, Robert Laws said:

But you'd do that with the boat out of the water yes?  I know people do it with the boat in the water, after packing in a lot of grease, but I'd never dare.

 

BTW, I'm new here so, 'hello everyone'.

Robert

 

 

No, in the water. 

Give it a good grease,  if you wish you can also open weedhatch and wrap a cloth or bag round the  prop shaft where it enters boat.

Cut your packing ready before loosening the collar and then go for it.

You will get very little water In whilst you remove old and pack new.

[OldGoat]

2 hours ago, matty40s said:

No, in the water. 

Give it a good grease,  if you wish you can also open weedhatch and wrap a cloth or bag round the  prop shaft where it enters boat.

Cut your packing ready before loosening the collar and then go for it.

You will get very little water In whilst you remove old and pack new.

Second that - I was in fear and trepidation of a major flood, but in the event there was only a slight trickle.

[chubby]

Thanks again for all the replies . I 'd be too scared to do my own packing in the water . I had planned on getting it done whilst i blacked the boat having assumed it to be an out of water job . When i did some googling and looking thru previous CWDF threads it seemed the majority preferred to repack whilst in the water . If you re making a mistake its obvious as waters coming in . Do the job out of the water and you wont know theres a prob until u go back in and chances are you 'll not be " prepared " to fix it as quickly as needed . At least thats how I understood it . 

Having sorted it earlier on i set off at just before 1300 and moored at just after 1900 . I checked the bilge regularly. All seemed well . After mooring i gave the greaser tap a few turns . The bilges look as if theres been no ingress of water during the engine running . Theres a few v shallow puddles from where i pumped out last night but they  look no different. The bilge is filthy , greasy , oily - it looks a disgrace in all honesty . 

I was gutted this morning not to be able to set off nice and early . This cruise is to be a long one for me . A bit of a holiday if you like . After 4 years of self imposed grind & misery ive just completed " The Knowledge " in London so this cruise is my reward - i promised myself once id "  got out " as its known id make up for lost boating time . So to find such a problem the day after setting off after blacking the hull was a bit of a letdown. But every cloud has a silver lining and with lots of help it looks to be fixed & ive learnt plenty  . I will get into the habit of checking those locknuts when use the greaser tap after cruising . 

Cheers again 

Edited September 7, 2017 by chubby

[reg]

17 minutes ago, chubby said:

After 4 years of self imposed grind & misery ive just completed " The Knowledge " in London

Kudos on that.

Watched the series not any easy challenge anyone who does earns respect, Did you have to take a module on talking gibberish though.

Glad your sorted

Edited September 7, 2017 by reg

[matty40s]

56 minutes ago, reg said:

 Did you have to take a module on talking gibberish though.

He's a boater on CWDF.

 

Well done on the knowledge though, especially with the Uber sat nav wizards pi$$ing everyone off.

How far are you from Braunston, if we meet up I will do your stern packing, I'm heading over the summit in the next day or two from the Napton side.

[chubby]

Cheers again folks . 

Matty . Im not near Braunston as yet but i ll pm you to see if youre nearby when i get closer to see if youre available. After Braunston im not certain of what im doing or where im going - but i will keep going . Apologies for the vagueness.

Jibberish is learnt on the job , although im fairly fluent already . 

Uber don t bovver me even remotely. When i see the drivers i pity them . I did the knowledge so i could be " my own man " - answerable to no one . I now have two freelance jobs which complement each other . I also work as a guide at Westminster Abbey , Windsor castle , St Pauls , Tower of London and other places . The " market " - " the people " will decide on cabbies V uber . In the end uber will win because humankind appears to prefer corporate spiel over actual ability & folk seem happy to be driven around one of the worlds most complex cities by people who dont where theyre going and who are utterly reliant on a computer to earn thier crust . Up to the people - im not worrying, what will be will be i guess

cheers 

[reg]

I did a contract job in Southwark and rented a place in Barnet. As an outsider I Tried to drive home from work and ended doing 35 miles, saw a lot of Camden and its surrounds that day. 

1 hour ago, chubby said:

After Braunston im not certain of what im doing or where im going - but i will keep going . Apologies for the vagueness.

Just to add yep your one of us then. 

[Dr Bob]

Chubby, some great advice on here - but from guys who have been doing it for years -so no fear for them in packing a stern gland. We, though, were like you - new to all of this and fearfull of the boat being flooded the minute you looked at those stern gland nuts. A month on, and our fears have gone.

Two weeks ago (on a boat we have owened for 3 months) I was concerned how much grease I was having to put in to keep the water drips to one every 15 secs after a long cruise. The collar had been taken in most of its travel (so the existing packing was on its last legs) and I had to refill the greaser after 50 hrs running and then 30 hrs running to keep the drips down. I was scared sh*****s about doing it myself despite all the very detailed descriptions here - could I undo the nuts, could I get the last scrap of old packing out, could I find the right new packing etc etc etc. I bottled out and got the local marina engineer to do it for me - they service a big fleet of hire boats. He came and did it. I watched. Cut one piece of packing - quite a wide piece. Unscrewed the 4 nuts. Pulled back the collar. No water!!! Not a drip!! Inserted the one piece. Pulled it out again as it wasnt going in. Hit it with a hammer - the packing not the boat! Actually this was the artistic bit of fashioning the packing to fit in the gap and recutting the length. Put it in again and pushed the collar in and tightened up the bolts. Did I mention no water came into the boat?

I questioned why he didnt remove any old packing - "oh there will be nothing left". I questioned (nicely) that the good folk on here say 2 or 3 pieces of packing to 'stagger' the gap. "This will work fine". His only advice was to check the nuts and take up any slack in a week or so. THis took him 20 mins.

Since then, hardly a drop. Maybe one drop per min after a days running. I have taken up the slack in the nuts twice in the last week as I guess the packing is bedding in and it may need another tighten. When the guy did the job, he said he couldnt have got a 2nd piece of rope in as there wasnt room but now with the thing bedded in there may be room for that second piece. If there is I will do it myself . No fear at all now having seen how easy it was. (the guy left me a couple of pieces of packing).

Bottom line is that repacking the stern gland on our boat is so easy - apart from the mess! Get someone to show you and all your fear will be gone.

Really not sure how much 'flaming' I am likely to get now - 'not removing the existing packing', 'only one bit of packing', but the hire fleet at our marina are surviving and they will not want additional maintentance caused by cutting corners. The technique seemed to have worked but if it drips to much I now know what to do.

My tip would be to place a plastic container (ie a takeaway box) under the gland so the drips are confined to a small area and then use a Pela type pump to empty that oil water out, rather than let it sit in the bildge.

[matty40s]

9 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Chubby, some great advice on here - but from guys who have been doing it for years -so no fear for them in packing a stern gland. We, though, were like you - new to all of this and fearfull of the boat being flooded the minute you looked at those stern gland nuts. A month on, and our fears have gone.

Two weeks ago (on a boat we have owened for 3 months) I was concerned how much grease I was having to put in to keep the water drips to one every 15 secs after a long cruise. The collar had been taken in most of its travel (so the existing packing was on its last legs) and I had to refill the greaser after 50 hrs running and then 30 hrs running to keep the drips down. I was scared sh*****s about doing it myself despite all the very detailed descriptions here - could I undo the nuts, could I get the last scrap of old packing out, could I find the right new packing etc etc etc. I bottled out and got the local marina engineer to do it for me - they service a big fleet of hire boats. He came and did it. I watched. Cut one piece of packing - quite a wide piece. Unscrewed the 4 nuts. Pulled back the collar. No water!!! Not a drip!! Inserted the one piece. Pulled it out again as it wasnt going in. Hit it with a hammer - the packing not the boat! Actually this was the artistic bit of fashioning the packing to fit in the gap and recutting the length. Put it in again and pushed the collar in and tightened up the bolts. Did I mention no water came into the boat?

I questioned why he didnt remove any old packing - "oh there will be nothing left". I questioned (nicely) that the good folk on here say 2 or 3 pieces of packing to 'stagger' the gap. "This will work fine". His only advice was to check the nuts and take up any slack in a week or so. THis took him 20 mins.

Since then, hardly a drop. Maybe one drop per min after a days running. I have taken up the slack in the nuts twice in the last week as I guess the packing is bedding in and it may need another tighten. When the guy did the job, he said he couldnt have got a 2nd piece of rope in as there wasnt room but now with the thing bedded in there may be room for that second piece. If there is I will do it myself . No fear at all now having seen how easy it was. (the guy left me a couple of pieces of packing).

Bottom line is that repacking the stern gland on our boat is so easy - apart from the mess! Get someone to show you and all your fear will be gone.

Really not sure how much 'flaming' I am likely to get now - 'not removing the existing packing', 'only one bit of packing', but the hire fleet at our marina are surviving and they will not want additional maintentance caused by cutting corners. The technique seemed to have worked but if it drips to much I now know what to do.

My tip would be to place a plastic container (ie a takeaway box) under the gland so the drips are confined to a small area and then use a Pela type pump to empty that oil water out, rather than let it sit in the bildge.

No flaming, just good advice.

The old packing really should come out, it can get trapped between the collar and prop shaft, causing unnecessary wear and more leaks over time.

What he has done will work for a short period, then you are back to square one.

[Dr Bob]

2 minutes ago, matty40s said:

No flaming, just good advice.

The old packing really should come out, it can get trapped between the collar and prop shaft, causing unnecessary wear and more leaks over time.

What he has done will work for a short period, then you are back to square one.

As I said, if it starts to drip again, I will have no hesitation in repacking again .....and this time taking the old stuff out! Thanks for the input.

[Ray T]

October 2017 Waterways World has an article on replacing gland packing, page 61.

I use these to get the old packing out:

• 

https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/adhesives-and-sealants/gasket-and-sealant-accessories/gland-packing-extractor-c-type-set-of-4/p/VCT7264100A

Edited September 8, 2017 by Ray T

[Dr Bob]

15 hours ago, Ray T said:

October 2017 Waterways World has an article on replacing gland packing, page 61.

I use these to get the old packing out:

• 

https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/adhesives-and-sealants/gasket-and-sealant-accessories/gland-packing-extractor-c-type-set-of-4/p/VCT7264100A

Thanks for that Ray. Nice to hear from you.

[Tony Brooks]

On 08/09/2017 at 10:45, Dr Bob said:

snip

Really not sure how much 'flaming' I am likely to get now - 'not removing the existing packing', 'only one bit of packing', but the hire fleet at our marina are surviving and they will not want additional maintentance caused by cutting corners. The technique seemed to have worked but if it drips to much I now know what to do.

snip

Another problem with leaving the old packing in is that much of the lubricant it is made with is likely to have washed away and the face against the running shaft is often hard and glazed so it not only gets trapped in the bearing as Matty says but also wears the shaft where the packing fits.

I really do not understand why people buy special tools to remove the old packing. I have always found that if a screwdriver will not hook it out a long screw driven into the packing and a tug with pliers does. I use a start drive screw nowadays because the driver is less prone to slipping out of the head and stabbing you. Spline, hex, or  those moder square drive screws would be even easier if you have the drives.

[Ray T]

4 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Another problem with leaving the old packing in is that much of the lubricant it is made with is likely to have washed away and the face against the running shaft is often hard and glazed so it not only gets trapped in the bearing as Matty says but also wears the shaft where the packing fits.

I really do not understand why people buy special tools to remove the old packing. I have always found that if a screwdriver will not hook it out a long screw driven into the packing and a tug with pliers does. I use a start drive screw nowadays because the driver is less prone to slipping out of the head and stabbing you. Spline, hex, or  those moder square drive screws would be even easier if you have the drives.

Tony this exactly why I use a extractor tool, having speared a finger when trying to use a screw. Also the gland on our boat is quite long and I find using the extractor tool as illustrated a lot less hassle. Using the extractor is one tool instead of three, i.e. screw, screwdriver and pliers.

Edited September 9, 2017 by Ray T