What causes leaks in a 28?

[Oswego John]

Dean and Rich,

Certain hardheads will give you static about this, but the prime reason for the discovery of rum was for medicinal purposes.

Did you know that the addition of ginger beer acts as a catalyst to multiply the medicinal value and potency of this over the counter medicine?

Take two tankards and call me in the morning.

To your health,
Dr. O J

BTW: Rich is an EE? The place is swarming with engineers, even silent ones down in Carolina. Who knows where else?

In order to prevent getting egg on my face, I solemnly take an oath to never again attempt to reply to a thread concerning an electrical problem. Scouts honor.

O J

[bottomscraper]

Dean and Rich,

BTW: Rich is an EE?
...
In order to prevent getting egg on my face, I solemnly take an oath to never again attempt to reply to a thread concerning an electrical problem. Scouts honor.

O J

But OJ your wealth of practical experience often trumps my limited book learning. Besides although my degree is EE most of my work has been involved with computer stuff, just 1's and 0's.

[Dean Abramson]

That's one shot rum, zero chaser.

[Oswego John]

Rich,

Okay, sounds somewhat plausible. Let me think about it for a while.

I hope that you recognize the dilemma that negating a Scout's oath puts me in. This is serious stuff.

Hmmmm. Drastic situations require drastic measures.

John V. way back in the dark recesses of your library of archives, would you possibly have any formulae, incantations or other rites and procedures for erasing a Scout oath resulting in having few or any repercussions.

While we're at it, in the past, the board has given me excellent advice as to which cleaners, waxes and other categories of products to use on gel coat, teak, etc.

I'm having a recurring problem and I wonder if you could advise me as to what product is best to remove dried egg from my face. Money is no object.

TIA
O J

[GrFa]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the suggestions, I've been at work but I have tomorrow off.

It is not the drip pan filling up and overflowing..the drip pan actually has a good amount of leaked oil in it (we just keep it topped off and it runs like a champ). If the drip pan were full what would that mean?

I have not tasted it yet. I will assume is is salt water, of course we are up the Hudson so it could be brackish as well. Heck it might even include tasting a large sample to determine what it is.

As far as I know it always took on water. Its just that I never saw the boat twice in a day to realize just how quick it comes in. As far as I can tell all of the seacocks are solid (we had them all closed for a trip up the coast). The leak is definitely coming from somewhere down low.

Does the bottom of the rudder post leak in the 28? Ours leaks into the cockpit from the top while motoring (dribbles in).

How does one go about adjusting a stuffing box? Illustrations would be helpful if anyone has any.

And finally, after pumping out the boat I can hear a slight trickle, but I cannot see where its coming from if looking from the companionway hatch with a flashlight. It looks like I will be crawling in a locker and doing some stuffing box maintenance tomorrow.

[Dean Abramson]

GrFa,

On my previous boat, a CD 25D, and on my present 31, stuffing box leakage ran/runs into the drip tray. However, the 31 had a drain hole in the drip tray's forward lip, so that it never filled, it just drained into the bilge. I did not like that, so I plugged the hole; I want to be able to see how much water I was taking on.

If your drip tray does not have a drain hole, and it is configured like my two boats, then lack of water in the drip tray would make me think you do not have a stuffing box issue.

From what you are describing, I think I might want to let a surveyor or boat yard look at it. Maybe soon.

Dean

[Rebinva]

I belive I am qualified to grant special dispensation to you that allows you to negate the oath you took. Doing so will allow you to be both trustworthy and helpful. You could also get credit for doing a good turn, which one is expected to do daily. (I am very good at rationalizing.)

[John Vigor]

John V. way back in the dark recesses of your library of archives, would you possibly have any formulae, incantations or other rites and procedures for erasing a Scout oath resulting in having few or any repercussions.
O J

O J, any oath taken when you do not totally comprehend its full repercussions is null and void legally and morally. So you're off the hook. And I certainly don't believe you'll do serious damage to your Scout's honor by attempting to help someone with an electrical problem. That's an act of friendship and compassion fully compatible with the creed of Lord Baden-Powell.

I have to tell you, though, that I might not be the right person to ask because I was thrown out of the Boy Scouts for smoking in bed.

Cheers,

John V.

[Stan W.]

How does one go about adjusting a stuffing box? Illustrations would be helpful if anyone has any.

And finally, after pumping out the boat I can hear a slight trickle, but I cannot see where its coming from if looking from the companionway hatch with a flashlight. It looks like I will be crawling in a locker and doing some stuffing box maintenance tomorrow.

If no stuffing box maintenance has been done in living memory, your packing probably is shot. If you still have the original bronze prop shaft, that probably has a groove worn around it adding to the problem.

To get you through this season, you need a stout screwdriver and a hammer. Crawl into one of the sail lockers (I too prefer the port locker) after securing the lid (these are known to blow shut trapping hapless owners in the belly of their GRP whale). You will see the large stuffing box nut and the much thinner lock nut behind it. Using the hammer and screwdriver, loosen the locknut by turning it clockwise toward the rear of the boat. Then use the hammer and screwdriver to tighten the stuffing box nut, again clockwise toward the rear of the boat. Get that sucker very tight (in your situation I would not worry whether I was getting one or two drops a minute for cooling) and then back the lock nut down on to it. Depending on how much you use the motor, you may have to repeat this several times to keep the drip at a manageable level.

Before relaunching next season, you should at least replace the packing. For complete relief, you probably will need to replace the prop shaft as well and you might as well replace the cutless bearing while you are in there.

[Neil Gordon]

I too prefer the port locker

Since the boat is pretty much symetrical other than things turn clockwise and/or counter and we are left or right handed, is there a preference for the port locker? Or am I forgetting the layout of the motor which would lead to favoring one side over the other?

[bill2]

Do I remember the port side has the fuel tank and the starboard the battery tray(s) ?

IMHO - if working around the batteries I'd would consider removing or at least disconnecting the batteries and being careful with metal objects - please don't ask how I know this . . .

[Neil Gordon]

Do I remember the port side has the fuel tank and the starboard the battery tray(s) ?

IMHO - if working around the batteries I'd would consider removing or at least disconnecting the batteries and being careful with metal objects - please don't ask how I know this . . .

Both the fuel tank and the batteries are about as far forward in the lockers as they can go. Neither would seem to affect crawling down to the packing nut, I don't think.

As for battery storage, the boxes should have covers that are firmly secured to keep whatever might bounce around inside the lockers away from the terminals.

[Sailing Soldier]

As a fellow CD 28 owner, I suspect it is probably the shaft seal. Remove the engine cover I lie over the engine with a flashlight. Follow the shaft wher it exits the engine out the back of the boat. There should only be an ocassional drip. Anything more than that requires adjusting the seal.

One other possibility not yet discussed is the ice box drain. Since it drains into the bilge, if you use a lot of ice...

[GrFa]

I realize I never updated this with the solution to the problem until the subject popped up in a recent search I made, here is what happened:

I have no idea how someone could fit over the engine, I know I certainly cannot (5'10" 195lbs). I ended up going through the port locker and adjusting the stuffing box. Because I had never done this before it was a little nerve racking. I didn't tighten it too much to see what would happen.

The next time we took the boat out I swore there was more vibration while motoring and realized she was not getting up to speed. I assumed this was due to my stuffing adjustments. So we motored a mile down the river and left it over night to be looked at by a mechanic.

It turns out the leak was in fact the stuffing box and I hadn't tightened it enough. The increased vibration and lack of speed was barnacle build-up on the prop. She hadn't been out for weeks at a time.

So there ya go! Thanks again for all the help everyone.[/i]

[The Patriot]

... At 11am yesterday I pumped it dry. I then realized I had left the battery switch on and went back around 9pm. At this time the bilge had already filled up to the where the bilge pump float is, right under the access hatch ...

Assuming (1) you are afloat and not on the hard, (2) you are storing in NY and hence winterized, (3) you have had no extraordinary weather (very heavy rain or snow), (4) your boat is a 1982 or so model with no open connection on the rudder shaft, and (5) you have all the seacocks other than the cockpit drains in the closed position, then there is only once possible source of inflow. That's the stuffing box.

This model probably has a Spartan fixture for the stuffing box. The best quick fix is simply to tighten the packing washer until the boat can be hauled and repacked. In my view, the best ultimate fix, considering the near impossibility of both reaching the stuffing box and adjusting it properly while the engine is running, is to replace it with something like a PSS.