cape dory 28 stuffing box

[arch007]

Thanks in advance for all help.

I have a cape dory 28 which has been in storage 10 years.

I wonder if anyone can provide me with instructions on how to repack the stuffing box and what size flex (??) I should buy ?????????

Also what kind is best ? Dripless, teflon ?

Thanks,

archie

[psjanker]

Mine was on the hard for 12 years, 13 by the time I finished work and launched her. I put in a drip less system. If I had to do over I would launch with the stuffing box as is and adjust once she was in the water. Worse case is having to put another layer in or snugging it up a quarter turn.

V/r

Pete

[psjanker]

The only reason I put in the drip less is that I had to pull the transmission(Volvo Penta 2002 transmission cooling line had a crack...water froze due to improper winterization) and had to cut the bronze shaft from the flange. As often the case, one thing lead to another. If it's no broke leave it alone.

Pete

[Wayne Grenier]

I'd play with it while it was on the hard-soak the nuts in penetrating oil-find the wrenches that will fit-make sure the nuts are adjustable and maybe buy some teflon or new packing and then put it in the water ans see what happens and tighten as necessary. At worst it will drip more than you want but it will not sink the boat. To go dripless is a lost of work and usually requires cutting the shaft and or removing and reinstalling the motor, so I would save it for when you need some significant work such as a cutlass bearing or motor mounts or a new shaft-

[sgbernd]

The time to repack it is on the hard, especially since after years of storage, the packing will likely be dried out beyond use. It is far less stressfull and if something goes wrong (you got the wrong packing, can't fish the old stuffing out, etc. ) you don't have a leak that is trying to sink the boat. I have a 1" shaft and found the stainless steel railing in the stern cockpit was a good template to use when cutting the strips to the proper circumference. Cut the packing diagonally and cut three strips as neatly as you can with a sharp razor. I have had great success with the West Marine Teflon packing but others like other brands and styles.

I like teflon lubricant grease (West Marine again) to smear about the shaft and reduce the water penetration. Digging out the first two rows isn't so bad but the third can be hard. A good sized stainless steel fish hook can be useful. When you get the new stuffing in, tighten it pretty snugly (don't worry about the 1 drip per second rule). If it drips too much, tighten it some more when in the water. If not enough drips, don't worry, it will wear in. You aren't putting enough power down the shaft to need much cooling and teflon grease is a good lubricant.

Depending on the condition of the coupling, it might be as easy to remove the propellor shaft, then the packing gland and take it home to do in your garage. that way aren't upside down in the hot locker trying to work around the shaft and extract the old packing. I have done it both ways. If you pull the shaft, it gives you a chance to reassemble everying with antiseize and corrosion preventors, polish the shaft, etc.

s.g.bernd

[mgphl52]

when I bought KAYLA, she had a drip-less but it was years old. The documentation recommended replacing the bellows every ten years. The bellows also prevented the insertion of a drive saver. While hauled out for a new cutlass, I had the drip-less replaced with a stuffing box (thanks to a friend with a CD25D that actually wanted a drip-less...) and a drive-saver installed.
My logic was that a leaky stuffing box,which can be adjusted, would allow much less water in than a burst bellows on a drip-less seal.
Since I have repurchased KAYLA, she has been hauled for fresh bottom paint, installation of a Campbell Sailor and, yes, fresh packing in the stuffing box, which is still there.
Last but not least, access to the stuffing box with "wrenches" is a fantasy, at least on my 1982 CD28... it's bar & mallet only.

[arch007]

Great advise and thanks to everyone.

Not looking forward to working on that stuffing box. If I remember was really hard to get access.

arch

[psjanker]

Its not really that hard to access and I am 6' 1 and fat. My trick was to remove both plywood panels from each storage locker and go in one way and out the other. Depending on what I was working on I varied the hatches I went in and out of. A square sit down life preserver or two makes for something to rest ones head or shoulder on and I even found a old pillow useful. Then again I pulled my transmission from behind the engine, with the engine remaining in place, so the transmission was the real pain in the butt. The bad part was that the seal put in for the transmission was bad so I had a slow transmission leak. Rebuild shop let me go the season and return the transmission for a new seal in the fall when I had put the boat on the hard. So I got 4 opportunities to play with the transmission....I was quite at home at the end of it all and decided to put in a few crossbeams under the cockpit floor with some fiberglass reinforcement...messy but I am happy I did that especially since I had gone thru the trouble of removing the core from the top and refinishing it with Kiwi antiskid.

I took the opportunity to do a bunch of things to the back of the boat to include putting in a stainless shaft and putting in a new shaft bearing. Fair warning, if you still have the bronze shaft it is very likely that you will need to cut it in half for removal since I found that removing the flange was impossible (Bronze and steel interaction I suppose).

One thing I was very glad to have addressed before launching was servicing all my thru hulls. Recommend the lapping compound and grease from Spartan Marine.

V/r

Pete

[psjanker]

Oh, by the way make sure you tie open the locker lids to your lifelines. If a gust of wind or something causes them to slam down the sometimes lock themselves. Very embarrassing and even dangerous if one is working alone on a hot day.

V/r

Pete

[Jim Walsh]

Oh, by the way make sure you tie open the locker lids to your lifelines. If a gust of wind or something causes them to slam down the sometimes lock themselves. Very embarrassing and even dangerous if one is working alone on a hot day.

V/r

Pete

That is excellent advice. I have the original bronze latches but the springs have been disabled. The latches no longer have spring tension to hold them closed. It is now impossible to get trapped below.
I use bronze snap hooks to secure the latches offshore when you don't want the locker lids opening in a knockdown.

[Neil Gordon]

Oh, by the way make sure you tie open the locker lids to your lifelines. If a gust of wind or something causes them to slam down the sometimes lock themselves. Very embarrassing and even dangerous if one is working alone on a hot day.

Even worse on a cold day in late fall. You might spend the winter trapped in a locker!

[tjr818]

I have been in those lockers only twice. Scary! I then found out it is far easier to go in through the companion way ladder opening. Put a few rags on top of the engine then a boat cushion on top of the rags, lay on top of the engine and I can reach the stuffing box with both hands, it is easy and almost comfortable. I'll not go into those cockpit coffins again.

[psjanker]

That is how I learned about going in one locker and out the other. Wind gust shut the locker I was working in and so I crawled thru to the other side which was still open since the same wind that shut the one, kept the other open. I now have a small diameter line on each latch that I leave on and use to tie off the locker lids to the lifelines.

V/r

Pete

[arch007]

Does anyone know the teflon flax packing size for a cape dory 28 stuffing box ?

[adamganz]

Not sure, but Spartan marine's site has it for sale and might be an easy resource:

http://www.robinhoodmarinecenter.com/spartanmarine/