Leak in rudder shaft

[Mike Davis]

I am a fellow CD31 sailor. i'm having a little problem and am wondering if you know the remedy. Below my deck, in the back of the engine compartment, there is some sort of tube that is connected through the hull and to the rudder. There is a rubber gasket with 4 large hose clamps connected to this tube (stem). I do have photos of this piece.
When my engine is running and in forward gear, there is a trickle of water that is streaming from there and into my well. It trickles, but when cruising it will fill bilge . I do have a float switch. I'm wondering how to remedy this problem. I need to dremel off the clamps. Not sure what I'll find underneath. Thank you,
Michael Davis
Bellanena

[jbenagh]

Pretty sure the CD30 is similar to CD31. Here's a photo on my CD30 of the rudder shaft and stuffing box but with no clamps (this was a test fit).



I think the boat needs to be out of the water but you're going to need to pull the upper bracket, steering quadrant, stuffing box and then replace the piece of hose. It seems to have a life of about 30 years. While you're at it, repack the stuffing box.

I think it leaks more under way since the aft squats a bit putting that fitting a little more under water.

Jeff

[John Stone]

Hi Mike.
The rubber hose and bronze compression fitting is called a stuffing box. You have one around your prop shaft as well. Probably the same kind unless it is a dripless model.

Under the two part bronze threaded cup and compression nut is a recessed cup to hold waxed packing material. It’s usually three layers of rectangular “string” wrapped around the shaft and compressed by the bronze nut and cup. The packing can be made of several kinds of material. Over time it gets worn and water can leak around it. The solution is to tighten the nut further compressing the packing. Too tight and it puts too much friction on the rudder post. Too lose end it leaks water. At some point it will dry out or simply can’t be effectively compressed further.

It may be the hose is leaking. But more likely it is the packing material. Also, the hose clamps might need to be tightened. Anyway, inspect the hose and if no obvious damage or cracking I’d try tightening the nut first. See what happens. If that fails to work, I’d replace the packing, which can be done with all the components in place. If that fails to solve the problem you will have to replace the rubber hose and add new backing material.

If you go with new packing material I’d look into the “Gore” brand as it seems to leak less than traditional flax. All reports are it is good stuff and is now often used as the packing material in stuffing boxing for propeller shafts. Rod Collins of Marine How To reports there are corrosion issues with grafite packing material that are worth understanding. Chose wisely.

For the techniques of replacing the packing I recommend you review this:
https://marinehowto.com/re-packing-a-tr ... ffing-box/

[mgphl52]

For the techniques of replacing the packing I recommend you review this:
https://marinehowto.com/re-packing-a-tr ... ffing-box/

Great info... but repacking in a shop is far different from repacking in a CD28!!!

[Keith]

Hi Jeff,

Sorry to side track the thread but I'm curious about the steering frame and the G10 platform.
1. Did you have a new steering frame fabricated? or is that the original one sand blasted?
2. What is the G10 platform for? I'm guessing a hot water tank.

I notice that you have an extra pulley on your MD7A that I don't have on mine.
3. Is that for the coolant circulation? Mine is raw water cooled so probably why I don't have the extra pulley setup.

Keith

[jbenagh]

Keith,

to avoid side tracking this thread, post your Q in http://capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=33754

I'm happy to respond there!

Jeff

[Mike Davis]

I want to thank all of you for the information provided. I'll tackle the problem in the early spring. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mike

[Kickin Bears]

I discovered the same issue with our CD30C. I took a pipe wrench, loosened the top nut, then tightened the bottom nut until the drip stopped, then retightened the top nut. I have not had a single drip since (and it looked like the previous owner ignored the problem).

I have added repacking the steering stuffing box to my list but given I have had no issues with drips since then its kind of far down the list. I am bot happy with the condition of the rubber of the stuffing box so will likely address both next season unless I get time this winter after replacing standing rigging and bowsprit

I should have inspected the steering system sooner when purchasing (should have checked it when inspecting it; I did my own survey..). Pretty sure the drip had been going on for awhile with the previous owner as the glass draining toward the bilge was slimy. I’ve cleaned it up since resolving the drip and it’s been very dry / clean glass below the stuffing box

I’ve added a pic of what I was dealing with below; you can see the drip in the pic. The problem was aggravated when the engine was on due to vibration

[Frenchy]

Kickin Bears, I would say the stuffing box hose is coming due for a replacement soon too. When I
replaced the prop shaft hose, I saw the original was probably exhaust hose. I replaced with
heavy-wall stuffing box hose, often sold in 4" lengths. Good luck. I know it's a bit of a project- Jean

[Kickin Bears]

Frenchy / jbenagh

If you have any sources for a step by step, would live it if you could post here. I haven’t dug through my Don Casey collection yet, but really do explore any and all sources beforehand. I have a 7hr road trip coming up for the holidays and could use the reading

[jbenagh]

Kickin Bears,

take a look in the thread I referenced above, starting here http://capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php ... 54#p187764

It's not super-detailed about how to do the stuffing box hose but I think most of the steps are there with photos. There are a few posts about taking it apart since I did it over a few days.

Jeff

[Kickin Bears]

Took this challenge up today. Everything on the rudder post has been disassembled and removed. The hose had to be cut away. There was very little packing left; it’s been long overdue I think

The hose had a lot more life left than I thought, but was degrading (e.g. cracking, flaking on outer hose layer). Could have lasted another decade easy with a new round of packing

I could use some supplier suggestions for a new hose and packing material if you have one handy (i.e. where to buy). West Marine doesn’t have them. Assuming Home Depot / Lowes don’t have suitable UL Marine certified hose

[Jim Walsh]

https://www.fisheriessupply.com/buck-al ... g-box-hose

Here is the hose you want. You can google the BA part number to find it at your preferred supplier. Most decent boatyards can have it ordered through their local wholesale outfit and have it in your hands in a day or two if not already in their stock.
Now is also a great time to replace your steering cables. You can just send the old ones to Rigging Only and Danny will duplicate them and mail them back to you, a painless process.
Nice work!

[Kickin Bears]

^^^ Thank you, you evil man

Edit - reinspected the cabling and theres a touch of rust at the ends. I need to get the bowsprit off and then work on a couple of through hull blocks that are rotting due to a weep that wasn’t taken care of. I can play with cabling while she’s in the water, or work it in if I can get through the other two projects.

Picked up hose, packing, and new hose clamps at Fawcets in Annapolis. Installed the stuffing box, brackets, bearing, and steering system today, but need to tune it. I.E drop the quadrant lower on the shaft so it aligns with the pulley and figure out why I can’t turn the rudder to starboard (thinking I put an unintentional spin on the wheel (?)) ...

Gettin’ there

[Kickin Bears]

Some pics of my rudder stuffing box replacement project + steering system maintenance/ tune up. I read multiple sources that stated theres supposed to be four layers of flax packing, but holy crap was that a LOT of work to get to fit (and probably squeezed out a half layer in the process).

I also screwed up by forgetting to put the locking nut on first, which was a blast to take off a packed gland and then try to get that back on still packed ... but I’m much wiser on how to go about stuffing box work now

An onsite rigger I’m working with for replacing the standing rigging said he’d help me with getting materials for replacing the steering cabling, so I’m going to knock that out as well, cause why half a$$ this, right?

Will post more pics as I work toward conclusion on this project. Hope it helps someone out there