Packless Sealing System ???

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

I'm getting tired of Hanalei dripping seawater into her bilge and I'm thinking of installing a PSS company packless sealing system. Has anyone else installed one on a CD-30 with the Universal 18, 14 HP diesel? I'm wondering if there is room to do it, as the spec sheet on the seal says that the compressed length of the seal is 5 1/2". Also, if you did install one, what is the easiest way to get the coupling flange off of the shaft? Thanks for any ideas or info ya have....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

[John]

I'm getting tired of Hanalei dripping seawater into her bilge and I'm thinking of installing a PSS company packless sealing system. Has anyone else installed one on a CD-30 with the Universal 18, 14 HP diesel? I'm wondering if there is room to do it, as the spec sheet on the seal says that the compressed length of the seal is 5 1/2". Also, if you did install one, what is the easiest way to get the coupling flange off of the shaft? Thanks for any ideas or info ya have....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

Dave,

On our '83 CD30 with a Volvo MD7B and V-drive I don't have a PSS seal but I do have a Lasdrop seal, also about 5" or so in length. the two seals are almost the same. I never had a bit of trouble getting the coupler off the shaft. Unbolt the coupler halves, loosen the lock screw, soak the joint where the shaft slides in with a penetrating oil and it should come off fairly easily with at most a rap with a heavy hammer and using a chunk of oak against the coupler halve to protect it from the hammer blows. Unless its heavily rusted at the joint it should slip out fairly easy, don't lose the woodruf key! Put NeverSeize on the shaft where it fits into the coupler half and also on the lock screw threads and woodruf when reassembling.

For added strength with the Lasdrop seal I elected to install the heavy duty fabric reinforced bellows that is normally used for power boats in lieu of the standard rubber only bellows. It works very well and I don't believe I'd ever go back to a typical stuffing box. This seal has been in the boat for 9 years and there has never been any problems. If I were to replace the seal today I'd certainly consider installing the PSS because of what I know about its reputation as being a good and dependable product. There are several other brands and styles of packless seals on the market and you should look into them as well. Some are designs similar to Lasdrop and PSS and others are unique in their own way. There was an article in a boating magazine about a year ago, maybe longer, that evaluated all the different packless seal designs on the market. I think it was "Professional Boat Builder" magazine but I'm not sure, I've since tossed it out, figures.

I posted a message on this board quite awhile ago about the modifications I did to our CD30 to extend the stern tube further forward so the shaft seal was located just under the trans and V-drive making it a breeze to install and service any shaft seal or stuffing box. If your 30 has the V-drive you know what an awful problem it is to access and service the seal in its original factory position. I don't know if the Universal has a V-drive, never seen one in the 30. You would have a very difficult time trying to properly align the components of a typical shaft seal being located in such a limited access area of the boat. A standard stuffing box as you know is one bronze piece clamped in place onto a hose and that single assembly is then slid onto the stern tube and clamped. It can be misaligned and still do its job. The shaft seals are two separate components that must be aligned properly. One part clamps to the stern tube and the other part clamps onto the shaft. The sealing faces have to be aligned similar to a coupler being aligned. That's a critical initial setup and it would be very, very difficult to do an installation like that in the original factory position and wind up with a proper seal of the mating surfaces of the shaft seal. If you run the shaft with the parts misaligned you can damage the sealing ability of the seal in short order.

It is a bit of work to lengthen the stern tube but well worth the effort in the end. It will drastically reduce the chance of misalignment problems.

In addition, if you install a shaft seal remember that it may not seal perfectly after its first installed, a slight drip is normal until the sealing surfaces mate themselves to each other after a few hours of running time. After that enjoy your dry bilge and say goodbye to packing adjustments forever!

[Tom]

I'm getting tired of Hanalei dripping seawater into her bilge and I'm thinking of installing a PSS company packless sealing system. Has anyone else installed one on a CD-30 with the Universal 18, 14 HP diesel? I'm wondering if there is room to do it, as the spec sheet on the seal says that the compressed length of the seal is 5 1/2". Also, if you did install one, what is the easiest way to get the coupling flange off of the shaft? Thanks for any ideas or info ya have....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

Dave, I started out to put a PSS on my 31, but found a product I liked better before I ever installed it. If you have a one inch shaft I'd be happy to sell you the PSS for half the discount price at West or Boats or wherever. Still in the original box with instructions and everything and never used.

But before you go that way look into the other choices. The one I decided to go with uses your current stuffing box and you don't have to pull the shaft to install it. It's a special packing material which replaces your old oakum type. You unscrew the top of your stuffing box and pull all the old packing out. Then you rub the new packing with a special grease and put it in where the old stuff was. Tighten up the nut when you are finished. You can easily tighten it by hand and stop all the dripping. It runs absolutely cold to the touch. If it ever screws up you can take it out and put the old stuff back in, but this has never happened to me and it's been about 5 years now. No pulling the shaft, no alignment problems, no worry of anything getting between the surfaces. Mine was a brand they don't carry anymore, but the equivalent is the Syntef on the same page with PSS in the West catalog on page 144. BTW there's extensive postings on getting the coupler off the shaft in previous postings on this board.



TomCambria@mindspring.com

[d. Stump, Hanalei]

John,

Thanks for the information. Turns out the shaft log on Hanalei is 1 1/4 to 2" red brass(I haven't measured it yet!). The CD-30 came with an original fiberglas shaft log that tended to crack due to vibration. It did on Hanalei, and almost sank her! Previous owner had his yard remove the fiberglas log and replace it with the red brass. The stern fitting is now an externally mounted, proper, cutlass bearing holder and everything is ship shape. The Universal 18 powered CD-30 is a straight line drive shaft. No "V" drive. With the other post, I'm thinking of using the alternate packing material, try it for a year and if that doesn't work, I'll go to the PSS type of seal. Thanks again for the excellent information...

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

[Craig]

I had a PSS installed in my 1984 CD30 by Bayruethers Boat Yard in Niantic CT. I had Bayruether's do the work due to the limited room, in fact they had to have the flange that holds the cutlass bearing extended to allow for proper double clamping of the PSS unit.

I can not say enough good things about the level of service recieved.

I have not put the boat in the water yet, due to a relocation. Quality of work was high.

I'm getting tired of Hanalei dripping seawater into her bilge and I'm thinking of installing a PSS company packless sealing system. Has anyone else installed one on a CD-30 with the Universal 18, 14 HP diesel? I'm wondering if there is room to do it, as the spec sheet on the seal says that the compressed length of the seal is 5 1/2". Also, if you did install one, what is the easiest way to get the coupling flange off of the shaft? Thanks for any ideas or info ya have....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

Soucyc@csi.com

[Tad McDonald]

Bill Conlyn of Conlyn Marine Services in Herrington Harbor North installed a PSS for me about 5 years ago on my CD30 (MD7A)...I haven't had a single problem/complaint.



tadmcdonald@worldnet.att.net

[Pete Asensio]

Dave:
I have a PSS installed on my CD 28 Open powerboat which is moored
at Pilot's Point South yard in Westbrook. If you would like to check
out the installation I would be happy to show you.
The PSS has been great; absolutely no problems, and NO water in the
bilge!



pase@uconect.net