??Stuffbox Hose

[Richard Formica]

Hi,
I need help. I asked a mechanic at a very respected yard here in Connecticut to inspect my hoses. Knowing that they were old my plan was to have them replaced this fall at haul out. As expected a good number of them are quite tired, however, he also said 'my stuff box hose was old and could go at anytime.' He recommended this be replaced before I do any more sailing, i.e. she needs to be hauled and repaired now. Although I am quite familiar with the stuff box, what is the stuff box hose? In the past 2 + years I don't think I've come across this on this message board. It is not discussed in the manual. And secondly mine is apparently glassed in and this will necessitate quite a big job. Where safety is concerned I do not cut corners, but I would appreciate any knowledge on this topic so I don't get completely taken. Thanks in advance.
rich
s/v Inerarity
CD 36



richard.formica@yale.edu

[Steve I.]

Hi,
I need help. I asked a mechanic at a very respected yard here in Connecticut to inspect my hoses. Knowing that they were old my plan was to have them replaced this fall at haul out. As expected a good number of them are quite tired, however, he also said 'my stuff box hose was old and could go at anytime.' He recommended this be replaced before I do any more sailing, i.e. she needs to be hauled and repaired now. Although I am quite familiar with the stuff box, what is the stuff box hose? In the past 2 + years I don't think I've come across this on this message board. It is not discussed in the manual. And secondly mine is apparently glassed in and this will necessitate quite a big job. Where safety is concerned I do not cut corners, but I would appreciate any knowledge on this topic so I don't get completely taken. Thanks in advance.
rich
s/v Inerarity
CD 36

The stuffing box hose is very important!!!!!!.It will coost almost nothing in material( 4 hose clamps,8"of hose,a little packing material ),probably 2-3 hours labor. The boat must be hauled,the prop removed,the shaft removed (this can be the tuff part),and put back together again.The big expence is the hauling out. Good luck.!!



chiping@tcol.net

[Tom]

Hi,
I need help. I asked a mechanic at a very respected yard here in Connecticut to inspect my hoses. Knowing that they were old my plan was to have them replaced this fall at haul out. As expected a good number of them are quite tired, however, he also said 'my stuff box hose was old and could go at anytime.' He recommended this be replaced before I do any more sailing, i.e. she needs to be hauled and repaired now. Although I am quite familiar with the stuff box, what is the stuff box hose? In the past 2 + years I don't think I've come across this on this message board. It is not discussed in the manual. And secondly mine is apparently glassed in and this will necessitate quite a big job. Where safety is concerned I do not cut corners, but I would appreciate any knowledge on this topic so I don't get completely taken. Thanks in advance.
rich
s/v Inerarity
CD 36

Rich, There was a thread about stuffing box hoses about 6 months back or so. A lot of information was related to dripless stuffing boxes and the Positive Shaft Seal (PSS) system. Read Larry DeMers comments about PSS in case you're tempted, I agree with him.

However as far a stuffing box hose goes there's something that doesn't compute here. There is no way to "glass in" a stuffing box hose that I ever heard of. You should know where this hose is for your own information as they are a potential leak spot on any boat. It is simple to find and inspect. Get down in the bilge behind your engine and transmission and follow the prop shaft toward the stern of the boat. The spot where the prop shaft leaves the boat and goes through the hull and out into the water is the stuffing box. It looks like two big bronze nuts one on top of the other. These bronze nuts are held in place by a thick black rubber hose -- the "stuffing box hose" This hose is short - maybe six or 8 inches long and goes around your prop shaft. One end of this hose is hose clamped onto your stuffing box (those bronze nuts) and the other end is hose clamped onto your hull by going around a fiberglass "tube". This tube is part of the hull and your prop shaft runs through it and out to the water.

Now it could be this tube is damaged and needs re-glassing. This is unlikely but not, of course, impossible. Repairing that could be a lot of work, and if it's damaged it definitely needs to be fixed right away as this could sink your boat. If the rubber hose itself is damaged you should be able to tell just by looking at it. This is a very strong, multi ply hose, and a little surface wear wouldn't have to be taken care of right away, but should be replaced before you plan any long trips or heavy use. If it's leaking or shows more serious wear then it needs immediate attention, because this can sink your boat if it fails. However it's just a matter of replacing the hose with a new piece of hose. The hose itself is probably less than $ 20 but as the previous post indicated you have to pull the prop shaft to do it and this could take some time as it's often difficult to get the old shaft out if it's been in there for a long time. I had to cut my shaft in two and put in a new one when I did it. Prop shafts can cost several hundred dollars and then you've got the labor on top of that.

If you're in doubt about what the yard told you or you can't decide by looking at it, remember that you can hire a licensed marine surveyor to look at it and tell you what needs to be done. You don't have to pay for an entire survey to just have one hose inspected. You could call the surveyor who surveyed your boat when you bought it and see what he would charge, or you can always ask around the local boatyard and see which surveyors other boaters have been pleased with.

How would you glass over two hose clamps and a piece of rubber that is always flexing and usually greasy on top of that? If some unknowledgeable person has actually done that to your stuffing box, you need to get to a yard and knock all that stuff off of there and get a proper set up. You need to be able to inspect your stuffing box regularly to see that it is dripping correctly and keeping the shaft lubricated. You have to adjust the drip periodically as the normal wear occurs on the packing, and you need to be able to get to it and the hose in an emergency. Of all the holes that go through your hull the stuffing box is the critical one because it does not have a seacock and cannot be shut off if it starts leaking, and it's the only one that contains a moving part as you know.

Just my opinion but nobody ever accused me of not having one!



TomCambria@mindspring.com

[Duncan Maio]

Rich:

Tom and Steve both have it right - the hose is clamped on (and probably is what needs replacing), the tube is glassed in (and probably does not).

I just did this job on my CD27 in less than a day. I recommend switching to Dripless Packing at the same time.

The best source I found for stuffing box hose is Southern Crown Boatworks (www.southerncrownboatworks.com). Spartan is more than twice as expensive and real stuffing box hose is hard to find locally.

If you intend to do the work yourself, there are a couple of strings about hose, pulling the prop shaft, and different types of seals.

Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37
Bristol, RI




dmaio@meganet.net