A 25 Stuffing Box Replacement Solution

[Dicksonf]

Have my A 25 hauled out to do a bottom job. While it is out have decided to replace the stuffing box, send the prop shaft out to be trued and the propeller worked over. All in hopes of the breaking the Albin 25 equivalent of the sound barrier - the advertised speed of 10 mph.

Stuffing Box Replacement Problems and Solutions

Issues:

1. Existing stuffing box (looks original) leaks like a sieve and is loose. Can't figure out how to tighten it so I am replacing it. Once it was pulled off and I looked at it - I still can't figure it out, looks like it needs long gone grease or oil and a seal?

2. Could not find a metric traditional stuffing box that would fit a metric 30 mm prop shaft or a 45 mm OD prop shaft log.

Solutions

1.Replacement For Stuffing Box: Ordered a non metric "Spud Style' Stuffing Box from Buck Algonquin ( BA). They said they could bore out a standard American measurement Stuffing Box to 30 mm. They bored out the stuffing box to 30mm - EXACTLY! I guess I should have specified that they needed to make it slightly oversizedso it would slip over and slide down my 30 mm prop shaft. As they are the stuffing box experts I though they would have allowed for this. They said they would bore it out a little more for an additional charge, or I could find someone locally to do the job. I am finding someone local to do it. But the inches to metric conversion issue was solved.

2. Hose to Prop Shaft Connection: The BA stuffing box has a hose to fit a 2" OD shaft log, My boat has a 45 mm (approx 1 3/4" OD bronze shaft log-the pipe that the 30 mm prop shaft is housed in). So I needed to find a sleeve that would slip over the 45 mm shaft log and have a 2" OD measurement to accomodate my 2" BA stuffing box hose. I found a mfg of fiberglass tubes used for constructing radio antenaes. The tubes are designed with a wide variety of ID and OD. I selected one that has a OD of 2" and an ID of 1 3/4", as 1 3/4" is just a few hundredths of an inch smaller than 45 mm. I will sand the inside of the tube to get a good tight fit, or try heating it up? As the tubes comes in 8 ft lenghts I have a lot of material to experiment with. Pipe has a 1/8th in wall. Will be using 3/16 th packing - propbably gore tex.

That is where this project stands now, if anyone has a better solution I am all ears, as this is a work in progress. Should be putting it all back together after the 1st of the year.

Happy New Year,

Regards

Dicksonf