Changed dripless seal

[jleonard]

I changed out the shaft seal in my Tides Marine dripless unit yesterday. The unit has been in for for 5 seasons and since I am cruising all summer this year I decided it would be good PM.
The job was easy thanks to my faithfull hose pick which make getting hoses off their barbs a piece of cake. I had to remove the shaft from the coupling, slide the shaft back, and remove the seal carrier to replace the seal, which is a lip type seal.
The seal was still in good shape, there was no groove on the shaft, so now I am good to go.

[DougSea]

Jay,

What's a hose pick and where do you get one?? I pull my 2 1/2" main engine feeds to winterize and it's a total bit*h of a job.

The yard just replaced my stb shaft seal and stuffing box. I had a slight leak around the perimeter of the seal housing and they found it was slightly warped, possibly from being starved of water at some point. Glad I had it done.

[jleonard]

Jay,

What's a hose pick and where do you get one?? I pull my 2 1/2" main engine feeds to winterize and it's a total bit*h of a job.

If you google "hose pick" you'll find some sources. I know Sears lists them but I can't recall ever seeing one in a store, you might have to order. I know Snap On and Matco carry the gold plated version (mine are Snap On) but those are hard to buy unless you know a mechanic who buys off thier trucks (maybe you can buy online).
They come in different sizes, I use the "medium " size one most of the time it's easier to manoever.

[normntwrk]

To make winterization easier we installed a "T" in the main engine feed with a valve off of that and it couldn't be eaiser, close the main feed open the valve with a hose in a bucket of antifreeze and start the engine. With a filter on the end of the hose It also can serve as an emergency bilge pump that will put most other bilge pumps to shame
Norm

[Serenity]

Harbor freight has "hose picks" for $3.99 ea.

[DougSea]

To make winterization easier we installed a "T" in the main engine feed with a valve off of that and it couldn't be eaiser, close the main feed open the valve with a hose in a bucket of antifreeze and start the engine. With a filter on the end of the hose It also can serve as an emergency bilge pump that will put most other bilge pumps to shame
Norm

That's my ultimate plan but with twins and big azz raw water feeds it's a bit pricey. May be on the list for next year.