Leaking shaft packing

[mark001]

Hi,

I purchased my E36C recently and have had some repairs done that were recommended by the survey report. One of these repairs was to replace the cutlass bearing and re-glass around the P-bracket which I had professionals do. We put the boat back in the water today and now I have noticed a leak around the top of the shaft (under the aft bunk) which I believe is the packing. It has been on hard stand since I first saw it so I had not seen it in the water before so do not know if it leaked before. This is a bit of a worry, how hard it that to fix? Will I need to haul out of the water again?

Adding to the concern, I have an intermittent fault with the wiring that has only become apparent when we moved the boat that causes all power to be lost including the BILGE PUMP! When this happens if I reach in behind the DC panel and jiggle a wire it comes back. I spoke to an electrician and he said it will be difficult to fix because it is hard to get to (there is also evidence of melting on one of the wires so possible loose connection causing arcing).

I am supposed to be leaving the boat in the marina for 2 weeks as I return to work (5hrs drive away) and then coming back to sail down. Bit concerned to leave it though with possible loss of bilge pump.

Another minor annoyance is that the Australian authorities say that the gas system does not have an "Australian Certification" and so must be removed so now I have no fridge, no stove, faulty electrics and a leaky boat. But its MY boat....and its an Ericson!

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi Mark,

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. It sounds as if you are getting professional advice (electricians, etc.), so it may be hard for us "amateurs" to add much, especially not having seen the boat. However, I had a recent experience where all my electronic stuff was failing intermittently, then working again (having previously worked fine). I hired a local marine electrician who had various comments, but we were still puzzled. By chance, I happened to touch the large negative ground wire from the battery, where it connects to the ground bolt on the engine, and found that the copper end had cracked, so it sometimes touched and sometimes didn't, which explained the intermittent nature of the fault. Then it was an easy fix to replace that wire. But we hadn't seen it during the four hours that the electrician was with me on the boat. So it may be something fairly simple like that if you're lucky.

I would definitely not leave the boat in the water, leaking, without a bilge pump and somebody checking on it at least daily. Even if you get the bilge pump working, I would still have someone check it regularly.

In the meantime, most of us have had issues like this, especially a "new" to you boat, and it usually takes a while, like the first year or more, to go through the boat yourself in detail, discovering how things work, fixing little (or big) things the survey didn't find. But don't despair, Ericsons are good boats, and if this one has been looked after reasonably well, you will be able to fix these problems and enjoy her.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how it turns out!

Frank

 

[markvone]

Leaks and Bilge Pumps

Mark,

Sounds like a typical used old boat to me!

I would run a new wire pair (pos with fuse and neg) of the appropriate size from the battery directly to the bilge pump as a temporary fix. Bypass ALL the installed electrical wires/panel/breakers until you figure out the issue.

I have no direct experience with shaft seals other than what I have read from others. The typical seal can be adjusted until it just drips when the shaft is turning and should not leak when shaft is stationary. Maybe you can adjust the seal to stop the leak? This might not be possible if packing is dried out. I would seek professional input BEFORE motoring anywhere. Others will probably chime in with better info and/or a good temporary fix to stop the leak while you are away.

Good Luck!

Mark

 

[mark001]

thanks for the replies Mark & Frank.
I have been reading Nigel Calder (and some old forum posts) and I think it may just be adjusting the packing nut (and locking nut) so will talk to the shipwright first to check and then give that a try. Then get onto fixing electrics. I definately will not be leaving it with a shaky bilge pump.

 

[Glyn Judson]

Staunching that leak.

Mark, If you use Teflon impregnated shaft flax #136103 in the WestMarine.com catalog and Teflon paste (putty) #255358 as well, you'll virtually have stopped the leak altogether. I've used flax from the days of wax, all the way to the present and the Teflon/Teflon combination is hard to beat. That's what's sealing my shaft today and it's been there since the summer of 2006 and actually does not drip at all. By the way, I've never had to tighten since then and we motor/sail A LOT! That's the beauty of this hi-tech stuff, dripping and leaks are a thing of the past. Look for it at your local chandler and swap it with whatever is in there now. Cheers, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[mark001]

Leak stopped

Thanks for the replies all. I adjusted the packing nut (being careful not to make it too tight - it only required a small movement) and the leak has stopped. Yay.
Next time I start engine I will just check that it is not too tight but all looks good. The stuffing box is in good condition. I will look into the teflon flax for future Glyn. Thanks.

Mark.

 

[paul culver]

I changed from packing gland to a PSS dripless about 5 years ago and have been very happy with the new system so far.

Paul
E29 "Bear"

 

[Walter Pearson]

Another option to consider would be the Gore GFO packing. It does the job without having to use any 'goop' and gets you to the dripless condition without any other change to the stuffing box.
http://www.gore.com/en_xx/products/sealants/packing/gfo_packing_fiber.html

 

[mark001]

Thanks Walter. The Gore GFO looks good.

 

[TAPH2O]

Were is the bilge pump located on a E36c We have one but don’t know where to install. Picture please thanks

 

[erikwfab]

There is good shaft packing info on these sites:

Re-Packing A Traditional Stuffing Box - Marine How To

The Stuffing Box (click any image to see a larger version) While digging around in some old boat parts boxes I found a stuffing box from an older sailboat. I though it would be a good time to rig it up

marinehowto.com

TYPES OF SHAFT PACKING, Wester Pacific Trading

Western Pacific Trading in addition to their wide range of marine maintenance products also is the official supplier of Ferro Pads and related products

wptinc.net

With a properly aligned shaft my 36C packing gland runs year round with only a minor adjustment every 6 months. I use traditional impregnated flax and after 3-4 years during haul out it gets replaced but is still good, ie not rotten.

Bilge on 36C is in the keel well accessed from behind the transmission. You should have a Gusher manual pump mounted in the cockpit with a 1-1/2" suction hose with screen running to bottom of bilge top of keel, you cant see it. An electric float operated bilge pump can be placed aft of trans, below shaft but this is narrow and sloped, not the ideal flat bilge bottom on most boats.

Recommend closing all sea cocks when leaving the vessel for extended periods, not (2) cockpit drains though.

As for electrical, if you have the original panel, in aft cabin bulkhead port, you can remove the screws, pull panel and have a look, its small and fairly simple.Replace any poor crimps with sealed stainless marine rated compression lugs, West Marine, Defender etc dont use Home Depot or Automotive ones.
The 12 Volt Bible For Boats is a good read to start with.