Al Emondi
Member II
Gortex Packing is working great
I too have not made the leap to carbon and bellows, but I have tried various packing materials. A few years back I tried the Gortex Packing and it is working great. I recently hauled the boat again this year and there is no scoring on the shaft and I probably could reuse the packing if I needed to, but I’ll change it out anyway. No dripping either, even while running. The only problem was first getting the pressure regulated in the stuffing box. When pulling out of the boat yard just after launch, the box was running quite hot, but that quickly subsided. So for those that are finding it hard to leave the packing approach, consider more “space age” packing materials. The Gortex packing is now being offered via West Marine this year as a new item.
I too have not made the leap to carbon and bellows, but I have tried various packing materials. A few years back I tried the Gortex Packing and it is working great. I recently hauled the boat again this year and there is no scoring on the shaft and I probably could reuse the packing if I needed to, but I’ll change it out anyway. No dripping either, even while running. The only problem was first getting the pressure regulated in the stuffing box. When pulling out of the boat yard just after launch, the box was running quite hot, but that quickly subsided. So for those that are finding it hard to leave the packing approach, consider more “space age” packing materials. The Gortex packing is now being offered via West Marine this year as a new item.