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Rudder stuffing box any ideas?

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
After a beautiful 21 day passage from La Paz Mexico we are anchored in Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas.

The boat did wonderfully with only a couple of issues.

One of them is the rudder shaft leaked like a dive in following seas. I figured it was simply a matter of tightening up the stuffing box or replacing the stuffing. However I need to measure it to get some stuffing flown in. Yes flown in.

However when I opened up the stuffing box for the rudder. I can't even see that there is stuffing in it. Looks like two flat plates.

I could swear this had stuffing in it when I last put the rudder together.

Anyone have anything similar? It isn't an easy area to get to in a rolling anchorage, and I don't want to remove the quadrant when we are anchored in a small crowded Anchorage with some rather new cruisers arriving daily to foul either or bow or stern anchor.

Thanks for the help
Guy
Here's a photo.

stuffing.jpg
 

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gadangit

Member III
Hi Guy-
Our E39 has the same exact box and yes, I stuffed it with stuffing. The non Thanksgiving kind.

I wondered if it did anything, I guess now I know. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Chris
 

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
What size packing do you remember?
Thanks
Guy

Hi Guy-
Our E39 has the same exact box and yes, I stuffed it with stuffing. The non Thanksgiving kind.

I wondered if it did anything, I guess now I know. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Chris
 

gadangit

Member III
Remember? Heck no. But I do have the leftover stored in the original package: 5/16". What time is my flight?IMG_20180514_200315000.jpg
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Guy,

Build me a guitar and I will deliver the stuffing to you! Seriously, it seems as though the rudder stuffing is a mystery to many of us. Christian was able to stop his leak with grease if I recall correctly.
RR
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
That design of packing gland doesn't squeeze the packing like a traditional stuffing box. When packed, the two bronze parts are tightened flush, with no further adjustment of pressure on the packing. I never understood it.

If there is a Zerk fitting on the rudder tube, I found that packing it full of grease--as much as it will take--prevents water from ever getting to the gland, and maybe helps seal the packing.

On one boat the grease fitting was rusted out and installing a new one allowed the tube to be greased.
 
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gadangit

Member III
My rudder stock was a very tight fit inside the bronze sleeve/bushing/bearings to the point I had to hone the bronze until the rudder fit and swung freely. I tapped in a new zerk after fiberglassing over the old stripped out hole and put in fresh stuffing when I installed my rudder. That tight tolerance with grease squeezed in and a suspect packing gland design are all probably contributing.

Who knows what is keeping the water out, but we had some pretty big following seas coming back across the gulf last month and didn't have a drop of water come out.

Chris
 

MMLOGAN

Member III
Install a zerk

Guy,

We had the same issue. Drilled the fiberglass rudder tube to accept a zerk. Pumped in almost a full tube and have not had the issue since.

You pay for the flight and I'll pack the zerk....
 

kapnkd

kapnkd
After a beautiful 21 day passage from La Paz Mexico we are anchored in Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas.

The boat did wonderfully with only a couple of issues.

One of them is the rudder shaft leaked like a dive in following seas. I figured it was simply a matter of tightening up the stuffing box or replacing the stuffing. However I need to measure it to get some stuffing flown in. Yes flown in.

However when I opened up the stuffing box for the rudder. I can't even see that there is stuffing in it. Looks like two flat plates.

I could swear this had stuffing in it when I last put the rudder together.

Anyone have anything similar? It isn't an easy area to get to in a rolling anchorage, and I don't want to remove the quadrant when we are anchored in a small crowded Anchorage with some rather new cruisers arriving daily to foul either or bow or stern anchor.

Thanks for the help
Guy
Here's a photo.

View attachment 24345


Our '73 E32-II had the same problems from day one when we picked the boat up from the dealer. She's fine sitting at the dock but underway when the stern settles into the water stretching her hull lines, the water seeps in just enough to be a real nuisance.

For us, there was no room for the traditional shaft sealing material. Even the smallest size was still too thick plus it just wouldn't stay together at the cut ends since it couldn't have wraps in it. We resolved the issue by having our local hardware store create a large (thicker) sized rubber O-ring for us that fit the rudder shaft. The whole area and shaft were greased liberally with Marine "Lubriplate" waterproof grease. It has worked fine over the years and all that is needed is to occasionally insure the grease has not washed out.
 
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