[C38] Rudder post packing gland, my experiences.

[Richard West]

Wow, for what it's worth, your packing gland is very different from mine.
 Mine has triangular plates with thee screws and just enough room for about
one ring of packing and no real cutout to hold it in place.  Equally hard to
work on though!
Rich, Legacy, #360, San Diego





On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 1:49 PM, D. R. Strong <drstrong at ucdavis.edu> wrote:

>  In response to requests for my packing gland packing experiences. This is
> really fun stuff (sarcasm intended).
>
> 1.  I tried both the classical and the Teflon packing, and vastly prefer
> the latter. It is tougher, takes the abuse of insertion better, and it seems
> logical that the Teflon type should last longer. I don't remember the size
> of the packing material; middle size, not the largest or smallest. I removed
> the old stuff and the West Marine gal  helped me find the right size.   To
> save repeated trips, I bought three packages of  the two sizes that seemed
> right, then returned the unused. WM readily takes refunds with receipt
> (because they know that boat addicts cannot resist a purchase each and every
> time they enter the store).
>
> 2. I removed the old packing with a tiny screw driver. A trick taught me by
> Cree at Berkeley Marine Center is to make up your new material on the
> exposed rudder post, up by the tiller attachment (careful, don't let the
> rudder sink to the bottom of the marina when you remove the tiller handle
> attachment!). Or, you could mic the post and use another pipe of exactly the
> same diameter. Coil the new packing material around around the post three
> times. Cut through the coil on a 45 degree angle with a sharp razor blade;
> this must be pretty easy because I got it right the first time. The razoring
> of three wraps procedure gives you three perfect segments, all with good cut
> angles. Treat them carefully, especially the cut edges.
>
> 3. Grease the post and the new packing material just before you begin.
> This will allow the material to readily slide into the slot. I'm proud of
> having thought of this, but feel stupid that I labored for hours
> ---butchering several packages of packing trying to get the material into
> the slot ---before the Lord delivered the grease idea on to me (pay off for
> memorizing the 23 Psalm at 8). I used water proof marine grease meant for
> bearings on boat trailer wheels.
>
> 4. Insert the coils with 66 degrees of rotation between the cuts, so as to
> isolate them maximally from each other.
>
> 5. Use the ring on the sliding, unfixed, bottom half  (bronze color above
> the green base in the photo below) of the gland as a hard tool to "force" (
> = easy does it) the coils of packing material in. Twist, pull up, and tap
> gently (if needs be) on the sliding half with a small (!) hammer or wrench
> handle to urge the insertion of the coil. DONT TAP TOO  HARD OR YOU WILL
> DEFORM THE UNIT. (Note, this is the point when your wife will leave the boat
> owing to the language used by her lover). Note that the packing material on
> Discreet Charm is inserted upward, into the glassed on, fixed, top half of
> the unit.
>
> 6. I worked from the cockpit, from the top, through the stern lazarette. If
> you know a 6 year old with really long arms and strong hands (older kids are
> too big) who will work from below, go for it. My first try (which failed
> because the insertion of the packing material was sloppy; edges did not line
> up) gave me a bad bruise across the chest at the point of contact between me
> and the rim of the lazarette. Place a thin cushion or towel between your
> chest and the on the rim of the lazarette to prevent this unpleasant trophy
> of packing gland replacement .
>
> Love Don
>
>
>
> --
> Donald & Karin Strong
> Discreet Charm
> Catalina 38
> San Fancisco Bay
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://catalina38.org/pipermail/listserve_catalina38.org/attachments/20090729/efb89063/attachment-0001.htm>