[C320-list] packing gland & listing to port

[Scott Thompson]

Better still, leave it out.  Who needs the thing for day sailing?  I 
only install my speed transducer when I'm going to be sailing for more 
than a day.  The only thing it seems to be useful for is to help the 
wind instrument to estimate true wind velocity.  Otherwise, my handheld 
GPS does the trick if I need to estimate speed, and most of the time I 
leave that in the chart table.  Maybe if I sailed in waters with big 
currents and not much marine growth on the bottom I'd feel otherwise.

Robert Seastream wrote:
> "pull my speed transducer after
> each sail to avoid barnacles."
> 
> Simple, clean it annually  haulout!  Spend more time sailing and less 
> time dithering.
> 
> Bob
> Intuition # 906
> On Oct 20, 2007, at 9:11 AM, Chris Burti wrote:
> 
>> Yes... I really am considering adding ballast. It just kills me that I
>> can't point the same on both tacks. As we haven't loaded Commitment
>> down with junk, she shows a couple inches of bottom paint below the
>> design waterline and I can afford the weight if I stick it midships.
>>
>> But, I am intrigued by Jeff's assertion that the mast is not centered
>> if the shrouds are equal in length. Since most mastheads are
>> symmetrical this is how you plumb the mast after verifying that the
>> base is centered. Now, if the base of a deck stepped mast is not
>> centered (something you should check because, surprisingly, it appears
>> to occur often enough) then you do have to make an adjustment as Jeff
>> suggested, I have measured the base and it is centered, I have plumbed
>> my mast in the traditional way and I still have a list. Now, if there
>> is something funky about the masthead...inquiring minds want to know.
>>
>> Oh, add me to the GFX packing group also...three years and loving it.
>>
>> Got a couple of comments on the mechanical dripless seal concept...I
>> know it is debating religion, but it is Saturday and I am obviously
>> not sailing. I am of the school that thinks it it imprudent to trust
>> rubber for birth control or keeping your boat afloat. I already have
>> some down there (intake hoses, shaft log, etc.) and don't care to add
>> more.
>>
>> If the bellows fails, your boat will sink unless you can get your rag
>> and bucket working fairly quickly. The assertion that there has never
>> been a documented "catastrophic" failure may be true but, is also
>> unprovable BS. All that it means to me is that the owners got the leak
>> stopped in time or they haven't had one sink at the dock or where they
>> could recover the hull and blame it on a burst bellows.
>>
>> My belief is that the most likely time one of these things would fail
>> is while the engine is in operation and shaft is turning. Given the
>> the high quality of the components, the most likely cause would seem
>> be some improperly stored something tangling the shaft in heavy seas
>> and damaging the bellows (of course from 'statistical' viewpoint that
>> sinking wouldn't be 'caused' by the seal, it would be 'caused' by the
>> skipper's 'negligence', heheheh).Too many boats go down taking water
>> for "unknown reasons" off shore in just these conditions and the hulls
>> are never recovered. Some of those must have had dripless seals. It
>> used to be that a selling point was the fact the Coasites used them...
>> News Flash..they are now going to GFX as well.
>>
>> Note that these seals are a proven product and I doubt that if I
>> bought a boat with one installed that I would be very concerned about
>> removing it, but I can't see me spending the money installing one
>> where $10 worth of GFX (in my case it was free...better yet) provides
>> the same results and no concerns.
>>
>> I have a dry bilge generally but haven't figured out how to keep from
>> adding about a quart of water when I pull my speed transducer after
>> each sail to avoid barnacles.
>>
>> On 10/19/07, Orlando.Duran at averydennison.com
>> <Orlando.Duran at averydennison.com> wrote:
>>> Please tell me you're kidding about putting in 300lbs of stainless 
>>> steel to level out the boat!!
>>>
>>> A good place to store a 1-2gal gas container is in the anchor locker, 
>>> it has an 'exhaust' hole..
>>> ----------------------------------
>>> Regards,
>>> OD
>>>
>>> Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Chris Burti" [clburti at gmail.com]
>>> Sent: 10/19/2007 12:54 PM
>>> To: C320-List <c320-list at catalina320.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] packing gland & listing to port
>>>
>>> Yes...the [port list is 'normal'. On my "to do" list is scrounging
>>> about 300 pounds of stainless scrap to level it out.
>>>
>>> Don't leave the gasoline on the boat as a precaution. I only carry it
>>> aboard when I leave on a cruise intending to take the dinghy. Not only
>>> is it a bit safer, it is always fresh. I recommend the anchor locker,
>>> it is vented better top and bottom.
>>>
>>> On 10/19/07, Moondancer5 at comcast.net <Moondancer5 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> Now that I've had the boat back for a bit, and the weather has been 
>>>> highly cooperative, I have a couple of questions on what's normal. 
>>>> Thanks in advance for all advice!
>>>>
>>>> Not having had a cruiser before, we did not realize the amount of 
>>>> leaking from the packing gland was abnormal, until we were splashed 
>>>> this spring and the bilge pump wasn't working... after our marina 
>>>> adjusted it, we had our little incident with the powerboat wake and 
>>>> the whole engine had to be reset on the mounts and the shaft 
>>>> re-aligned, and at the dealer the bilge was dry. After the boat was 
>>>> delivered back to us there was quite a bit of water in the bilge 
>>>> (and the auto pump hadn't been left on). Now we see that after every 
>>>> afternoon of sailing, the shaft still drips after the engine has 
>>>> been shut off. I don't imagine that adjusting the d**n thing after 
>>>> each sail is normal, I had heard it should do is shed a drop of 
>>>> water every minute while the engine is running, and none after it's 
>>>> shut off. What's normal?
>>>>
>>>> And, I notice (and noticed before the accident) a slight (but 
>>>> distinct) list to port. Is THAT normal?
>>>>
>>>> One more while I'm here: Where do you store your gasoline tank for 
>>>> the dinghy when it's not in use? When at our marina in the slip, we 
>>>> put the Zodiac on a rack and the outboard on the rail (which has 
>>>> totally messed up the nice little slot there where we had the 
>>>> Lifesling mounted, now it won't fit in there with the outboard on 
>>>> the bracket). We are putting the gas tank in the starboard stern 
>>>> locker, I believe the a/c compressor is in that area too. is that safe?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> Susan
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Chris Burti
>>> Farmville, NC
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Chris Burti
>> Farmville, NC
>>
> 
>