[C320-list] Stuffing box issue

[Daryl Hunt]

Thanks to all for the advise on this!  Yes, the boat had to be moved 
right after launching as the marina and yacht club docks in Rochester 
are all under water!   The shaft alignment/vibration explanation makes 
sense, but the transmission was very smooth with no significant 
vibration felt or seen at the shaft log or coupling.

On another topic, until this email from Danny, I had only received a 
reply from Rod Boer.   Scrolling down, I see there were others who 
replied including Jeff, Doug and Bob!  This is concerning to me because 
I value all your input and I'm not sure why I'm not seeing it.  There's 
nothing in my junk folder.

Fair winds,
Daryl Hunt
s/v Believe 1999 C320 #660 Rochester, NY - Lake Ontario

On 5/26/2017 1:57 PM, danny jensen wrote:
> I've had the GFO for 3 years and had the boat yard install it. It got
> really hot because the nut was too tight. It got so hot,  steam came off
> the nut when i poured water on it! I backed off nut and it still never got
> as cool as the old packing material. I could not hold my hand on it for a
> long time and over time, it did get cooler. I have not noticed any bad
> outcome from how hot I was running at the install.   I seem to remember
> Jeff saying it GFO naturally runs warmer. I also tuned the nut to run
> "dripless" as Jeff recommends. It took about 3 years to start dripping
> after my initial nut adjustment and when it did start dripping it seemed to
> drip more than standard packing.  After tightening, I am back to dripless
> again!
>
> Danny
> #972
>
> On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 11:40 AM, Jeff Hare <Catalina at thehares.com> wrote:
>
>> I think Bob and Doug are on to it.
>>
>> There wouldn't be any reason to replace the GFO that I could think of in
>> this amount of time, even if you got it a bit too tight to start with.
>> Just back it off like you did until it doesn't drip and isn't hot to hold
>> and you should be ok.  Give it some time.
>>
>> As you can tell from when you installed it, the GFO is quite smooth and
>> soft (almost slippery) and it doesn't really make sense to me for that soft
>> non-abrasive material to be abrading the shaft enough to see flakes in such
>> a short time, so looking for another cause is the right path.  Weak motor
>> mounts can allow for excessive vibration especially when throttling down
>> and maybe the shaft is whipping a bit and hitting the shaft log.  Bronze
>> shafts are more likely to whip than the harder stainless ones, especially
>> if you have a heavy prop.
>>
>>   -Jeff Hare
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On
>> Behalf Of Doug Treff
>> Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 1:52 PM
>> To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Stuffing box issue
>>
>> Daryl,
>>
>> Did you launch and make that long trip before the boat had been in the
>> water 24 hours? After the hull has a chance to return to it's normal shape,
>> the alignment of the engine/shaft could change and your problem may resolve
>> itself. Give it a few days to rest and then see how it goes.
>> If it's still a problem, an alignment could be in your future.
>>
>> A friend of mine who has a cradle for his 320 - he's not on this list -
>> had trouble last winter with the door on his head compartment not closing
>> properly. The yard mechanic refused to fix it for him until the boat had
>> been launched in the spring, with the reasoning that it may resolve itself.
>> It did - within 48 hours of launch, the door was working perfectly again.
>> If the hull can deform that much - to impact a door closing - I have to
>> imagine the shaft alignment could suffer as well.
>>
>> I also notice a difference with my packing after being afloat for a few
>> days, because the long winter dries out the packing. After you relaunch, it
>> needs time to settle in.
>>
>> --
>> Doug Treff
>> September Song #350
>> doug at treff.us
>>
>> On Thu, May 25, 2017, at 01:18 PM, Robert Dean wrote:
>>> I had the same issue,gold dust in the water. My problem was the shaft
>>> was not running true. I had the shaft and engine alignment done.I have
>>> a season on it and haven't noticed any more of the filings in the
>>> water. It also runs a lot smoother.
>>> Bob DeanJust Chillin 550Worton Creek Md
>>>
>>


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