[C320-list] Mystery bilge water

[Jack Brennan]

So, for those of you with mystery bilge water, here’s a story:

For a long time, I would periodically get a fair amount of water in the holding area under the stuffing box and the diesel, which eventually would work its way into the bilge.

I would adjust the stuffing box, which is where I figured it came from, but it would always happen again.

A couple of weeks ago, I got my long-awaited cataract surgery with lens implants, which gave me 20/20 vision instead of the blurry 20/50 that I had been living with.

Then – aha! – I discovered that the drip was coming from the stuffing box hose, not the stuffing box itself. When I had a new prop shaft installed 18 months ago, the $100-an-hour mechanic’s fee apparently didn’t include tightening the hose clamps properly.

He had it just loose enough that the hose would lose its seal periodically. Then it would reseal, probably when I was fiddling around with the stuffing box, confusing the hell out of me.

I guess the lesson is to look at the obvious and simple things first. And don’t let your eyesight go …

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.
Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay



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