Rudder packing glands.

[mike4110]

Hello everyone, I am new to the iboat forums and I Hope I am posting this thread in the rite spot. I am a new owner of a 1997 Silverton 352 aft cabin. There was only 1 problem that came up on the survey. the rudder packing glands are leaking. The surveyor said I could try to tighten the nuts to stop the leaking.

My question is how? there are 2 nuts wrapped around the shaft. should I thread the bottom nut down and then top to lock it in place?

for some reason I can not upload a pic. If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Hello everyone, I am new to the iboat forums and I Hope I am posting this thread in the rite spot. I am a new owner of a 1997 Silverton 352 aft cabin. There was only 1 problem that came up on the survey. the rudder packing glands are leaking. The surveyor said I could try to tighten the nuts to stop the leaking.

My question is how? there are 2 nuts wrapped around the shaft. should I thread the bottom nut down and then top to lock it in place?

for some reason I can not upload a pic. If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.

Congratulation on the boat and welcome to iBoats. To adjust the stuffing box....

Hold the two nuts with two adjustable wrenches. First you need to release the locknut (the smaller of the two) couple of turns by turning it clockwise. Then tighten the adjusting nut no more than half a turn by turning it clockwise . Then you tighten the locknut again counterclockwise this time, of course.


But, the boat is new to you and you don't know how many times the stuffing box was adjusted before. Frequent adjustments can make the stuffing so tight to the point it will hinder steering and score the shaft. Before you do this, take a note of how your steering feels and make sure it doesn't feel any tighter after you are done. If this doesn't stop the leak, you need to hire a pro to repack the stuffing box for you.