Packing Flax
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=244
Printed Date: November-15-2024 at 4:07pm
Topic: Packing Flax
Posted By: nauti girl
Subject: Packing Flax
Date Posted: March-24-2004 at 12:51am
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I'm replacing the packing on my rudder shaft and my drive shaft. How many rings of packing flax rope should I use? I removed 5 rings from the rudder shaft and 3 rings from the drive shaft, but I thought I would want more than 3 on the drive shaft.
Also, how do I determine the initial torque on the packing nut (before I put it back in the water)? ------------- Nauti Girl --I think my husband uses his own login now! |
Replies:
Posted By: tryan
Date Posted: March-25-2004 at 4:33pm
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you might look into the synthetic packing. i have not tried it yet.
i always put 5 rings on the prop shaft. 'torque' on the is a function of the number of drips per minute. just tighten it up until you get minimal dripage with the shaft spinning and none at rest. the newer synthetic packing is not supposed to drip at all. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=146&yrstart=1971&yrend=1975 - promo http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=192&yrstart=1925&yrend=1970 - #2 |
Posted By: yellowdog
Date Posted: March-25-2004 at 5:13pm
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In my younger days, I ran commercial fishing vessels and had the opportunity to repack the stuffing boxes on several larger boats. I would imagine that the theory remains true for smaller boats as well. Physics is physics, isn't it???
We would install the packing material and then tighten the gland until we could not turn the wheel. This was done gradually so that we could determine exactly when we met the point where the wheel could not be rotated. Need to be careful with this as compressing the packing too much and running the engine will probably glaze the packing and you are back where you started. After re-floating the vessel we would run for an hour or so and check out the leakage. Oh yeah, there was always someone stationed to keep an eye on the stuffing box during the 'break-in". This proceedure usually worked without a hitch (or further adjustment) unless the shaft was not perfectly true. Then again, these shafts were 4 - 6 inches in diameter, powered by 1,000 hp and turning 72 - 84 inch wheels at 300 - 350 RPM. Like I said earlier, the theory should be the same, just a different scale. ------------- Caretaker of the wife's '78 Ski Nautique |
Posted By: 79nautique
Date Posted: March-28-2004 at 1:16pm
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I have a question, since I will be doing this in the near future and have never replaced it. everyones uses the term rings some say 3 others 5, what I got from Vince was a single strand of rope so to say. So are you refering to rings as one wrap or one turn around the shaft? ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=756&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1979&yrend=1979 - 79 nautique |
Posted By: tryan
Date Posted: March-28-2004 at 1:42pm
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you cut the flax 2 pi r ....3.14 inch pieces and stager the gap like piston rings. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=146&yrstart=1971&yrend=1975 - promo http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=192&yrstart=1925&yrend=1970 - #2 |
Posted By: reidp
Date Posted: March-28-2004 at 3:06pm
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Tom, but I thought that pie are round, and that cornbread are square? Thanks, I needed that info also. I haven't change one in 20 years, but I sure can wear out a bilge pump. I've put off doing a rudder packing which leaks like crazy. ------------- ReidP /diaries/details.asp?ID=231&yrstart=1971&yrend=1975 - 1973 Mustang |
Posted By: danman
Date Posted: March-31-2004 at 12:38am
| my 78 has 3 for the prop shaft and 4 for the rudder shaft, I don't know if thats the way it came from correct craft or not.?.?.? |
Posted By: nauti girl
Date Posted: March-31-2004 at 1:18am
I have re-packed mine now with 5 rings on the rudder and 5 on the driveshaft as recommended. It was hard to pack 5 into the driveshaft gland, but I got them in. I won't have it in the water for another two weeks, I hope it will float
Yellowdog, when you say tighten until I can't turn the "wheel" - is that the same as the prop? ...excuse my ignorance - that seems REALLY tight! I'll be sure to re-adjust it as soon as I get to the lake. ------------- Nauti Girl --I think my husband uses his own login now! |
Posted By: tryan
Date Posted: March-31-2004 at 8:41pm
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if the gland nut is barely on, pull a couple out and see if the gland nut bottoms out. if it does add one. you want good engagement of the threads, but you want to leave some room to tighten it up after the packing burnishes in.
let the water soak the packing before you put the boat in gear. you should have plenty of time to be a ramp hog. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=146&yrstart=1971&yrend=1975 - promo http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=192&yrstart=1925&yrend=1970 - #2 |
Posted By: yellowdog
Date Posted: April-01-2004 at 10:03am
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Nauti Girl,
Prop, wheel same thing. Sorry. When tightening the nut to the point that you cannot turn the prop by hand, you are setting the packing and compressing it. This insures that the packing material fills all the voids. Please keep in mind that this is not just cranking down on the nut. Rather is is a gradual process of tightening the nut combined with rotating the wheel/prop. There are others that would recommend backing the nut off a full turn at this point, putting the boat in the water, let the water flow through the gland, run the boat a bit and then tighten down the nut so you have no leakage at speed or a drip or two per minute at rest. Ditto on making sure the nut is fully engaged and letting the water saok into the packing before putting the boat in gear. And what is with this weather, starting to snow here in NE Indiana! YIKES! ------------- Caretaker of the wife's '78 Ski Nautique |