Rudder packing

[king5899]

Last summer I found my rudder posts leaking slightly. I tightened the nuts a bit and it stopped. Towards the end of the season I noticed it was leaking again. I'd like to replace them before splashing this year and had a few questions. I have never replaced these before, but it looks pretty straight forward.

1) What type of material is recomended?

2) Do I lay in 1 loop where the ends meet or is it wrapped around more than one loop and they overlap? I saw somewhere to lay in 4 loops and alter seams by 120 degrees.

3) How tight do I make the nut that holds the packing material in?

I'm looking for the pics I took, but I can't find them. I'll post them later when I find them.
Thanks for any help.

MJK

 

[chriscraft67]

The rudder posts don't turn fast like a prop shaft so you can use any good quality packing material. If you use Goretex, PTFE or something similar, you will probably not ever have to pack them again.

You can determine the size of the packing by inserting drill bits (of known sizes) between the shaft and the stuffing box after all the old packing has been removed. Getting all the old stuff out is important. When you find a drill bit that just fits, that's the size packing you should use. The packing material comes in approximately 1/8-inch increments so you may have to round down a little to a standard size material.

Put in each ring of packing individually. When you cut the packing to size, cut the ends on a diagonal. Stagger the ends so that they don't line up. Put in two rings of packing and then re-tighten the packing nut to press the rings in place. Remove the nut and add another ring of packing. If you can fit in four rings, fine.

Tighten the packing nut until the rudders don't leak. If you are doing this job with the boat out of the water, just tighten them down very slightly until you get back in the water. Move the rudders back and forth a number of times. If they weep a little, tighten just a little more. Good quality packing doesn't have to be mashed down tight. Don't forget the lock nut. Take a look at them from time to time; you may have to tighten them again once the rudders have been used normally.

Bill

 

[Ghost]

Bill just about nailed it.

Tighten until they just stop leaking and then WAIT for at least a day for the packing to swell before you even consider tightening again. You very likely won't need to and I agree you might never have to do this job again.

 

[king5899]

Great, sounds like it won't be too bad. I better start stretching to get back there, as it is insanely tight.

Thank you!
MJK