Stuffing Box

As with nearly all previously used vehicles my boat has a few issues. Some of them are pretty minor and can be ignored or inexpensively fixed. However, others are not so simple. My current issue is the stuffing box.

If you have never heard of a stuffing box it is a like a bolt and nut system that joins the propeller shaft to the engine. At one end of the bolt is a rubber hose that is clamped on to the hull close to the propeller and the other end is the nut, which is hollow, that attaches to the engine. The hollow part has some special waxed rope in it that keeps the water coming up the shaft from spilling into the hull. (Detailed pictures at this site.)

My stuffing box has a leak. In fact, it was leaking so bad that my bilge pump was firing off about every 5 minutes while the engine was off. It wasn't leaking when the mechanic and I inspected the boat after I bought it. The implication is that the previous owner lied to me when he said he took the boat out frequently... it probably had not gone out in at least 6 months.

The site I referenced above with the pictures explains how to re-pack the stuffing box so that I could stop the leaking. However, this is much harder than the site imples when the stuffing box is still on a prop shaft and the boat is in the water. First, getting to the stuffing box is a huge challenge for somebody of my girth. It can only be reached through a cockpit locker (which is under a seat). I was able to squeeze myself into this narrow compartment (for which I am thankful nobody was nearby with a camera) however I was unable to get both my arms into the area where the stuffing box sits. With only one arm I was unable to apply the wrenches needed to move the nut.

Since the stuffing is not supposed to leak at all while the boat is just sitting in the water (as opposed to when the prop shaft is turning, in that case its supposed to leak a few drops a minute to lubricate the shaft) and in my case it was literally leaking 10 drops a second (I counted) I felt I needed to get this fixed ASAP. I called a few boat yards and finally found one in Fort Myers Beach... about a 7 hour trip from Joshua's house. My Aunt Mary, Bo, and I made a day of it and motored down there.

The trip was nice and relaxing. Its technically still on the Okeechobee Waterway, and the first 3 hours were just like a continuation of my previous trip. We had a lock and a couple of bridges to pass. we briefly entered the Gulf of Mexico as we made our way into the Matanzas Pass. We found the boat yard pretty easily and I met with the repairmen.

I left my engine running as I re-explained the problem to them. One of the smaller fellas there jumped in the locker to take a look at the issue first hand. His "Holy Shit! There's water spraying everywhere!" exclamation made me happy we got there safe.

Anyhow, a couple days have passed by since I got the boat there and the costs keep going up. The stuffing box was salvageable but the guys are cleaning it up nicely and re-packing it. The rubber hose was completely shot. It had rotted through in a few places and thats where the water was coming from. To replace the hose they had to completely remove the propshaft. This caused an issue because the prophaft was severely scored and frozen into place with the stuffing box. They had to cut the propshaft off which means I had to buy a new one of those. Also, there was a minor crack in the hull where the propshaft exits and this needed repaired too.

Over the phone this was supposed to cost me $500-600. Now its up to $1,400.

This is a HUGE set-back to me. I'm spending $1,400 on something completely unexpected. It had to be done, of course. Its better to spend the money than to sink. However, now I cannot afford the furling genoa and solar panels which were my first planned purchases. Grrr.

Anyhow. I pick the boat up tomorrow and I'm told it will take about 8 hours to motor from Fort Myers Beach to Punta Gorda Isles, which is where my slip is going to be for a few months while I continue working on the boat. This trip will be the first one I've done by myself on this boat. I'm a little nervous about it in some respects because I'll be entering Charlotte Harbor for the first time and its really nice to have somebody else helping watch for markers and whatnot while entering an unfamiliar harbor. Guess I'd better bone up on my charts now.