"mike" wrote
Now, a "boat unit" + later, I have (as of an hour ago) replaced the
u-joint with a brand new Aquadrive, and man, is it running smoother in
gear! I'm sure the old stuffing box will stay tighter now.
It's too bad I didn't have the correct packing gland here to do that
at the same time- I still plan to do it- since the shaft coupling was
off and it would have saved some work. Oh well.
PYI wqas really good when informed of their screw-up, though, and is
shipping the correct one down for no charge. I guess the next time I
haul out I'll take care of it.
Mike

You could do it while in the water, if you're fast enough.
Scotty

"mike" wrote
... I guess the next time I
haul out I'll take care of it.


Scott Vernon wrote:
You could do it while in the water, if you're fast enough.

Indeed you can. I changed the fuel valves at the connections on the
bottom of our tanks earlier this year, and spilled about 3 teaspoons of
fuel. Of course, you also have to prepare the job properly before hand.
When you are holding back 175 gallons of diesel with your thumb is not a
time to realize you don't have the right wrench on the boat.

FB
DSK

Snagged a branch one time in the truck, cross-over line pulled and broke the
fitting on the left side tank (120 Gal.) jumped out and stuck my finger in,
had to lay there and wait till someone stopped. He got a plug out of my
toolbox for me.

SV


"DSK" wrote
When you are holding back 175 gallons of diesel with your thumb is not a
time to realize you don't have the right wrench on the boat.

Did you put something like a vacuum cleaner on the tank so it sucked air in?

Cheers

DSK wrote:

"mike" wrote

... I guess the next time I
haul out I'll take care of it.



Scott Vernon wrote:
You could do it while in the water, if you're fast enough.


Indeed you can. I changed the fuel valves at the connections on the
bottom of our tanks earlier this year, and spilled about 3 teaspoons of
fuel. Of course, you also have to prepare the job properly before hand.
When you are holding back 175 gallons of diesel with your thumb is not a
time to realize you don't have the right wrench on the boat.

FB
DSK

mike wrote:
So I ordered a dripless packing unit from PYI inc. in Seattle, and
they shipped the wrong size (I ordered 1" shaft, 2" shaft tube, they
sent 1 1/8" x 1 3/4). Then somebody tells me that I really didn't
want dripless at all because when they fail, you sink.
Anybody know anything from rumour or personal experience about these
things?

I've never known a boat to sink, but I've never known one of these
things to remain dripless for more than a year or so. They also overheat
occasionally and are generally a PITA. Nowhere near worth the money IMHO

It's a major hassle tightening the packing on my boat- very hard to
reach unless you're that comic book guy from the Fantastic Four with
the really long arms...

Cut a new hatch or something. Access to the packing gland is very basic.
Difficult access is very poor design. Ever wonder what else they messed
up on your boat?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On 15 Apr 2004 18:11:20 -0700, (mike) wrote:

So I ordered a dripless packing unit from PYI inc. in Seattle, and
they shipped the wrong size (I ordered 1" shaft, 2" shaft tube, they
sent 1 1/8" x 1 3/4). Then somebody tells me that I really didn't
want dripless at all because when they fail, you sink.
Anybody know anything from rumour or personal experience about these
things?
It's a major hassle tightening the packing on my boat- very hard to
reach unless you're that comic book guy from the Fantastic Four with
the really long arms...
Mike

There seems to be a fair amount of hysteria about the risks of
"catastrophic failure" with these things. I have had three of them on
three different boats and I love them. I think it is helpful to see
what the builders of better boats are doing. I believe many/most are
building their boats with the dripless shaft seals.

I discussed this with one of the Worstells, who build Valiant as to
their approach to the dripless shaft seals, which they install on the
Valiants. He told me that he couldn't foresee any reason why the PYI
would be any more prone to failure that a traditional stuffing box.
He went on to say that over the years, he had seen more damage to
sailboats from water in the boat than any other single cause. Leaks,
stuffing boaxes, that sort of thing. In other words, keep your boat
dry. It makes sense to me.

I am not aware of builders of quality boats shying away from them out
of any safety concerns. That should tell you something.