Port stuffing box on Hatteras 40DC

Closing on our "new to us" Hatteras 40DC early next week. One of the first things we will address is the port side stuffing box. There is a fair amount of corrosion around it, to the extent that it could not be observed during survey. The mechanic that works on the boat wants to just do an acid wash. I lean to removing it entirely and replace it with a dripless as there is a dripless on the starboard side. One of the problems we are having is access as it appears to be under the shower. Does anyone know how and where do you access the port side stuffing box?

Im not sure of your boats particulars but hatteras has on occasion placed access 'hatches' in the sole under rugs etc that may not be immediately evident. If you look into the bilge area you should be able to see the shower drain piping/hose coming down vertically and then going into its pitched route to the sump. can you use the shower drain as a benchmark to measure above and below the sole to find the stuffing box actual location? if so and there is no access, you can plan out and cut an access hatch yourself.

Hi,

I am a 40 DC owner (1989) and the stuffing boxes on these boats (drive shafts) are only accessed through the engine room. Not sure if you have gas or diesel engines but the easiest way to make the change is going through the centre, between the two engines. I have had my shafts removed and repacked and the stuffing boxes refirbished. I would suggest you have the boat yard do it. If the stuffing box needs to be replaced contact Sam's Marine (Hatteras official parts dealer) about parts. You don't really need dripless stuffing boxes on these boats as most of the time you will be doing hull speed (7-9 knots). These boats are not fast and are too under-powered to get / stay on plane for any length of time. It is mainly used as a displacement cruiser.

We love our boat and I have done 95% of the maintaince on it in the 11 years that I have owned it. Some things though I have left to the yard such as the shafts and drive stuffing boxes as they require a fairly small, agile person to get in that space.
You may want to find out when the stuffing boxes were last serviced (both for the drive shafts and rudders). Get them all done if it has been more than 5 years. It is not an expensive job and will offer piece of mind.

Good luck

Mark
Lake of the Woods
1989 40 DC, Hull #388

Thanks so much for the comments. The stuffing box is directly below the forward outward corner of the aft shower stall. This is definitely not a job for me. The corrosion appears to be from a deteriorated grounding wire. It does not appear as bad as the survey described it. I’m hauling out next month and plan to have it addressed then by nimbler and younger souls than myself. I do hope to handle as many repairs as possible in the future though I would have really have appreciated another in or two separating those Cat 3208 engines. In the mean time, I am now a officially a proud owner of a 1992 Hatteras 40DC!

Calvin,

When you have the boat out of the water you might want to have the yard look at the "cutlass berings" unless you know they have been replaced within the last 5 years or so. In my boat (gas engines) i cut a piece of 3/8" plywood to fit over the two battery boxes in the middle of the engines and glued on some carpet tiles. the board just sits on top of the battery boxes and is not fastened down so it can be lifted very easily to service the batteries. This modification makes it easer (and more comfortable) to service the engines. I also added some LED (120 vdc) light strips (from Costco) down the centre and Port and Starboard sides to brighten up the engine room. I will post some pictures in the next week to show you what I've done. The people on this forum take a lot of pride in having their mechanical spaces looking good and functioning well. Good luck,

Mark
Lake of the Woods
1989 40 DC Series 1, Hull #388

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Originally Posted by lake of the woods

i cut a piece of 3/8" plywood to fit over the two battery boxes in the middle of the engines and glued on some carpet tiles. the board just sits on top of the battery boxes and is not fastened down so it can be lifted very easily to service the batteries. This modification makes it easer (and more comfortable) to service the engines.&lt;br&gt;<br>
1989 40 DC Series 1, Hull #388

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I did this same thing on our 43DC, the four factory fiberglass covers never stayed in place while you were on top of them, I made a plywood cover that has a border all around to keep it from sliding off the top of the battery boxes, works very well when I am on my belly trying to side all the way back to the aft of the engine "room" space