rudder packing

[seacolt]

anyone know what size packing to use on my rudder post. 1976 46 c thanks for any help

 

[J's Dream]

What is the diameter of your rudder shafts? Mine are 2" in my 45C, and 3/8" packing was used to repack them...but you may have different rudder boxes.

 

[outnumbered]

3/8" on both my 38C and Cobra's 46C.
Outnumbered

 

[seacolt]

I'm sure the packing is old and has not been done in years. Is adding to the exiting acceptable or should i remove old packing and install new, and how many should i repack with. Thanks and any advice.

 

[J's Dream]

Once you're in there, don't add to the old....get ALL, or as much as you can, of the old stuff out, and put in at least 3 wraps. I got 4 wraps in mine, but three is adequate. Take the packing, wrap it around the shaft before you loosen the nuts, and cut each wrap individually, making the ends meet together at 45 degree angles. This way you have everything ready to go and cut to size. It's a whole lot harder to explain it here than it is to do it. Once you have your wraps each cut, then go ahead and open things up. If you haven't had the nuts off in a while, you may need to tap on them with a hammer. I soaked mine with PB Blaster for 24 hours, and they came right off with a tap. Before you begin this, you may want to invest in a set of picks if you don't have one...Getting up to the old stuff can be a little tricky.

 

[Captned]

In the water or hauled out?

 

[REBrueckner]

Packing can be done in the water but if you are doing it the first time, better to wait until haul out to get some practice unless you already have a bad leak. Water gushing in is very unnerving and makes removal of the old packing and placement of the new packing more difficult, but not impossible.
A compromise would be to just have your vessel lifted enough from the water to effect the repair, maybe a half hour per side to allow for all the usual obstacles.
You can shorten the job by having storage obstacles removed to permit access and have the compression nut loosened before lift. That doesn't sound like much, but lying on your stomach with arms extended to squeeze in the rudder log area can be akward and may afford poor leverage, grip and access. You may also need PB blaster, a hammer to shock the nut and perhaps even a torch to help loosen it.

Another "fun" job.

 

[J's Dream]

In the water or hauled out?

My first time, I did it in the water, really its a slow stream of water that comes in. I just made sure my aft bilge pump was on automatic, and my not-so-trusty Rule switch was working. If you really feel uncomfortable doing it in the water, then definitely haul it out...but thats a few hundred extra dollars I couldn't justify spending.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Sounds simple, but have you checked to see if you can just tighten it first? They are adjustable so the packing gland can squeeze the existing packing tighter and stop leaks. Do that first. Check to see if there are any threads left to screw it down. If it's already adjusted to the bottom of the threads, then you need new packing.

Doug

 

[Wayne]

On my 36C there were threads left but were corroded. I added two stainless washers and was able to stop leak without repacking.