Anyone have an idea what it would cost to replace the stuffing box with a dripless shaft seal? (NS 30U with V-Drive W-27) I’ve been thinking lately it would be nice to have a dry/drier bilge.
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD
I was originally quoted one boat unit for my 26 C. However they broke the coupling, and the shaft was severely scored. I’m expecting the total to be around two boat units.
Don’t forget to get the cutless bearing replaced while they’re playing.
Joe
26C #156
SEA HORSE
Hi Jim,
I have a NS 30U with a V-Drive W27 and had my PYI Dripless replaced last month.
The part cost about $310 plus a several hours work at the yard rate.
You should be aware that these units do not last forever; consider replacing them after five years. You understand how they work, ‘burp’ them at launch and take a few seconds to confirm they are working properly as part of your check list. There are ( hopefully exaggerated ) stories of failure and ‘catastrophic’ situations. I tend to trust these units but you might hear that comment in emails to follow.
Good luck with the conversion and let us know what you think once it’s installed.
Best,
Jim Falcon
Ballybay NS 30U #357
Warren, RI
I was talking with the Beta dealer in NC about this just a few weeks ago and he prefers the Buck Algonquin packing glands for use with the v-drive since they are essentially a traditional stuffing box but can be adjusted and repacked much easier that a traditional gland given the limited space the v-drive leaves us. His theory (reasonable to me) was that most packing glands leak because they don’t get adjusted/repacked often enough due to the access issue, especially after drying out. Given the easier maintenance, its reasonable to expect much less water in the bilge via this source.
Anybody else have thoughts on these v dripless v traditional
Jim.
C.A.T - 1982 Nonsuch 30C #146
Currently on the hard at Deatons, Oriental NC.
I think it makes since .I have a 33 #42 1989 and my box is leaking I don’t have a wrench that fits that the handle has been shortened.the buck one can be easer to tighten. My boat is in Beaufort and I saw your boat two weekends ago. So let us know how it goes.
James P. Moores
During the winter of 2014-2015, among other things (like paint the hull), we had Brewer’s Marina in Glen Cove replaced the stuffing box with a PSS dripless unit. The unit itself cost $280 at that time, there was about $60 worth of other parts and supplies, and labor was $220, or about 2 1/2 hours of work. We “saved” money on this in that we had the shaft out of the boat because the hull was cracked and leaking where the strut with the cutless bearing was attached and that had to be removed, ground out, etc. to the tune of about $1400. While we were at it, the yard put a new cutless bearing in (parts and labor of $300ish).
We like having the dripless unit - one less onerous task that always seemed impossible to do in too small a space. It cut down a bit on the water in the bilge, but not that much (new speakers in the cockpit - that solved the wet bilge problem for us). We did the PSS because of all of the other work we were doing in that area - it just seemed to make sense to get it done at that time, kind of like it was on sale labor wise.
Lloyd Herman
Rendezvous, 30U
Port Washington, New York