f-32 aaron, middle river, md -- rudder stuffing box

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:00 am

good morning everyone, aaron here again. i HATE to sound like a panic, but i have a question about my rudder stuffing boxes. its seems that i have some water dripping into the bilge from these locations, port and starboard. i know it is possible to tighten the bolts but do i use two wrenches to do this and, is it still the same rule of right to tight left to loose? just don't want to drop the rudder into the drink. oh, i'm still willing to entertain some engine/genset winterization assistance. i'll even have the event catered!

wowzer52 · Post by **wowzer52** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:32 am

There are two nuts on the rudder stuffing boxes, the lower one is a locknut. Screw the lock nut down several threads to get it out of the way, tighten the top nut(packing nut) down until the water just stops and retighten the locknut. check them again after running the boat for a while. no need for cooling water drips because these shafts do not spin and don't need the cooling lubrication of water like the prop shafts.

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:39 pm

Aaron ... where do you keep your boat? I'm at Hog Pen Creek

chucka · Post by **chucka** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:54 pm

Aaron,

Check out this thread that shows a photo of the original rudder assembly, removed from my F-26.
http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=921

It's not possible to drop the rudder through the stufing box with the tiller arm attached. There is also a safety collar that is pinned to the shaft which prevents the rudder from dropping through the stuffing box even if you remove the tiller arm. In the photo, you can see the pin protruding from the safety ring.

Chuck A.