rudder leaking

[Airbus Driver]

I have found a small leak while underway. After a day of sailing there is about a gallon or two of water in the hull. It looks like it is seeping through the rudder packing gland (that's what I call it). It is the oxidized blue nuts above the rudder through hull. The area is in the starboard hull and will be very difficult to get to. Should I just tighten the nuts like on a traditional stuffing box? Anyone have any experience with this? My boat is an Endeavourcat30.

[Sandy Claws - IC Hull #121]

While I have not experienced this problem with Sandy Claws, I have had experience with industrial components with many various stuffing box arrangements. The general limitations are not to over tighten the packing gland. Specific techniques vary depending on the packing material.

My first advice would be:
Endeavorcat is still in business and there are at least two very knowledgeable technical staff that have been with the company from the beginning. They were extremely helpful when I replaced my outboard - steering cable. Their contact information is in this post.

Some basic rules of thumb would be:

• tighten the gland nuts evenly no more than 1-2 flats at a time. Hexagonal nuts have six flats or sides. Each flat equals 60° (360/6 = 60).
• Be sure to cycle the rudder stop-to-stop a few times between each adjustment (a helper at the helm would be less frustrating).
  This is where a little is better than a lot. Don't overdue it.
• If you tighten the gland and less than half the stud length is left, you probably need to repack the gland.
• In an emergency, nylon double braid rope (greased) will substitute for packing material. This worked on a prop shaft once!

 

There is a good explanation of packing gland adjustment and problems found on the pumpworld.com website.

Please be sure to come back and post your success story after the leak has been corrected!

Product to consider : http://gfopacking.com/