Slow Moving Emergency - Stuffing Box Hose Ruptured 45 Miles From Haul Out

[stwagstaff]

So, I did my routine  monthly  start up and run of my diesel in my Pearson 365.  Put her in gear at low power keep things lubed. But, when I turned off the engine, I could hear a steady rush of  running water and the bilge pump working hard... Uh oh. A quick look below revealed that the stuffing  box hose had twisted and ripped open in a wide gash. Water was streaming in.  Gasp.  Panic. Act fast.

I cut a handy pair of handy neoprene wetsuit shorts into a long strip. Wrapped the strip in a tight spiral wrap around the hose and fastened it in place with a bunch of hose clamps.  Stopped the flow, save a steady trickle. Then ran to a thrift store, bought a thick vinyl-coated closed-cell foam yoga pad, cut that into a long strip, removed the clamps - more water! - replaced the bandage and re-fastened with even more hose clamps. The good news is that the leak is stopped completely. THe really bad news is that now I am dead in the water.  I fear I can't move the boat safely in any fashion.  I'm worried that towing it will turn the prop shaft enough to twist loose my emergency repair. I certainly can't run the boat under power with a lime-colored yoga pad clamped hard around the tattered remains of my prop shaft seal.

Nearest haul out and boatyard is 45 miles away. I am in the south end of San Francisco Bay. (Apparently, my towing insurance covers up to 50 miles dock to dock; we'll see.)

Question for the experts: What the heck should I do?

1) Tow to the haul out  and fix it on the hard. How likely is the prop to torque my repair to pieces under tow?  I could massively double up the repair so in case the inner repair fails the outer one(s) might keep the water from rushing in, but this scenario, in a 5-hour tow, is beyond nerve wracking.

Is there any way to do a safe repair it in the water? I've removed the V-drive before for a rebuild, so no big deal, but it seems that a replacement hose probably won't fit over the drive shaft flange or  stuffing box flange (by design). I think I know the answer, but hoping I'm wrong.

Anyway, I'm eager for any helpful advice.

My advice to fellow owners: don't neglect this maintenance in your own boat. Scary. LOL.


Thank you!

[P69]

You can repair in th water only if you can remove the flange from the shaft, then put it back on so it is perfectly square to the shaft centerline. Just stuff rags in the shaft tube from the outside (too bad your water temp is cold). If you stuff from the inside, the rags will be permanent after you install new hose.

If you think the prop will turn while being towed, you can prevent the shaft from rotating, make a clamp out of wood.

Make or get a 2" x 3" douglas fir, poplar, or oak by about 12" long.
About 2" in from one end, drill a  1 1/8" hole on the centerline through the 2" dimension.
Now, drill a 3/8" hole on either side of that  1 1/8" hole, about 1/2" to 3/4" away from the edge of the  1 1/8" hole. The 3/8" holes run perpendicular to the  1 1/8" hole.

Next, rip the wood down the center of the 12" axis to get two pieces. Rip another 1/8" off both pieces (from the centerline cut you just made) so when you put the two pieces back together, the 1 1/8" hole is no longer a perfect circle. The objective is to bolt this wood "clamp" on the shaft and not have it bottom out, so you have to cut about  1/4" total from the centerline.

Get two 5/16 dia bolts (nuts and washers) and bolt this to the shaft so it pokes up past the jack shaft, long part pointing upwards. You might have to cut the length to fit .

With this clamp tight on the shaft, get a 1x1 stick several inches long and use a C clamp to clamp this stick to the  2x3, perpendicular to the long axis (or maybe at an angle).
This cross piece will jam against the hull and/or the jack shaft, preventing the shaft from turning and it will not mar the shaft, like a vice-grip will.

[SVJourney]

Or have a diver remove your prop prior to towing. No prop, no torque, no problem.
That said, having a shaft brake like P69 described onboard as an emergency piece of kit sounds like a good idea for the future.

[Sandy]

kudos on saving your boat
good luck back on the hard