Stuffing Box fix or sink?!

Wardy549

Wardy549

Member
Nov 12, 2014
109
Daytona Marina & Boat Works
Boat Info
1988 345 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Twin 454's
All I can say is that sinking is not an option.
Some of you might think I’m crazy or just a guy doing what he has to do to get by.
Ive always been known to fix things on the fly with limited recources. This one takes the cake. So as some of you know I just picked up this 88 345 Sedan Bridge. Been my favorite boat since I was a teenager. Well I picked her up a month ago after the previous owner had spent over 30g’s on her. Well I guess after sitting for a year upon all that was completed. One thing they didnt do was the stuffing box’s. So after I ran her for 80 some miles from Melbourne Fl to Daytona, a frien of mine came to town on short notice so we went for a run to Ponce Inlet. Well upon our turn around to head back to port, I noticed my aft bildge would not shut off. So I left the helm to take a look. Holly shit! Water was up to the bottom of my generator! On top of that the sun dropped and fog rolled in with low tied. We could not see past the helm shield!
Luckily I had a spare bildge on board. I wired it up and got all of the water out. I then said wtf donI have to loose! So I pulled out what was left of the stuffing box material, I cut enough of a bungy cord to cover around the shaft two pieces. I also cut one to fit a hot glue gun stick! First inserted the bungy then the glue gun stick then another bungie. Tightened her up and put the pins back in and that was it. All I can say is that Im dripping a drop of water about every five seconds after running about 5 miles at 6 knots.
So thats it. Making something work with what you got
 
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Wardy549 said:
All I can say is that sinking is not an option.
Some of you might think I’m crazy or just a guy doing what he has to do to get by.
Ive always been known to fix things on the fly with limited recources. This one takes the cake. So as some of you know I just picked up this 88 345 Sedan Bridge. Been my favorite boat since I was a teenager. Well I picked her up a month ago after the previous owner had spent over 30g’s on her. Well I guess after sitting for a year upon all that was completed. One thing they didnt do was the stuffing box’s. So after I ran her for 80 some miles from Melbourne Fl to Daytona, a frien of mine came to town on short notice so we went for a run to Ponce Inlet. Well upon our turn around to head back to port, I noticed my aft bildge would not shut off. So I left the helm to take a look. Holly shit! Water was up to the bottom of my generator! On top of that the sun dropped and fog rolled in with low tied. We could not see past the helm shield!
Luckily I had a spare bildge on board. I wired it up and got all of the water out. I then said wtf donI have to loose! So I pulled out what was left of the stuffing box material, I cut enough of a bungy cord to cover around the shaft two pieces. I also cut one to fit a hot glue gun stick! First inserted the bungy then the glue gun stick then another bungie. Tightened her up and put the pins back in and that was it. All I can say is that Im dripping a drop of water about every five seconds after running about 5 miles at 6 knots.
So thats it. Making something work with what you got
Click to expand...
Probably wouldn't hurt to do something more permanent.
 
I can't imagine a situation where the packing wouldn't be enough to keep a leak from over powering the bilge pump. You may want to get your bilge pumps upgraded.
 
I noticed my aft bildge would not shut off. So I left the helm to take a look. Holly shit! Water was up to the bottom of my generator!

1 Your bilge pump is way too small and you need a high water alarm added
Once your secure get some packing of the correct size and do a proper replacement with 1 drop every 2-3 seconds
 
I think that he is probably more than aware of what is required for a permanent fix. He was simply sharing his quick fix on the fly to stay afloat. I'm a MacGyver type of person, so he gets a thumbs up from me.
 
I agree, great MacGyver stand-in!
 
A melted gooey mess can be cleaned up and and is nothing compared to sinking your boat. After that near disaster, I'm sure that he will be keeping a closer eye on the ER in the future. This incident makes a good case for a camera to monitor things down there while under way.
 
A melted gooey mess can be cleaned up and and is nothing compared to sinking your boat. After that near disaster, I'm sure that he will be keeping a closer eye on the ER in the future. This incident makes a good case for a camera to monitor things down there while under way.
 
electricaldoctor said:
A melted gooey mess can be cleaned up and and is nothing compared to sinking your boat. After that near disaster, I'm sure that he will be keeping a closer eye on the ER in the future. This incident makes a good case for a camera to monitor things down there while under way.
Click to expand...
Inside of a stuffing box? Probably not the easiest place to "clean up."
 
Yes I know I have to remove and install the proper material, it was a crucial time miles from port and not a marina or shop open.
Come to find out the aft bildge red light was on but the bildge was not pumping. Also there are two bildge’s in between the motors in center, one not working. Annd there is another bildge under the stairs it was working but water wasnt flushing out due to a mud dobber built a home in the smaller starboard hole
 
Wardy549 said:
Yes I know I have to remove and install the proper material, it was a crucial time miles from port and not a marina or shop open.
Come to find out the aft bildge red light was on but the bildge was not pumping. Also there are two bildge’s in between the motors in center, one not working. Annd there is another bildge under the stairs it was working but water wasnt flushing out due to a mud dobber built a home in the smaller starboard hole
Click to expand...

Always fun finding these gems on a new to you boat. Lucky you kept it afloat. Now you have the incentive to go over everything to make sure its all working properly. I expect there are a lot of other maintenance items that you will need to address if you look.
 
Wardy549 said:
Yes most definitely;)
Click to expand...

My best one was finding out the windlass did not work. When I picked up the boat from the owner to be trucked up to our marina, he was "nice" enough to have it all ready for shipment. I should have been more skeptical. He had tied up the anchor in the pulpit with straps, put the BBQ "away" in the storage compartment.

The next weekend, my wife and kids go to the boat for some clean up and a day out at our favorite local anchorage. Windlass not working. Look in the compartment and the control box is missing. (it worked when I sea trialed the boat). So manually deploy the anchor in a busy anchorage, cursing the guy under my breath to avoid alerting my wife to the issue. Then go to get the BBQ set up for some lunch. Where is it that he "stored" it for me? Hmmmm. He wouldn't answer the phone when I called him. Caveat emptor as they say.
 
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Creekwood said:
My best one was finding out the windlass did not work. When I picked up the boat from the owner to be trucked up to our marina, he was "nice" enough to have it all ready for shipment. I should have been more skeptical. He had tied up the anchor in the pulpit with straps, put the BBQ "away" in the storage compartment.

The next weekend, my wife and kids go to the boat for some clean up and a day out at our favorite local anchorage. Windlass not working. Look in the compartment and the control box is missing. (it worked when I sea trialed the boat). So manually deploy the anchor in a busy anchorage, cursing the guy under my breath to avoid alerting my wife to the issue. Then go to get the BBQ set up for some lunch. Where is it that he "stored" it for me? Hmmmm. He wouldn't answer the phone when I called him. Caveat emptor as they say.
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. Just purchased a 90 350 Sundancer. All the pics and info showed an bilge heating system, even through the surveyor process. Owner acting "surprised" when VHF did not operate. Find out later he hooked up a 12volt source and lead from the antenna to the storage closet in the aft berth, AND, had removed the heating system for the bilge.
 
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