Oh my days....uk forum and smart arses!

[QBhoy]

Ok guys...looking for some back up here...
On a uk forum..a totally inexperienced fellow asked advice on his boat. He stated that his inboard displacement shaft drive boat had 400hrs on her and he had no record of anyone changing the shaft packing. He hadn't done it either in his owner ship.
He was wondering if he should change it.
Obviously, I advised he change it for the following reasons.
It's done 400 hours
He had no history of it being ever changed
Believe it or not...some folk actually change he first one or two strands of packing !!!
It serves as a lubricant for the shaft at interface.
It often is a good indication of poor shaft alignment
It's an unknown in a boat that is not familiar with you and should be changed as a matter of course, if not necessity !

Unfortunately, one of the smart arse and know it all uk "experts" disagrees with me and has simply replied with a snooty post asking if evidence if the need to change shaft packing !
Couldn't believe it. He has simply disregarded all the given info and stated "unless I can provide evidence of shaft packing failing after 400 hour" my point is non valid.
The boat is very old and as mentioned, history unknown. What an idiot.

 

[tpenfield]

Any forum is going to have its share of self-appointed experts with free-flowing testosterone. It is all a matter of how you handle them. You don't have to prove anything. The person seeking advice is merely looking for that, and advice most often comes in the form of opinions. The 'experts' advice is merely an opinion, the same as yours. It doesn't make one 'right' and the other 'wrong'.

It's the old saying . . . 'opinions are like anuses, everyone has got one.'

I hope that brightens your day.

 

[Scott Danforth]

smart arses are not limited by geography.

as far as the packing, 400 hours is not many hours, however with history unknown, I would at least inspect. are there drips? is the stuffing box warm to the touch?

in my limited experience, i have come across 4 different styles of packing and I usually need to research the specific inspection and repair process

 

[oldjeep]

I don't know if 400 hours is a hard and fast need. My inlaws Malibu ski boat has around 900 hours on it and the packing has been replaced once (at around 300 hours), and then only because the trans and shaft had to come out so it was done at that time. It gets adjusted periodically but the packing can last a long time depending on what type it is. Personally I think that if it isn't dripping more than it should or the packing nuts can no longer be properly adjusted then there is no reason to mess with it.

 

[Ned L]

Our family boats growing up were 1) 30 ft single screw inboard w/ well over 100 hrs a year for 11 years, never had to change it, and 2) 46 ft twin screw diesel, again more than 100 hrs a year for ten years, never changed it (adjusted maybe once or twice). My current boat 33 ft twin screw inboard (1957), abandon 17 yrs ago and dropped in the water for the first time this summer, took up on one packing nut maybe 1/8 of a turn, nothing on the other. All of them traditional flax packing.

Of coarse it can never hurt to change and inspect things.

 

[QBhoy]

Hi guys...

Thanks for the responses. Just venting a little.

 

[Ned L]

No problem.