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Dripless Shaft Seal


The stuffing box is difficult to reach and inconvenient to repack or retighten. This has lead manufacturers to create a mechanical seal that keeps the water out while allowing the prop shaft to rotate. Many people have installed these, and mostly they love them.

I've got my reservations, as a failure on one of these devices may be sudden and catastropic. I prefer to use a high-tech packing material (along with standard flax) to give me a no-drip stuffing box that fails slowly and gracefully.

I'll leave it to a fan of these mechanical seals to write a description of these units and their advantages. (Please send it to me and I'll add it to the site.) Also see Dripless Shaft Seals Have Advantages by Terry Johnson for a good description of these seals, and some of their advantages and disadvantages.


Cover of the book showing three Alberg 30s racing neck and neck
with spinnakers flying The First 50 Years: An Alberg 30 History by Mike Lehman

A collection of stories about the Alberg 30 and how a bunch of Chesapeake Bay sailors came to buy a bunch of these boats and form an association around racing and cruising them.

(Proceeds help support the Alberg 30 Association.)



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Page last modified: Friday 03-Feb-2023