Showing Visitor Messages 1 to 4 of 4
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Hey Benny,
Add me to your list of fellow 1977 Catalina 30 brethren. There's plenty of help around here on other stuff besides the A-4 too. Cleaning up/refitting one of these classics can be a lot of fun. Shawn's going through it, I've been through it (pics of my C-30 in my profile area), thatch has a C-30 as well as Jesse, there's a bunch of us.
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Benny,
Hanley is right..except for sinking, too loose is better than too tight. I know that my P.O. used to tighten the stuffing box up in the fall and go to Florida for 6 months & loosen it back up in the spring. I have mine loose enough that it flings a little water when running.
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I am a little concerned about that leak. It is typical for a stuffing box to leak after sitting a long time and then suddenly being active again. It is also possible that the previous owner set it real tight for storage purposes thinking he would loosen it up when he returned to the boat. I must disagree with the 1 drop every 30 seconds - 1 drop every 4 seconds is fine. You should do a timing test watching the drip and finding the drip frequency. If you tighten too much you could damage the shaft and box. Also you should test the trueness of the shaft by running the boat in the slip against the dock lines and observing the stuffing box for "whipping" or jumping around. This will reveal problems in the driveline while you are still at the dock. Hanley
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Hi Benny, I am no expert on anything, but I'd be happy to help. Let me know what I can do. I was new to Atomic 4's engines in Oct 2008...anything is possible!
-Shawn