shaft coupling

[Dave Neptune]

In my 45 plus years of operating a sailboat with an inboard engine I have used both dripless and packing styles in 3 ways.

First is the packing style packed with "flax" type seals. These are a PIA as they do leak often albeit not much, They do require constant monitoring and adjustment.

Second, the packing style with the synthetic packing is a big plus over the above. It is a bit more difficult to get adjusted but once adjusted it offers many years of service with very little dripping as per Shawn. All that is required for the most part is monitoring just to be "sure".

Third is the dripless, it is not maintenance free as the water line for cooling must be checked often for flow as it is a small line and easily can plug up. Al's point of filtering is a good idea especially in silty conditions. It also requires annual lubricating under the bellows.

Point is no matter what you choose it will require "checking and maintenance" so if this is a problem I strongly suggest creating an access port for maintenance whatever you choose.

Dave Neptune