J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment water buildup not draining to bilge

Replacing with a dripless seal is fairly easy. You'll need to have the boat out of the water. You'll also need to loosen the stuffing box gland enough so you can slide the shaft aft. Remove the shaft zincs, then loosen the set screws to be able to slide the shaft out of the coupling flange. I think it is best to pull the shaft all together so you can align everything easier. Once the shaft is out, remove the stuffing box from where it is fixed to the shaft log tube. It's probably got a clamp at the aft end that compresses a rubber seal on the shaft log tube. You say the rubber tube is "glassed in" - I'm not sure what you mean by that.

Once this is off, clean up the fiberglass tube and measure the diameter. You'll need to know this diameter, and the shaft diameter to order the PYI Dripless seal. The log diameter on Rhapsody accepts a 1.25" diameter seal, but I don't know if that is standard for all boats.

While everything is removed, take the time to check your cutlass bearing - it's cheap to replace it and no better time than while the shaft is already out. Also take the time to check your engine mounts for deterioration. If these are shot, you'll have problems with excessive shaft motion, causing a leaky shaft seal (I learned this lesson the hard way). Check this thread for replacing engine mounts. It also has the shaft alignment procedure that should be done with the shaft centered in the log tube before before you put on the new shaft seal. https://j30.us/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2124/flexible_mount.html#Post2124

I've posted a picture below with Rhapsody's PYI dripless seal installation. This view shows the vent line double clamped at the top of the carbon seating face. I clamped the vent line to the wooden frame at the aft end of the engine compartment so the opening is above the waterline. The stuff in plastic bags is the stainless seal collar that slides on the shaft to seal against the carbon face, and the shaft coupling flange. I've also installed a PYI flexible shaft coupling shown in the picture, but that is not necessary. Good shaft alignment will keep vibrations to a minimum.



The 2nd picture shows dimples drilled in the shaft where the coupling flange set screws seat. If you look closely, you'll see lines for and aft of the dimple where the shaft slid before these were drilled. No matter how tight I made the set screws, I still had a problem with shaft movement, resulting in a leaking interface on the shaft seal. These dimples make sure there is a positive seating surface, the shaft doesn't move, and water stays out of the people tank!