Shaft seals

My boat has an old style of shaft seal using two grease fitting to pump grease inton the shaft log to stop the water from coming in.* The boat was built in 1974 and it still works fine.* I have a small pan with a builge pump in it for water to collect but have to clean it out every now and then because the mess of grease in the pan.* How many of you have this sort of arrangment. I've never seen this on any other boat.* I'll probably never change it out just wonder what to do about waste grease.

There was an article in the January Passagemaker (eeew...) about shaft seals. I'll see if I still have the mag around when i get home tonight and see if there's any mention of the system that you describe.

I've got that issue and they go through all kinds of seals but not this type.* My boat was built in MI by TD Vinnett.*It has a box keel with*the shaft enclosed in a tube from the back of it to about 3 ft inside.* The two grease fitting are remotely located in the inside of the engine room with one going to the front and the other to the back of that tube.*

You asked how common this sort of packing gland is..... It's a popular arrangement in Europe, at least on the canal boats. There they have a brass cylinder full of grease mounted on the bulkhead near the packing gland. A screw handle on the top pushes a plunger down and forces grease through the hose into the gland. The rule of thumb is to give the handle a half a turn at the end of every day's run. These boats also have the conventional packing nut/lock nut, too, in case the packing starts leaking too much. The grease is more for lubrication than water sealing.

To get rid of the waste grease you could dump it into the waste lube oil when you change engine oil. Some marinas like ours have receptacles for old grease as well as the big drums for old lube oil and hydraulic fluid.