Stuffing box hose fitting

[JMcJ]

The attached photo shows the stuffing box on our 1981 GB 36. I realize this is a long shot, but I hope someone might be able to identify the make of the stuffing box (Perko ?) and better yet even the specs of the hose fitting. This needs to be changed out at this year's haul- out and if possible I would like to have one on hand rather than go searching. The current one is brass and needs to be bronze or stainless.
Thanks

 

[Comodave]

How do you know it is brass? I would expect that it is bronze, particularly if it is OEM.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Look at R.E. Thomas for first class driveline products. They are in Maine and service boatbuilders around the country. retmarine.com

 

[JMcJ]

Yes I agree you would expect bronze, but a now retired service pro who commisioned and serviced GB's told me 20 years ago that many came with brass and should be changed. Two years ago, while replacing my genset, the installer noted it needed replacing but could only source brass so he advised to replace every 2 years.

Thank you, I will try R.T.Thomas, but perhaps there is an owner who has done it and have the answer.

 

[CharlieO.]

Yes I agree you would expect bronze, but a now retired service pro who commisioned and serviced GB's told me 20 years ago that many came with brass and should be changed. Two years ago, while replacing my genset, the installer noted it needed replacing but could only source brass so he advised to replace every 2 years.

Thank you, I will try R.T.Thomas, but perhaps there is an owner who has done it and have the answer.

R.T. Thomas will set you up. I used them to manufacture a new shaft log, stuffing box, IBS and cutless bearing. They will ask you to take some measurements and they will make what you need. Very good communication back and forth, high quality product and I highly recommend.

 

[Bob Jack]

If that black hose supplies automatic transmission fluid you could have norscot shaft seal.

 

[rgano]

I highly recomment you shift to a dripless shaft seal. Hopefully, the professional you consult will help guide you that way.

 

[mkel7]

Hamilton marine in Maine has stuffing box hose ,clamps,bronze boxes,etc. Did mine over in my Cape Dory last year

 

[Scrib]

That stuffing box is bronze. Never seen a brass one in my life and I ain’t a young man! The size will be dictated by the shaft size and the hose by the stuffing box size. They are all easy to source parts and RE Thomas is a top-shelf place to go for them.

Having changed that hose on a GB36 I can tell you it’s not a one day job. In order to pull the shaft back far enough to get the hose off the rudder will need to be removed. While everything is apart you’ll want to get the coupler faces machined true as well. All told a significant job but not technically difficult.

Good luck.

 

[HopCar]

Looks like a Buck Algonquin. I’ve never heard of a brass stuffing box. I’m sure you can just clean that one up and re-pack it.

 

[Fleming]

Yes, of course the stuffing box is bronze, but those little water cooling line fittings are often brass because it's almost impossible to find them in bronze at that size. Even the ones you find that might be called bronze by the retailer are actually brass. Far better to just replace with a stainless steel one. Bronze and stainless are not that far apart on the galvanic scale so the issue of galvanic corrosion is minimal. I recently broke my (brass?) cooling line fitting exactly like that when my foot accidentally bumped it lightly, and it was easy to find a stainless one. Just pull the old one and measure the threads and hose diameter. I got mine on Amazon with next day shipping.

 

[chriscritchett]

At risk of being labeled an idiot by the internet, why exactly does that assembly need to be replaced? From my armchair, everything in that picture looks fairly fresh and even the bilge beneath it pretty clean for a 1981 boat.

 

[Fleming]

At risk of being labeled an idiot by the internet, why exactly does that assembly need to be replaced? From my armchair, everything in that picture looks fairly fresh and even the bilge beneath it pretty clean for a 1981 boat.

The OP is talking about the hose barb for the cooling line that is threaded into the packing gland base, not the whole packing gland assembly. Those hose barb fittings are notorious boat sinkers because they often get replaced with brass, dezincify because of galvanic corrosion, and break off when bumped slightly.

 

[JMcJ]

The OP is talking about the hose barb for the cooling line that is threaded into the packing gland base, not the whole packing gland assembly. Those hose barb fittings are notorious boat sinkers because they often get replaced with brass, dezincify because of galvanic corrosion, and break off when bumped slightly.

Yes exactly as Fleming says. I was just trying to nail down the size so I could have the correct hose barb on hand when we hauled. However realistically she’ll be up for a bit, so if I’ll remove the old adapter on day one I should be able to find a replacement in time.
Thanks everyone for your consideration.
Jim McJannet

 

[Keysdisease]

Looks like a Buck Algonquin unit to me. Any "self aligning" hose type stuffing box can replace that unit. Given the vintage of your boat GB sourced a lot of parts from the US, and Buck had a significant portion of that particular market at that time.
The hose barb in the pic below does indeed look like the typical brass unit, and if it is a Buck product it will have their logo cast into the gland, and it will be threaded US and not metric and easy to source anywhere. Going forward just replace it annually. I am not aware of those size hose barbs being available in anything but brass, or replace the entire unit with a similar Buck gland that doesn't use the barb.
Buck A product is available through a wide variety of Distribution sources. This is just the first one that popped up:

Packing Boxes with Spud | Marine Hardware

Full line of Buck Algonquin Packing Boxes with Spud available at Deep Blue Yacht Supply. All Buck Hardware Packing Boxes with Spuds are made in the U.S.A, and are backed by Buck Algoquin's limited warranty.

www.deepblueyachtsupply.com

 

[JMcJ]

Looks like a Buck Algonquin unit to me. Any "self aligning" hose type stuffing box can replace that unit. Given the vintage of your boat GB sourced a lot of parts from the US, and Buck had a significant portion of that particular market at that time.
The hose barb in the pic below does indeed look like the typical brass unit, and if it is a Buck product it will have their logo cast into the gland, and it will be threaded US and not metric and easy to source anywhere. Going forward just replace it annually. I am not aware of those size hose barbs being available in anything but brass, or replace the entire unit with a similar Buck gland that doesn't use the barb.
Buck A product is available through a wide variety of Distribution sources. This is just the first one that popped up:

Packing Boxes with Spud | Marine Hardware

Full line of Buck Algonquin Packing Boxes with Spud available at Deep Blue Yacht Supply. All Buck Hardware Packing Boxes with Spuds are made in the U.S.A, and are backed by Buck Algoquin's limited warranty.

www.deepblueyachtsupply.com

View attachment 161688

Thanks for the suggestion it is a Buck Algonquin. 99% sure that’s it. Looking at the catalog I see they list a 3/8NPT x 1/2” hose barb for all models so that will be it. Apparently B-A produce their own but only in brass. However it is available locally in 316 stainless so I’ll use that.

 

[Keysdisease]

However it is available locally in 316 stainless so I’ll use that.

Dissimilar metal with salt water. At least use some teflon tape on the barb threads to somewhat isolate the bronze from the stainless, and then keep an eye on it

 

[JMcJ]

Dissimilar metal with salt water. At least use some teflon tape on the barb threads to somewhat isolate the bronze from the stainless, and then keep an eye on it

I think I might have been naive in thinking stainless would be less of an issue with bronze than brass. It looks like either will have to be monitored diligently so would it be preferable to stay with brass?

 

[Fleming]

I think I might have been naive in thinking stainless would be less of an issue with bronze than brass. It looks like either will have to be monitored diligently so would it be preferable to stay with brass?

They are not even close to the same. Yes, they are dissimilar metals, but stainless steel and other metals that form oxide layers do not cause the same level of galvanic corrosion as some of the other combinations. Stainless steel and bronze are not a problem together, we use stainless bolts to mount bronze hardware all the time, just look at your struts. We use bronze steering gear and stainless shafts together. We use stainless hardware to mount to aluminum masts on sailboats all the time. The other factor is size, it's generally not a problem to put a small more noble part into a larger less noble part, but it IS a problem to put a small less noble part into a large more noble piece. In other words, it's not so bad to have the anode be the large part, it's really bad when the anode is the small part.

I used stainless. A small more noble part into a larger bronze less noble part. Put a little Tef-gel like I did or use a little teflon tape, but you won't have a galvanic corrosion problem for many, many years. Use brass (a small less noble piece into a much larger more noble bronze piece) and you will be changing it every couple years and risking flooding from an unexpected failure.

If you want to do your own homework instead of wondering which of the anonymous people on Trawlerforum you should believe I highly recommend reading 'Metal Corrosion in Boats' by Nigel Warren. Page 92 "b) Often those metals that have a tough oxide skin polarize rapidly and therefore cause much less corrosion to their less noble mate than one would expect from the galvanic series. Stainless steel is an example."

 

[mike66]

I replaced mine with nylon. It's not under any mechanical stress. I check it yearly, and have a spare on board. Easy to change out while in the water, it only lets a small amount of water in when removed.

 

[JMcJ]

They are not even close to the same. Yes, they are dissimilar metals, but stainless steel and other metals that form oxide layers do not cause the same level of galvanic corrosion as some of the other combinations. Stainless steel and bronze are not a problem together, we use stainless bolts to mount bronze hardware all the time, just look at your struts. We use bronze steering gear and stainless shafts together. We use stainless hardware to mount to aluminum masts on sailboats all the time. The other factor is size, it's generally not a problem to put a small more noble part into a larger less noble part, but it IS a problem to put a small less noble part into a large more noble piece. In other words, it's not so bad to have the anode be the large part, it's really bad when the anode is the small part.

I used stainless. A small more noble part into a larger bronze less noble part. Put a little Tef-gel like I did or use a little teflon tape, but you won't have a galvanic corrosion problem for many, many years. Use brass (a small less noble piece into a much larger more noble bronze piece) and you will be changing it every couple years and risking flooding from an unexpected failure.

If you want to do your own homework instead of wondering which of the anonymous people on Trawlerforum you should believe I highly recommend reading 'Metal Corrosion in Boats' by Nigel Warren. Page 92 "b) Often those metals that have a tough oxide skin polarize rapidly and therefore cause much less corrosion to their less noble mate than one would expect from the galvanic series. Stainless steel is an example."

Thank you for the info Mike. I've settled on using stainless with tape or gel.

 

[SIBERNUT]

Pls look at the post about this damn thing almost sinking my boat

 

[Portage_Bay]

I replaced mine with nylon. It's not under any mechanical stress. I check it yearly, and have a spare on board. Easy to change out while in the water, it only lets a small amount of water in when removed.

Nylon is the way to go. No corrosion worries. Easy to swap out when you need to. Been using nylon fittings on my PSS shaft seals for 7 yrs.