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| PSS Packing Gland |
All things being equal a conventional packing gland is less prone to mishap than a PSS. The PSS' vulnerable spot is its rubber bellows. A rip in it would allow copious amounts of water into the boat. This was my thinking this week as I was removing Nellie's (37VT63) PSS and putting the original factory gland back in. However, with the conventional gland in place and ready to tighten, I began to have second thoughts. The packing gland is in a very tight spot. It's underneath a floor joist and flanked by fuel tanks. Getting both hands on it requires a tight squeeze; my bloody forearms were evidence of that. While undergoing this torture I imagined myself performing the routine maintenance a conventional packing requires. It was then that I decided that all things are not equal. In this case the lower maintenance solution is the safer choice. Off came the conventional packing and I've ordered the PSS rebuild kit for a 2" shaft and a 2-1/2" stern tube ($130 #07-200-212R).
Dave Howell, on the hard aboard Nellie D., Port Charlotte, FL
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