[Marmot]

Originally Posted by K1W1

I don't see any reference to a bearing within the seal assy.

Here is a drawing that purports to be the Chatfield "Bluewater" seal assembly.

http://www.southernseasmarine.com/ss...ms/bw_seal.htm

[K1W1]

Originally Posted by CSkipR

K1W1
I do have the Chatfield Shaft seal on the boat except mine is not the commercial one. I believe the one you are showing is the commercial one and my is the standard. go to www.chatfieldmarine.com, driveline, shaft seal, standard. Any comments are welcome.

I figured you might not have the commercial one which is why I wrote It's a pity you don't have one of these before posting the link.

Marmot, You got a better cross section of the seal assy than I found on their website, I must say the www conn on my IPhone isn't very good from the bottom of a 8000 gal black water tank or I would have replied sooner :-).

I hate those sandblasting inspections with a vengeance.

[Marmot]

Originally Posted by K1W1

I than I found on their website ...

It isn't your iPhone, Chatfield doesn't provide that drawing on its website. That is why the link goes to another supplier.

The cynical Marmot believes the manufacturer doesn't really want anyone to know what the weak points are.

Originally Posted by CSkipR

... are those replaceable or do you need a whole new housing...

I don't know but I suspect it would cost more than it's worth to renew the liner. As a matter of opinion, I believe it costs more than it's worth to put a $5 seal in the thing. I believe someone else mentioned that Cabo no longer uses that style. If that is the case, their reasoning is becoming obvious.

[K1W1]

Hi,

CSKIPR- If you go the Chatfield Marine website there is a place where you can make an online enquiry.

There is also a phone number that you can call if you can get your timing right.

I think that at the moment if you are GMT -5 in Florida at 1700 local time it will be will be around 1000 the next morning in NZ as NZ is GMT + 12 at the moment.

This means you could call them this afternoon and might find someone there on a Saturday morning.

It looks in that drawing that Marmot found that the white metal brg is only used to hold the seal in a straight line with the shaft, Marmots suggestion that it may be goosed at the ends is a pretty valid one given how it is actually constructed.

[Capt J]

Return the seals from where you bought them, drop the shaft and replace the entire assembly with a PSS brand or other.

On another note, if a PSS seal is leaking while the boat is just sitting at the dock, does trying to move the metal donut further down ever stop the water flow, or is the ceramic disk inside usually shot?

[CSkipR]

We have pulled the shaft and have taken it to a prop shop to have them check it. If its bent then I would assume that caused the problem although I don't understand why it didn't create a problem earlier. If the prop is bent it has probably been that way since I purchased the boat 2 yrs ago. We found a local bearing shop that has the lip seals. Will keep you posted.

[Marmot]

Originally Posted by Capt J

On another note, if a PSS seal is leaking while the boat is just sitting at the dock, does trying to move the metal donut further down ever stop the water flow, or is the ceramic disk inside usually shot?

If the seal is not setup correctly, yes, that may stop the leaking. There is supposed to be a preload on the seal that is set by moving the rotating collar 3/4" to 1" aft against the stationary seal element. The bellows takes up the compression and supplies the sealing force. If it is set too "loose" it could be the reason for the leak.

If the face of the seal shows any wear or damage applying more compression won't help.

[CSkipR]

Okay here's what we did. Boat yard pulled shaft and checked it for straightness. It had two places in it where it was 3mm out of round. They found the exact same seal that BW uses for less than $20. Cabo wanted $169 for seal only. Reinstalled seal and shaft and everything is back in working order. No more wobble.

[The Right Kind]

Originally Posted by CSkipR

Okay here's what we did. Boat yard pulled shaft and checked it for straightness. It had two places in it where it was 3mm out of round. They found the exact same seal that BW uses for less than $20. Cabo wanted $169 for seal only. Reinstalled seal and shaft and everything is back in working order. No more wobble.

Hi, I'm new here and very glad I found this thread.
I have a Cabo 31 express and I have been trying to find the manufacture of these shaft seals forever. When I first bought this boat 6 years ago used, I bought new seals from Cabo @ $125 ea. After that I found that they are just Walker lip seals and can be had for under $25 on line. I felt like a real sucker.
One seal started leaking again so I considered changing them out for the PYI PSS. However, I checked 2 other Cabo owners in my marina, a 2006 and a 2008 and they both have the Blue Water shaft seals. So I guess Cabo feels these are still the go to seals. I also found out from a local marine mechanic that the cap on top should be filled with grease and tighten down from time to time to keep the seal lubed. If they start to drip just tighten the grease cap a bit.
So I'm going to stay with these seal for now and see how it goes.
Gary

[CSkipR]

Originally Posted by The Right Kind

Hi, I'm new here and very glad I found this thread.
I have a Cabo 31 express and I have been trying to find the manufacture of these shaft seals forever. When I first bought this boat 6 years ago used, I bought new seals from Cabo @ $125 ea. After that I found that they are just Walker lip seals and can be had for under $25 on line. I felt like a real sucker.
One seal started leaking again so I considered changing them out for the PYI PSS. However, I checked 2 other Cabo owners in my marina, a 2006 and a 2008 and they both have the Blue Water shaft seals. So I guess Cabo feels these are still the go to seals. I also found out from a local marine mechanic that the cap on top should be filled with grease and tighten down from time to time to keep the seal lubed. If they start to drip just tighten the grease cap a bit.
So I'm going to stay with these seal for now and see how it goes.
Gary

The manufacturer name is Chatfield Marine and they are located in New Zealand or Australia. I called Cabo and they wanted $189 for the seal. The boatyard I use bought 5 Parker seals for $100. I also thought about changing mine out for PSS but decided to stay with these. When you say the cap do you mean removing the two bolts and putting grease in there. Mine have lasted approx 5 yrs so will stay with them.

[The Right Kind]

Originally Posted by CSkipR

When you say the cap do you mean removing the two bolts and putting grease in there.

No, there's a cap on top like you might use to cap off a hosebib. You can remove it by hand and you can see it's filled with grease. Mine had gone off, hard and crusty, so I had to clean and replace it with fresh.
If you look at this photo you can see the cap right above the barbed fitting.

http://www.chatfieldmarine.com/site/...s/berings7.jpg

[Dhowdodger]

Just came across a very complicated shaft seal assy with internal springs and all sorts of other moving parts, almost sank a small yacht. These chatfield bluewater numbers look a lot better.
Here is a question id like to throw out there, why not stick with the proven gland packing box. Is it just because of the drip? I like packing as when it fails - its gradual, takes a while to totally fail, can repack in water and no searching for special size parts at daft prices.

[Capt J]

Originally Posted by Dhowdodger

Just came across a very complicated shaft seal assy with internal springs and all sorts of other moving parts, almost sank a small yacht. These chatfield bluewater numbers look a lot better.
Here is a question id like to throw out there, why not stick with the proven gland packing box. Is it just because of the drip? I like packing as when it fails - its gradual, takes a while to totally fail, can repack in water and no searching for special size parts at daft prices.

The fact that they don't drip is one consideration. Another one is that you're not constantly tightening down the stuffing box and re-packing it. Another advantage is there is supposed to be less friction with just an o-ring and grease riding on the shaft, versus several layers of packing material.

[Capt Bill11]

Originally Posted by Dhowdodger

Just came across a very complicated shaft seal assy with internal springs and all sorts of other moving parts, almost sank a small yacht. These chatfield bluewater numbers look a lot better.
Here is a question id like to throw out there, why not stick with the proven gland packing box. Is it just because of the drip? I like packing as when it fails - its gradual, takes a while to totally fail, can repack in water and no searching for special size parts at daft prices.

If you repack a standard gland with GFO packing you get a dripless gland without the added cost and hassle of changing to a completely new style of box.

[K1W1]

Originally Posted by Capt. Bill11

If you repack a standard gland with GFO packing you get a dripless gland without the added cost and hassle of changing to a completely new style of box.

http://www.gore.com/en_xx/products/s...ing_fiber.html