Aboard Astraea

Invest in experiences

August 10, 2011
by Nate

I think the time has come to repack my stuffing box

My shaft and seal, looks like I need to do some housecleaning.

I think the time has come to repack my stuffing box. Last week Rick helped me adjust the packing and it doesn’t seem like there’s much packing left. My plan is either to work on it while Airborne is out of the water before launching in San Diego, or to launch and sail to our slip, then at my leisure plug the shaft seal outside with putty and do the job.

I found a very informative page at the Compass Marine website. They have lots of different articles with awesome pictures that make it really easy to understand. If it’s a project I’ve done they have writeups about it. One I’ve used before was on replacing the impeller on a raw water pump. I followed his directions and had no problems.

 

August 9, 2011
by Nate

Natalie goes aloft!

Natalie went up the mast to attach Josh’s camera to make another recording of our sailing exploits. Unfortunately, during a tack the camera pointed skyward so we didn’t get awesome shots. The good, Natalie got some time up the stick. Next stop will be at the top when we’re in San Diego to reinstall the VHF antenna and windvane.