Althouse back yet?

[Rockit]

I've seen dripless stuffing boxes. The reason we want the stuffing box to leak a little is to make sure the packing material is wet so it does not become damaged due to heat from friction--the shaft too. (I've heard people claim their stuffing box never leaks and they have no problems etc. My bet is those people just don't look closely enough.) The dripless stuffing boxes I've seen use a hose from the oil cooler to keep the packing material wet. The idea is to have a dry bilge, something I have yet to accomplish with any boat I've owned. Some people will tell you the dripless stuffing boxes are maintenance free--like anything else, if it's installed correctly it will last a long time--but that should not stop a careful owner from inspecting them from time to time.

To me it was never worth parting from the dough for dripless stuffing boxes ($500 each the last I looked) because my bilge gets wet with rainstorms and washing the boat so why would I care about a few drips from the prop shafts?