T&T: Winterizing the Dripless Shaft Seal

[Albin43SDtr]

'Lo All,

Rather than eternally agonizing over the remote possibility of a 
dripless shaft seal freezing and doing something exceedingly nasty, 
just pull the seal apart and let any residual water run out. That 
should be part of your checks anyway, to ascertain the condition of 
the bellows. In fact, the bellows shaft fitting would do well to be 
moved back a small amount to relax the bellows and prevent it from 
taking a "set", being sure to have it adjusted so that the faces of 
the seal are still parallel i.e., touching. It would be mandatory, of 
course, to reset the fitting when preparing the boat to be launched 
in the spring. Just add it to the pre-launch checklist - and follow it.


Take care and be safe.

Wayne
M/V Celestial
Albin43 Sundeck