Woles

More on 282 Seawanhaka 21ft Class

On Saturday we posted an article about the Seawanhaka 21ft Class boats. A blog reader asked us about the proximity of the rudder shaft seal and the waterline. The seal would undoubtedly be underwater under way. Thinking more about this I think this is less of a problem than a standard propeller shaft as a standard angled stuffing box could be used. Here's an excerpt from the construction plan that shows an idea of what the designer had in mind.


Here's the type of shaft seal that could easily be used. The nut that tightens the seal could even be tighter than a propeller shaft as the rotation is only partial and so much slower than a prop shaft, as long as the tiller feel was good.


That's a store bought unit shown above. Here's an old "type plan" I found in the files showing the concept of what was to be expected. It's just a very basic stuffing box.