Reply To: Water Lubricated Shaft Seals

I have fitted two Deep Sea Seals. Not cheap (£130-ish plus VAT each), but they are simple, have minimum set up requirements, require no-maintenance – & they seem to work. The only significant hassle fitting them was detaching the prop shafts from the gearboxes, when this had not been done for over 15 years. But that's another story. They are lubricated directly by seawater ingress thru the stern tubes – no need for any take off from the engine (although there's a connection to do this if required). My seals don't even get warm. You'd be amazed at the amount of water that flows through the tiny openings between the shaft 'bearing' and the shaft. Not sure how this works with a central diesel though). My research seemed to show that only faster revolving shafts (>3000/4000 rpm) require the fancy cooling arrangements. Look in PBO under T Norris – good range of products on website. For Deep Sea Seals, I used Lancing Marine (www.lancingmarine.com) – very efficient and quick. Hope this helps.
Nick, HT Gee Bee.