I have used Drip-Free stuffing box packing for the past 8 years and since the day it was installed and my boat relaunched, I have had a completely dry bilge. Here's some info on it from Waterline Marine (http://www.waterlineinc.com/miscware.html):
________________________________________________
DRIP- FREETM shaft packing is Teflon impregnated moldable hydrocarbon packing material used in marine and industrial applications. It is about the consistency of dough. It provides residual lubrication. It seals pressures up to 20,000 PSI and handles temperatures up to 600 degrees F. Drip freeTM is unaffected by acids, caustics, and most solvents. It is installed in the stuffing box in conjunction with regular shaft packing (flax packing). Drip FreeTM provides the necessary sealing and lubricating qualities, the conventional packing used at each end of the stuffing box is simply used as a retainer for the Drip FreeTM.
With Drip FreeTM, there is no more annoying drip from your propeller shaft or rudder stuffing box. Drip FreeTM is the last shaft packing you will ever buy! You only install it once - installed properly, it lasts the life of your vessel. Many boat builders install Drip FreeTM when building their boats: Hatteras Yachts, Black Fin Yachts, and several shops right here in Maine. Every "normal functioning" (therefore dripping) stuffing box is a candidate for Drip FreeTM packing. So contact us to see how Drip FreeTM can work for you.
___________________________________
This stuff really works (I am not sure if it is the same as what West Marine sells--called Drip-Less--it may be). Their chief market is not small sailboats, but commercial tugs and ships. I used it in the rudder post stuffing box as well.
David