Followup on Exhaust host replacement on Hunter 290

[pfaffk]

A week or so ago I posted on this forum and asked the question "Do you have to remove the holding tank in order to replace the Exhaust Hose on my Hunter 290?".
I can now report that you do NOT have the remove it, you simple have to curse a lot and spend 4 to 5 hours in positions that no 65 year old should perform. But it can be removed, and I did so yesterday. Now I have to wait until my shoulders and neck stop hurting, order new hoses and clamps and reinstall.
I do have one followup question. "How long do marine mufflers last and should I also replace it, as I also pullled it out while doing the hoses?".

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

"How long do marine mufflers last and should I also replace it, as I also pullled it out while doing the hoses?".[/QUOTE]

I suppose it depends on brand and use but mine (fiberglass) is the same since I've owned the boat (20 years) and I have no idea how long it's been in place. For all I know it could be original !

 

[Richard Bryer]

Mine is same since I bought the boat 16 years ago, and it was not new then- so could be original 36 years. anyone patched the fiberglass ones?

 

[FastOlson]

Mine is same since I bought the boat 16 years ago, and it was not new then- so could be original 36 years. anyone patched the fiberglass ones?

Those common black frp water lift mufflers seem to have a very long life. I would guess that as long as you never ran hot exhaust gasses thru one for any time at all (like when the water impeller broke and you ignored it for more than 30 seconds!) they all last for over three decades. I replaced the '88 one on our boat a year ago as part of the re-powering project. In my situation the new engine required a larger ID exhaust hose anyway.
As for patching or modifying one, funny someone would ask....
Our new one (another "Centek Vernalift") needed to be mounted XX inches below the top of the riser, and the height of the riser on the Betamarine was less than the riser height on the former Universal. Since the alternative Beta riser was a bit too high to fit around the cabinetry in our boat without some serious carpentry, our new muffler had the square base carefully cut free, moved up the side halfway, and epoxied back into place. With some black paint, it looks absolutely "factory". This let it drop down a few inches thru a new circular hole in the platform the old one was mounted on, and the drain plug is accessible by reaching underneath.

Back to the old one I took out -- there was something rattling around in it - maybe part of the interior or maybe an ancient bit of carbon from the old elbow. (?) No way to find out without cutting it open, so it was given away with the former engine, with cautions.

ps: I have a decade on the thread starter, and will agree that working inside the stern sections on a sailboat will invoke "the language of your Youth"... as those old US Navy common curse words become useful once more!