DIY riser repair/replacement in a Catalina 36

[CatInHand]

My amazing and frugal boyfriend replaced the riser in his Catalina by building a new one out of pipes from Home Depot.

Replacing an Exhaust Riser on a Budget - InfoBarrel

I wish I'd taken more pictures, but I tried to describe it in that write up. While it wasn't easy, it was completely doable with a bit of know-how and determination (and an intense dislike for shelling out money).

[btrayfors]

Neat! Congratulations to your boyfriend, and to you for finding him :-)

Almost 23 years ago, in Nov 1990, the riser on my Perkins 4-108 needed replacement. I bought a new exhaust flange, as mine was in poor condition. Don't remember exactly what it cost, but about $100 seems right.

Then, I took the old riser to a local muffler shop. There, they welded up a new riser for me, complete with the pipe for water injection, for a total of $73.50.

I installed the new riser and new flange, and wrapped the whole shebang with exhaust material (looks like asbestos tape, but I hope it was not).

Here's a pic taken last week:



This new setup has worked very well for me over the years and tens of thousands of sea miles. Hope it lasts awhile longer :-)

PS: The white coat hanger in the pic is my "stop button" for the Perkins. It, too, has worked well for the past 10 years or so, after I spent a small fortune on a new stop solenoid while in the BVI and had it re-machined to fit (because, you know, replacement parts NEVER fit right), only to find out that it didn't have enough "ommph" to actually stop the engine.

Now, after all these years, I'm thinking about replacing the hanger with a manual stop cable this spring, because somebody gave me a new one.

Bill

[CatInHand]

Well, you know, as long as the coat hanger is working you could always keep the stop cable as a 'backup'.

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by CatInHand

Well, you know, as long as the coat hanger is working you could always keep the stop cable as a 'backup'.

Now, there's an idea! I feel better already.

Thanks.

Bill

[Lake-Effect]

The mechanic I briefly apprenticed with would make replacement exhaust risers for Atomic 4's out of black iron pipe and cast elbows, with a piece of 3/8" (I think) steel pipe welded at an angle into the vertical 'down' section as the water injection point. He could knock it all together in an hour.

[CatInHand]

Iron pipe would have been ideal, but finding it was a scavenger hunt we weren't willing to undertake. It seems that around here it can only be found in specialty plumbing stores, at least in the sizes and shapes we wanted.

Welding tools (and skill) I could see being a huge advantage to the DIYer.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by CatInHand

Iron pipe would have been ideal, but finding it was a scavenger hunt we weren't willing to undertake. It seems that around here it can only be found in specialty plumbing stores, at least in the sizes and shapes we wanted.

I hear you. Black iron pipe is still available here in the Great White North . Your plumbing wholesalers - the places that mainly sell to plumbers - would probably have it. It's still commonly used for plumbing natural gas inside houses.

Your BF was muy clever to figure all that out. Good job!

[jgbrown]

In Canada the easiest place to find right sizes and shape is Andrew sheret or another plumbing specific store, not home depot.

I used this for risers(dry) and then it mates just fine with stock Yanmar parts on both ends. The mixing elbow is reverse threaded, now correctly built the next owner will be able to replace it easily next time, by turning a single fitting with a wrench.

I used nickle(high heat, up to 2500f) anti seize on all threads to help with that.

Wrap is fiberglass, ceramic, and sometimes titanium. No asbestos hopefully, but still very itchy! Gloves are good.

I use safety(bailing) stainless steel wire to wrap the whole affair.

I didn't realize how bad the old stuff was, it disintegrated on everything! I've been itchy for weeks as I find it in new places.