Exhaust system maintenance

[thepath]

My boat is an '88' Ocean Alex 54' CPMY with a pair of 671TIs. My issue and question to this forum is concerning the maintenance of the exhaust system. My exhaust pipes and mufflers are routed thru the wall cabinetry in the aft state room and the rubber connecting hoses have begun to leak (drips) and the access is nil. The water does not have a clear path to the bilge due to the flooring resting directly upon the hull at this location, therefore the water wicks up and is wetting the carpet padding. I fear over time it will wet the carpet and damage the wood flooring as well. Has anyone had such an issue? What is the best way to access for replacing the large rubber hosing? Does the counter top remove? Any suggestions, experience or advice will be appreciated.
Thank you,
J Brown

[Lepke]

You need to determine where the leak is from. Is the leak from the hose or where it connects. There should be 2 hose clamps at each connection. Are the clamps tight? Could the stern fitting have corrosion wasting the fitting? Exhaust hose usually lasts a very long. time. Mine were installed in the early 1970s.
If you have to replace the hose, anything in the way of working will have to be removed.

[thepath]

Thank you Lepke for replying. Yes, there are 2 clamps per attachment point and are tight. The exhaust pipes are fiberglass tubes approximately 12" in diameter. I am not a skilled finish carpenter so was hoping there was some way to service them without disturbing the varnished cabinetry.
Thank you again

[mbevins]

Can you get a camera in behind the cabinets? You really need to determine the source of the leak.
And yes you need to be prepared to have the cabinets and such removed.
I once had some coring work done on the hull. To access the yard removed my port side interior in the aftcabin.
It all went back together just fine.

[BlackHeron]

If it is leaking water then it is also leaking carbon monoxide and other exhaust gasses. It might be the case of a simple hose clamp loosening up or it might be the hose itself is split. Once water permeates the hose and gets into the steel coil inside it can rust out and then split. This is exactly what my hose did after 42 years. It wasn't leaking any water that I could tell last year but when I inspected a few weeks back it I found a bad spot in the bottom in one area in the aft cabin. It's not going to get any better.



Right now I've got 12-feet of new 2-1/4" hose in the mail from Jamestown Distributors. It's under $150 shipped. It's not worth my life or the life of anyone on the boat getting CO poisoning. Some boats have better access than others. I was able to get the whole 12-foot section out in one piece without having to disassemble anything other that open a few pull-off access panels under the berth cushions in the aft cabin Thank you Hallberg-Rassy for awesome access.

[thepath]

Thank you mbevins for your response. I'll have to try that with my harbor freight inspection camera and see what's going on in there. Good idea! I'll have to get my mind wrapped around the potential of the cabinet removal. ��

[thepath]

Thank you BlackHeron for that input. I have a carbon monoxide in the aft cabin due to the pipes being routed through the cabinetry and it hasn't made a peep so far. The hose I fear that may be the problem is about a foot and a half in length, but a foot in diameter. I imagine the only way to remove these is cutting them off.
Thank you again

[BlackHeron]

Good luck repairing or replacing. Some boats really are not built with maintenance or repair in mind at all. One thing I have found is that things never get any better on their own, and the longer repairs are put off the more expensive it becomes to fix. Once water is getting in and soaking stuff the condition of the interior goes downhill pretty quickly.

[james247]

Originally Posted by thepath

My boat is an '88' Ocean Alex 54' CPMY with a pair of 671TIs. My issue and question to this forum is concerning the maintenance of the exhaust system. My exhaust pipes and mufflers are routed thru the wall cabinetry in the aft state room and the rubber connecting hoses have begun to leak (drips) and the access is nil. The water does not have a clear path to the bilge due to the flooring resting directly upon the hull at this location, therefore the water wicks up and is wetting the carpet padding. I fear over time it will wet the carpet and damage the wood flooring as well. Has anyone had such an issue? What is the best way to access for replacing the large rubber hosing? Does the counter top remove? Any suggestions, experience or advice will be appreciated.
Thank you,
J Brown

The exhaust gas kills. Forget about the water. You must find the leak.

[thepath]

Thanks BlackHeron. That is so true.
Thank you!

[thepath]

Hello James247,
My Co2 sensor has not indicated any exhaust, but I will locate it. There is no back pressure due to the size of the pipes is why no detectable fumes and there's only a drip every so often. I imagine if I had a hydrolift muffler rather than a free flow all would be more pronounced.
Thank you