I thought I’d share a recent
experience which may be helpful to those
purchasing an old
boat with an inboard
engine or who may already have one. Last Tuesday I finally got my 1980
Cal 39 back into the
water after a month and a half in a boatyard doing some bottom
work as well as other tasks. Once the
lift lowered me into the
water I started the
engine and then began backing away. I had opened my engine hatches just to check for odd sounds and smoke which turned out to be a good thing. I expected there to be some smoke with solvents burning off etc. Unfortunately, what started out as light smoke which should have burned off actually got a little worse. Fortunately, I wasn’t going far but over to the end of a
dock where I’d spend the next 24 hours observing the
boat for any issues prior to heading off to
Miami.
As soon as I tied up to the
dock and looked underneath the engine
hatch in the
cockpit it was readily apparent that one of the elbows on the
exhaust riser had completely sheered off the pipe running vertically up to connect with the riser where it crosses to the other side of the boat. I immediately shut her down as sea water was spraying all over my engine compartment! So the smoke I was seeing had really been a mix of
exhaust and steam. First off although extremely disappointed that this would throw a wrench into my plans I was also very thankful that it happened right there at the dock. Imagine the alternative!
What really struck me about this
experience is that this very large and imposing component was so badly rusted and yet missed by all. My
Surveyor missed the flaw, a
Diesel Mechanic that I hired to do an
inspection missed it and I had no clue of the bad shape that my exhaust was in (see photos). So you may be asking, how could this have been missed? The answer is quite simple. The exhaust, which was made of regular iron pipe ( as I suspect many are) is wrapped with several layers of
insulation it’s entire length. As a result there is no telltale evidence of what really lies below. My exhaust was essentially a standing pile of rust. Please check your exhaust by unraveling some of that insulation!
I hired a
mechanic to build me a new one and because I’m stuck at a pricey Marina he’s building the new one out of the same material because he balked at using the 316L stainless that I’d like. So as not to cause further undue delay, I’ll just have him build it his way then once I’m home I’ll dismantle. And use to customize a new 316L stainless exhaust.
Hope this is of help to some.
Cheers!