Professional BoatBuilder - December-January 2018

76 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BEST PRACTICES: Exhaust

About the Author: For many years a

full-service yard manager, Steve now

works with boat builders and owners

and others in the industry as Steve

D’Antonio Marine Consulting. He is an

ABYC-certi ed Master Technician, and

sits on that organization’s Engine and

Transmission and Hull and Piping

Project Technical Committees. He’s also

the technical editor of Professional

BoatBuilder.

Failure to follow such guidelines

could lead to engine damage or, worse,

exhaust leaks and the health hazards

they pose, or to exhaust system over-

heating,  ooding, and  re. Most likely

this damage won’t be covered by war-

ranty. Every engine and generator man-

ufacturer I know excludes from cover-

age water entry into cylinders via the

exhaust system.

guidelines. Manufacturers typically

have very specific exhaust system

requirements. Make sure you under-

stand those for the engine you are

working with, and don’t assume an

exhaust system design is correct just

because it’s original equipment. In the

rare cases where an exception is sought

(virtually unheard of ), it should come

only from the engine manufacturer,

not a dealer, and it must be in writing.

Far left—It takes longer for

heat to reach a wet-exhaust

temperature alarm mounted

on a jacketed, double-wall

mixing elbow, delaying

detection of cooling water

loss. Left—With a threshold

of 165°F (74°C), a

thermistor strapped to the

hose immediately down-

stream of the mixing elbow

should react in less than

30 seconds.

See us at • Booth 1

ExhaustSystems170-AdFINAL.indd 76 10/31/17 3:32 PM