What is this in our 61's exhaust?

[Tawney1]

Today while removing the old trim tabs, etc., from the Miss Mary Alma, I took a minute to look into the exhausts. What I saw was not pretty -- its appears that "insulation" of some sort, in very poor condition, is coming out of the interior of the exhauts.

What is this "stuff" and are the interiors of the exhausts supposed to look this way? Do I have a problem?

Thanks,
Paul

[captddis]

Looks like a deteriorated exhaust hose. Probably from a overheat at some point. It needs to be replaced.

[Genesis]

If that's a hose in there, that's a melted hose. I've seen that before. They're fun to replace too......

[Tawney1]

Genesis,

There is no hose in there. Whatever the stuff is, which appears to be steel wool of sorts, it was once in the tube and is now coming out of where is it supposed to be.

I will try to post an additional photo or two, particularly of the other exhaust interior, which has an area or two of what it is supposed to look like (I think); i.e., without the stuff extending into the exhaust itself.

Thanks.

[Genesis]

Might be marine growth. Try to chip one of the pieces off. It'll be obvious if it is.

[Thomas W Peavy]

Looks to be fiberglass from the tubes. The lower picture shows semetry in the "stuff" so it must be structural in origin, no natures own type of thing.

[67hat34c]

The inside of your pipes look like the are Riffled, Is that what I am seeing. Are they designed to mix exhaust and cooling water so that the smoke/soot is reduced? If so it looks like that stuff is comming apart

[MikeP]

Could it be internal baffles/whatever from the muffler that have disintegrated?

I have no idea what's actually inside the mufflers.

[MikeP]

Could it be internal baffles/whatever from the muffler that have disintegrated?

I have no idea what's actually inside the mufflers. Surely there's no FG packing like auto mufflers use.

Added:

I enhanced the pic and brought up the brightness a ton on my computer to see the actual opening into the muffler itself and I don't see any of this stuff. I don't understand how if it came from the muffler originally, it could have adhered to the top of the pipe as well as the bottom.

Is it possible that some Cr@p washed INTO the pipe from the water while the boat was sitting for a prolonged period or that a "friend" dumped this stuff in there while it was on the hard?

[Tawney1]

Looks to be fiberglass from the tubes. The lower picture shows semetry in the "stuff" so it must be structural in origin, no natures own type of thing.

You are correct. It looks to be fiberglass (actually, more like steel wool). It is NOT marine growth.

The tubes do look as though they have some "riffling", which are actually structural rectangular openings in the wall of the tube and this stuff was originally neaty packed in those openings with a mess covers. On these openings where the contents thereof is protruding, the mess cover has deteriorated, allowing the contents (whatever it is), to protrude.

Again, I will try to get a couple more (better) photos and post.

Thanks for all the input so far.