What is this in our 61's exhaust?

[captddis]

I believe Hatteras made the mufflers in house. I bet Steve Mc Pherson would be able to help you!!!

[Starman]

Paul,



The muffler opening which is solid fiberglass should be the same diameter as the solid fiberglass exhaust tube itself and both joind together with a rubber exhaust hose.

Your muffler appears to have been inserted into a fiberglass exhaust tube. ( mistake number 1 ) And it appears that some one used foil backed fiberglass insulation to fill the small gap varience where the muffler and exhaust tubes join.( mistake number 2 )

The heat and water appears to have swelled this insulation.

[Captned]

I like the way it looks, paul. LOL

Regards, Ned

[doc g]

Hatteras did make those those muffllers and after silencers (for lack of a better term) in house. The only thing that MES made was the riser and collector ass'y. My 61 has the MES riser /collector in SS that connects to a fwd muffler and then to an aft muffler/silencer/resonator. What we are looking at here is the aft muffler. I think as long as it's not leaking into the boat or causing any back pressure and the noise level is acceptable I' d leave it alone. Once you mess with that exhaust system you'll probably want to replace it from the turbos on back anyway.IMHO.....................Pat

[Tawney1]

I believe Hatteras made the mufflers in house. I bet Steve Mc Pherson would be able to help you!!!

Thanks everyone -- including captddis, Paul, Pat..., and NED! LOL.

While I must admit that the photos do reflect a rather strong fashion, er..., functional statement--reflecting an obviously heavy mid-20th century North Carolina red-neck "jury-rigged" (an original nautical term, I might add) influence -- I guess at this point its a good thing I have a sense of humor.
I had a nightmare about them last night....

Hatteras originally informed me that MES manufactured the exhausts/mufflers. MES informs me that they did not, that Hatteras made them. So..., they were made by Hatteras. I have placed a call to Steve McPherson. I will post the results.

Advise to others: DON'T LOOK INTO YOUR EXHAUST TUBES...! LOL

Paul

[Tawney1]

Okay guys, here is the "scoop" on the mufflers/exhausts.

Per Steve McPherson, Hatteras did not make these mufflers. These mid-80's vintage Hatteras mufflers were made by "Lyle Fiberglass" in Texas. Lyle was in business until several years ago. Mr. Lyle died and his son could not handle the business and subsequently closed it. Unfortunately, there is no one else who now makes them.

As "doc g" observed, the system is comprised of a muffler and silencer. The photos I posted show the silencers. The silencer is smaller than muffler and the "stuff" that is coming-out of the baffling is a material similar to steel wool (just as it looks). The baffling material is made to obsorb water which actually accumulates in the silencer as part of the muffling process. As I understood Steve, these mufflers and silencers came in three models -- MP-10, MP 11 or MP 11-10, and MP-31, depending upon whether the boat has 8" or 10" pipes. There should be a small sticker on the muffler and silencer indicating the model number(s).

The good news is that unless the silencers are leaking, and so long as the engine noise is tolerable, they are okay!

Steve advised that if (or when) they needed to be replaced, Sentek Industries, Inc., in Thomasville, GA (800.950.7653), would be the place to contact to have them make new ones. I think, rather than pay Sentek's engineers to design replacements from scratch, I would have MES retrofit the system.

Paul

[jim rosenthal]

I don't know how big the mufflers are in your boat, but Blue Note needed special size mufflers for the repower we are finishing up, and they were bought from Centek. Evidently they can make up just about anything to size, given enough time and $$$.

I have never seen a marine muffler with sound-deadening material in it like that. Interesting. I have to say it sort of violates the KISS principle, to me. I would want something a little simpler and more reliable. Then again, they've been in there a long time....

Anyway, if the stuff gets loose, it just floats out, right? There can't be that much of it.