Risers and elbows.

[Maynard Rupp]

OK, I am not a salt water expert for shure. No one would ever change their risers and elbows in fresh water. Now that our 36 Hat is in salt water I am getting paranoid. Every time I start the engines, rusty water comes from the exhausts for about 30 seconds. Folks tell me that you need to change them every 4 to 7 years. Well, there is a big difference between 4 and 7 years. Our boat has been in salt water since October of 2006. How do you know. So, we decide to change them. Now I find out that our Crusaders have the very rare 12" risers. They no longer make them and none are available. The risers do get the water 12" above the waterline, so everyone says that we would be taking chances with the available 8" units. I was going to bolt a 4" riser onto an 8" one. I think that will work, but all the parts needed come to $2,000. I know the replacement job will be brutal also. Then I have to do it again in 4 years or so. WOW, that's ugly. Switching to QSB diesels is a great idea but would cost almost $100,000. I can buy a lot of gas for that even at today's prices.

So I find this guy in Farmingdale NY that will replace our risers and elbows with a one piece unit made of copper. The total cost for all 4 is about $3200. Stainless custom replacements are about $12,000. The copper idea sounds good to me, what do our other experts think of that idea???

 

[jim rosenthal]

Knowing it has to be done in a few years, I'd stick with Crusaders parts for $2000. I don't know how long copper would last with hot seawater running through it. Hot sea water is one of the most powerful corrosives known, according to Nigel Warren ("Metal Corrosion In Boats"). It might eat up copper risers fairly quickly. Have you looked on Boatdiesel.com and posted this as a question? I realize they aren't diesels, but you can get a lot of good information there.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

While youre in there, you should valve in a fresh water rinse. When you are done running, have the kid close the seacock and hook up the garden hose, start and rinse. Open the seacock when done. Should prolong the risers life, I would guess. Mine are 1976 and still like new, but then youd know that. Ahh, life on the sweetwater seas... ws

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Jim, the guy says the copper ones will last forever. I know the copper grounding stuff doesn't have any problems. I do know that stainless double jacketed risers have to have the inner tube made from Inconel or they will fail in time. Diesel installations nowadays use a hot section and introduce the water on the downside. The then wrap them with fiberglass etc. I sure don't want to do that with our gas boat. I don't trust those quadrajunk carburaters that far.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Can you ask the guy who makes the copper units for some references? Maybe some satisfied customers will give you an idea of which way to go.

 

[captddis]

I know Paul and they have been in the business for 40 + years, he makes the risers for many OEM's. I just replaced a set of his risers on a 40 Viking that were orig 1977 units. The company is Marine Manifold.

 

[captddis]

Another option is to go with center riser manifolds and the 8 inch extensions. It will be at least as high as the 12" you have now.

 

[MikeP]

If the copper risers are truly as long-lived as claimed, I'd go with them rather than fooling around with cast iron. But I would like some additional evidence from a third party that they truly are as good as claimed.

I replaced the CI manifolds on my gas boat every 5 years in salt water and that seemed to be a good interval based on their condition. I would not personally go any longer - it was just an interval thing, change at 5 years. GO2Marine had the Osco manifolds at the time for my 350 Crusaders and, as I recall the total price was around 1500 bucks for all the parts. Of course, that was then and this is now...

 

[Maynard Rupp]

The ceter rise manifolds are an option. I would have to throw mine away. Mine are cooled with anti-freeze so they should be like new. I would also have to change the expensive rubber exhaust hoses as mine would be way too short. Lots of money and lots of grief.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

I did my exhaust with copper pipe and sweat type fittings from a pipe supply store and coupled them with hose... just an option. ws

 

[captddis]

The ceter rise manifolds are an option. I would have to throw mine away. Mine are cooled with anti-freeze so they should be like new. I would also have to change the expensive rubber exhaust hoses as mine would be way too short. Lots of money and lots of grief.

Do you want solutions or do you just want to bitch? The hose cost is less than 100.00. The center risers are less than cobbling four and eight inch risers together. Why throw the manifolds away? Ever hear of E bay?

 

[jim rosenthal]

You should change the hoses anyway, Maynard (sorry) and you should use silicone hose for the next set. It lasts a lot longer and is easier to get off when you need to. If you can verify that the copper ones will last long enough in salt water, then get those. Mike's point is well-taken- five years for something that is a pain to change is not a long time.

The FW washout is a good idea. I do that as part of fall winterizing. We have brackish water up here, not salt, but it's still tough on boats. Doing a FW rinse every time I use the boat would be a headache, though.

 

[bostonhatteras]

I'm happy to be a reference for Marine Manifolds. I have risers made by them in 1996 on my 871N engines and as we all know, salt water lives in this type of manifold. They are copper and I would agree that they probably will last forever. As copper is a pure metal, there is no less noble metal to leach out with galvanic corrosion. Go for it, and be done with it. They will be supplied painted and the paint has stuck for all this time. I'm quite happy with them.

 

[john mead]

It may not be the risers. I have a fiberglass y connector on my port exaust, and a cast iron y connector on the starboard.Water sits in the cast iron y connector when the boat has not been used in a while and gives then same symptoms. Changing the risers will not correct this.The fiberglass side is always clear.

 

[cb48lrc]

Check with Osco, I have used these in the past and they are good quitliy.
http://www.oscomotors.com/

 

[Beckytek]

I had the same problem finding risers for my Crusaders 3 years ago. I went with the center rise manifolds and new hoses. They put 6 inch extensions on top of the manifolds. It cost me about $6000 to have it done but this was because of complications. The new setup seems real easy to change out when the time comes. My old manifolds were like brand new when removed.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

We have ordered all 4 copper risers and elbows from Paul @ Marine Manifolds. To settle the nasty remark, the main reason that I can't just replace ours with Osco risers is because we have the very rare 12" risers which haven't been made for some years. Nobody has them. I am not to cheap to switch to center rise manifolds and change the hose. If I was willing to carve out one of our cross members, I could bolt an 8" and a 4" together, I have seen the center rise manifolds and they make it very difficult to work on the engine, especially the carbs and distributor. I am not trying to be cheap either. Pauls new risers and elbows,(actually one piece), will cost $3,200. I just don't want to worry about those things every 4 years.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Sounds like a good choice, Maynard.

When are you coming back to MI? My boat splashes today.

 

[jojaanright]

Check the circulator pump for leaks at the output shaft. If leaking, the pump is finished, replace. Check inlet and oulet hoses on the seapump are correct. Some of these pumps inlet form the bottom, some from the top, depends on motor direction. all advise from other answers is good, too.

 

[krush]

spambot gives better answers than some members (heck, it's better than this post I am making)