Saturday, June 7, 2008

Exhaust riser story continued

Nothing being straightforward on a sailboat repair, replacing the exhaust riser did present one twist. Turns out Universal/Westerbeke no longer makes their riser with a 1 5/8 outlet. My entire exhaust system is 1 5/8. After much research and head scratching, I discovered that they only make a 2 inch outlet these days. The good news is, I think, that the new riser is made from some aluminum alloy as it is much lighter and hopefully less prone to corrosion from the saltwater than the cast iron.

Well, to avoid replacing my entire exhaust system, which we all know is way expensive with a new muffler and all that hose and through hulls and the rest, I needed to find a way to step down from the 2 inch riser outlet to my 1 5/8 hose. Found the answer with Centek. They make a fiberglass reducing coupler that goes from 2 inches down to 1.63. Found that part in stock down in L.A., which still beats waiting for it to come from Florida.

Also had to purchase a short piece of 1.25 NPT schedule 80 black iron pipe to connect the new flange and the new exhaust riser. Now I have everything assembled and am just waiting for the reducing coupler to arrive on Monday to complete the installation.