On Aeolus the exhaust runs to the stern in a 1.5" hose and upon reaching the stern lazarette it rises up a few feet and goes through some pipe and back down to the through hull. This U shaped approach somewhat prevents sea water from filling the hose/water muffler and engine block. Nothing worse than a following sea filling your engine block with H20 and then going to start your motor to find that you just demolished your rods.
The pipe was showing signs of rust, and knowing a thing or two about rusting iron I knew it was time to at least pull it out and check for bigger problems. Turns out the pipe had partially disintegrated in places and it was high time to replace.
This allowed me to install a ball valve in the pipe as per suggestions for offshore conditions where strong following seas can overwhelm that U shape section. I ordered high pressure thick walled pipe from McMaster Carr and assembled the pieces with a full flow ball valve. It's a thing of simple beauty. I beveled the outer edges of the pipe that entered the hose so it went in easier.
Today I took the assembled piece to the boat and installed it with one section of new hose. The existing hose from the pipe down to the through hull was original and though it showed no signs of trouble, I knew it had lived it's life. I had some extra ABYC exhasut hose around and replaced that section. Turns out when I cut the old hose off that it was not wire reinforced and though this is a low pressure environment, it was a good call to upgrade.
One more little upgrade project. One more ounce of prevention...
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