F-26 Wet Exhaust Upgrade
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 9:43 pm
For years now I've been struggling to gain access to the house batteries for servicing. The problem is that the factory (I believe) wet exhaust hose runs across the top of them and makes it difficult to remove the battery covers and top up the fluid. I've always just dealt with it as opposed to moving the batteries since their added weight in this position makes the boat handle better than when they were under the companionway steps. As for the hoses themselves, one is an actual marine wet exhaust hose and the other, the one that's in the way, looks like a radiator hose from a piece of heavy equipment. Never did like that hose.
This picture shows the hose over the batteries.
This year I decided that enough was enough. I picked up some new Trident hose and fittings and reconfigured the exhaust. The picture below shows the how house bank is much more accessible. The cranking battery, on the left, is still a little difficult to get at however I only need to service it once a year. The house bank gets topped up every four weeks or so since we spend allot of time on the hook.
Installing these hoses and fittings was not as simple as I'd imagined. the "Y" pipe leading to the muffler comes out at an angle which made things difficult to line up. The single piece of hose on the starboard side has a slight kink in it that I couldn't quite get out no matter what I tried. This hose is only 12" long, too long for a "hump" fitting and too short for a combination of that and a piece of hose. The hose for the port side is made up of one straight piece of hose, one 45° fitting and two 90° fittings. There's 90° at the manifold and one coming off of the 45° which is attached to the "Y" pipe. The one attached to the 45° had to be trimmed back to change the fitting angle closer to 80° to line up correctly with the fitting on the manifold. This made me nervous because I was cutting off the straight portion for the adapter as well as some of the curve. The adapter still slipped in easily and went to within a 1/4" of fully seated which is plenty. You can order custom angled fittings however lead time and cost is a factor.
These components were easy to cut with a utility knife and everything slipped together easily with a little dish soap and water on every connection. You'll also notice that the 90° fitting on the port side is missing two clamps. All connections should be double clamped, I just didn't order the correct number of clamps.
They will be on there before the boat goes in the water.
I did get to start it up when I finished this job today to check for leaks. It sure felt nice to hear that engine come to life. I didn't get to do any boating last season so I'm sure looking forward to this one. Hope to splash in about a week.
This picture shows the hose over the batteries.
This year I decided that enough was enough. I picked up some new Trident hose and fittings and reconfigured the exhaust. The picture below shows the how house bank is much more accessible. The cranking battery, on the left, is still a little difficult to get at however I only need to service it once a year. The house bank gets topped up every four weeks or so since we spend allot of time on the hook.
Installing these hoses and fittings was not as simple as I'd imagined. the "Y" pipe leading to the muffler comes out at an angle which made things difficult to line up. The single piece of hose on the starboard side has a slight kink in it that I couldn't quite get out no matter what I tried. This hose is only 12" long, too long for a "hump" fitting and too short for a combination of that and a piece of hose. The hose for the port side is made up of one straight piece of hose, one 45° fitting and two 90° fittings. There's 90° at the manifold and one coming off of the 45° which is attached to the "Y" pipe. The one attached to the 45° had to be trimmed back to change the fitting angle closer to 80° to line up correctly with the fitting on the manifold. This made me nervous because I was cutting off the straight portion for the adapter as well as some of the curve. The adapter still slipped in easily and went to within a 1/4" of fully seated which is plenty. You can order custom angled fittings however lead time and cost is a factor.
These components were easy to cut with a utility knife and everything slipped together easily with a little dish soap and water on every connection. You'll also notice that the 90° fitting on the port side is missing two clamps. All connections should be double clamped, I just didn't order the correct number of clamps.
They will be on there before the boat goes in the water.I did get to start it up when I finished this job today to check for leaks. It sure felt nice to hear that engine come to life. I didn't get to do any boating last season so I'm sure looking forward to this one. Hope to splash in about a week.
I like a clean bilge but think I'd draw the line there. I could imagine the reaction if my wife ever saw me doing that. 
