I cracked my water lift muffler this fall when winterizing. I repaired the crack with fiberglass cloth from a West System Repair Pack. This fixed the crack, but it still has a small leak. My best guess is the leak is coming from one of the screw holes. I am thinking of repairing this leak by pouring epoxy resin into the muffler as follows:
1. Remove the muffler from the boat and pour out the water.
2. Pour in about a pint of acetone and shake the muffler, then pour it out and let it dry overnight.
3. Pour about a pint of epoxy resin into the muffler and let it dry.
I have the following questions:
1. Has anyone done something like this? Does this seem like a reasonable approach?
2. Should I thicken the epoxy with filler (I have both West 404 High-Density Filler and 403 Microfibers)?
3. What is the best epoxy to use? Should I use West 105/106 or West G/flex Epoxy? Are there any other products at hardware stores that would be better?
Ron St. Onge
C36 #1384
Ron St. Onge
1995 Catalina 36 MKII Hull 1384
I had a similar leak a few years ago. It was suggested to fill/seal the screw hole with epoxy and then Terrill it. Instead I ordered a new muffler from Catalina in Largo. If you do that have them send you the drawings as they have several options for our boats.
David S. Power
Two If By Sea #1687
Burnt Store Marina
Punta Gorda, FL
I beleive you will not get a good bond with your approach. The inside of the muffler is coated with by products of combustion. I don't believe the acetone would clean it enough.
Instead I would epoxy and glass from the outside. You could plug the screw hole completely and live with 3 attach points or you could oversize the screw hole, epoxy and glass from the bottom and top and then redrill in the middle of your patch.
Mine was patched by a PO using this method and I now have only three attach points.
Michael Hamblett
S/V Firefly #1847
2000 C36 TM,FK,M35B
This thread has a lot of good information about mufflers.
http://www.catalina36.org/forum/technical-discussion/2-blown-aqualifts-n...
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Unfortunately that link no longer works for me Stu....
---- Howard & Linda Matwick ----
--- S/V "Silhouette" - Nanaimo, BC ----
--- 1999 C36 MkII #1776 M35BC ---
The link works fine for me.
Gene Foraker
Sandusky Yacht Club
Sandusky, OH
1999 C36 #1786
Gypsy Wagon
I spoke to Catalina Direct, and they said the cost of a new muffler would be >$400. The Catalina factory in FL wants pictures before they would quote a price. Does anyone know of fabricators that build these mufflers at a competitve price?
Thanks,
Ron St. Onge
C36 #1384
Ron St. Onge
1995 Catalina 36 MKII Hull 1384
I believe Catalina charged me about $350 in 2009. I had them send several drawings of various drawings to make sure I got the right replacement. It only took a few weeks to be fabricated and sent. It was a perfect fit.
David S. Power
Two If By Sea #1687
Burnt Store Marina
Punta Gorda, FL
When I purchased my boat the muffler had 2 problems, a cracked inlet tube and several small leaks right through the sides, primarily at the corners of the muffler. Here is a summary of the repair process. Cut the cracked inlet pipe out with a hole saw. Ground off the gelcoat and porous, contaminated glass around the leaks. Cut the muffler in two (top and bottom). Sanded off all interior surfaces. Installed a new fiberglass inlet tube, built up substantial filets around it inside and out. Applied a couple of layers of glass cloth to all interior surfaces. Reattached the top and bottom pieces of the muffler. Built up the areas where the gelcoat and contaminated glass was ground off.
The repair could have been accomplished much more quickly by glassing over the outside had the inlet pipe not needed replacement (there would have been no need to cut the muffler in two).
Michael & Jayne O'Neill * Steadfast * 1985 C36 #372 * Salem, MA
Ron, Dave and Mike
How many hours did your engines have when you had the muffler problems?
__/)__/)__/)__Capt Mike__/)__/)__/)__
Punta Gorda Florida
1990 Std WK M35 Hull #1050
Mike, our engine. Had 1389 hours on it when I replaced the muffler. At the time, I noticed that Catalina had secured only 3 of the corners and that the screw on the opposite corner had broken. I was getting vibration in the muffler even though I had the blue hump hose on it. The crack/leak appeared in one of the other two screw holes.
David S. Power
Two If By Sea #1687
Burnt Store Marina
Punta Gorda, FL
Hi Mike, I can't estimate engine hours, the hour meter was not functional when we bought the boat. The boat was 27 years old and my guess is that age and the original manufacturing techniques were bigger factors than engine hours with the porosity and leaks in the muffler body. The cracked inlet pipe was likely due to simply overtightening the hose clamps.
Michael & Jayne O'Neill * Steadfast * 1985 C36 #372 * Salem, MA
Everyone,
I took 787MH’s good advice and drilled out the leaking screw hole and filled it with West System epoxy thickened with 403 micro-fibers. This fix worked.
Caprice,
I am on my second water lift muffler. The first one failed at about 1500 hours a few years ago. I did not have a “hump” hose at that time, so this probably contributed greatly to the failure. I got a new muffler made by Catalina and added a hump hose at that time. I am not sure why it cracked this year during winterization. My best guess is the bucket I used was above the water lift muffler so the slight head pressure caused the muffler to fill up to much. The extra water created too much back pressure that cracked the muffler. Since I had less than 500 hours on the muffler I wanted to fix it instead of getting a new one.
BTW Catalina called back to say a new muffler would cost $375.
Thanks to all for the replies.
Ron St. Onge
C36 #1384
Ron St. Onge
1995 Catalina 36 MKII Hull 1384
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6728.0.html
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)