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I was pressure testing my muffler after epoxying the separated seam at the base. The seam part seems to be holding up ok. However, there are some leaks from a couple of the corner holes. For some reason I have two holes per corner, but only one screw in each corner securing the muffler to the plywood base. I plan on filling all the holes with unthickened epoxy and re-drill smaller hole through the filled area to prevent future leaks. Is there any great advantage to screwing the muffler down, or would a beefy tie-down strap that goes under the plywood and then comes back over the top of the muffler do the job? I don't sail hard or plan on crazy heel angles so the muffler should stay put. What do you guys think?

Last weekend, coming back from a sail, I noticed the cabin was very smoky. Shut engine off and sailed to a nearby dock. Closer examination revealed water gushing from the nipple/exhaust riser area. I was able to limp back to my slip, which was pretty close. Engine temp stayed normal. Here is a video of what is going on.
https://youtube.com/shorts/UnRdK4REvL8?si=ymg-kRBSAhbFxa7k
Any suggestions on how to approach this problem? I am guessing I need to pull the exhaust off and either get a new one from Catalina Direct, or make one myself, but could there be an easier fix? I did recently change the HX zinc, and this was the first time I took the boat out after that change, not sure if that had anything to do with it. This is a '86 C34, M25 engine.

Thanks,
Junaid

I just changed the oil on my M25. There was a sealed gallon of Delo 40 sitting on the boat left by previous owner, so I used it. Just as was sitting down, congratulating myself on a job well done, I happened to glance at the oil jug. It had a 2001 date printed on it. It seemed to look and pour normally. Seems to be the right consistency and color. My search online shows most companies say 2-5 year shelf life on engine oil. Yet there are many people who report using 15-20 even 30 year old engine oil in their car engines without ill effect. What do you guys think? Should I suck this oil out or just use it? Walmart has Mobil 15W40 for $10.50 right now so I picked some up just in case.

I have a house bank of 4 Trojan Mileage Master 6V batteries of unknown age.  I think there is a Xantrex battery charger. Recently I noticed the cabin lights get dim after 3-4 hours of use when boat had no shore power. The Link 20 battery monitor shows green lights but when I check voltage it's about 10V. After leaving the charger on for a few days, I turned it off, turned everything off that could draw current (Link 20 still showed 0.1A current for some reason), after a day the fully charged house bank was down to 9.9 V with nothing on. When I put a multimeter on the 4 batteries, two of them show 5.5 V and two show 4.5 and 4V respectively. Is there any way of milking some more life out of these batteries by getting rid of the weaker two batteries? In case I need to replace, the Interstate Golf Cart batteries at Costco are about $100 whereas the Trojan batteries run about $300 at the local battery store. Both have roughly the same amp hours, 210 vs 225 AH. Are the Trojans really 3 times better? Any other 6V battery recommendations? Thanks.

I have an autohelm 4000 which is not powering up. No red standby light or other signs of life.  There are 4 wires (red/black, blue/brown pairs) in the connector. I am assuming one of these pairs powers up the control box and the other one would presumably drive pulses to the motor which drives the wheel with a belt. I am not sure which pair is the power source or even if this is a correct assumption. I am seeing 12V on both pairs when I turn on the autohelm at the switch panel. Even without the control panel connected. The picture shows voltage on the blue/brown pair (wire is not connected to the board) and the polarity seems reversed (blue should be negative but is positive). A later probe showed 12V on the red/black pair as well. Anyone on this forum have the same unit? Any info on the wiring/troubleshooting? Thanks.

I have a M25 engine on my '86 C34. We were attempting to burp the coolant system after replacing the coolant. Based on my research on this board, I decided to pull the water heater loop hose off the thermostat assembly and fill it with coolant. When I went to pull the 3/8" hose from the thermostat the whole fitting pulled out. Apparently it was hanging on by a thread (no pun intended). Attempts to screw it back in were futile. I am wondering if it was the wrong fitting or if I need to tap this hole. Is this fitting a Universal part or can any pipe/fitting place provide the replacement? Fitting in question looks like the attached pic but a lot dirtier.
2nd question, What is this silver/black fitting on the thermostat? Is it a water temp alarm? I noticed a disconnected wire in this same vicinity (the blue colored thing at the bottom of the picture).

Thanks,
Junaid

Looking for furling  jib or genoa for  86 C34, standard rig , #6 luff tape. I think the current sail is 42'6" luff to account for the furling gear. Located in Everett, WA but willing to meet anywhere from Portland to the Peace Arch. Shipping works too.

Newly minted owner of '86 c34 here. So I have been noticing a leak in the aft berth from the protective cover/ doghouse right under the steering pedestal. I undid all the screws on it today but it is stuck on there pretty good and not budging -- yet I can see the leaks. I am not sure if previous owner bedded it with butyl tape alone or some marine adhesive/caulk. I can see copious amounts of butyl tape in the joint. However, usually butyl tape doesn't adhere which is why it is recommended for through-bolted hardware. This thing is not through-bolted but it is stuck so hard I can't pry it off without risking breaking it. What is the recommended way to seal it? Should I address the leak at the protective cover or at the steering pedestal base? Any ideas on how to fix this leak? Thanks.