Exhaust water injection fitting

[stamch]

I have a hole in the exhaust at the water injection "Y" fitting.  Anybody know a way to replace this fitting without lifting the deck off the hull?  Alternatively a good material for repair.  I tried 200 degree epoxy, that didn't work.  and automotive exhaust putty, that didn't work either.

Cap'n Stan C34 #114 Pisces
Annapolis, MD

Cap'n Stan

[cholder]

Removing the exhaust is easily done.  Undo the hoses and the flange connection to the engine (it has three nuts on studs that are screwed into the exhaust manifold/cooland header, two nuts are on top and one underneath). These nuts may be hard to remove if not done for some years.  Moving the heat exchanger may give better access to the lower nut. Ease the flange off the studs and seperate the hose from the muffler.  Reach forward from the hatch over the shaft (in the aft cabin) and rotate the exhaust pipe in two directions to remove it.

When you re-install the new pipe take care to insert the pipe over the wiring harness, you don't want the wires over the pipe where they'll be overheated.

You'll need a new exhaust gasket for the bolted connection.

You have two basic options to deal with the leak.  Most correspondents send their old exhaust to Catalina who'll make a new one to the same size.  My approach, because I'm in Canada and would have to deal with brokers in each direction, was to have the pipework made up in 1-1/4" screw fitted pipes and elbows made of schedule 40 316 stainless steel. Doing it again, I'd use schedule 80 pipe.  On my boat the factory pipework was much thinner than schedule 40 except for the last piece which was sch. 40, but the welding heat damaged the stainless steel making it vulnerable to corrosion at the injection pipe.  Putting exhaust compound on the threads before they're assembled makes the joints gas tight.  Taking that approach meant the only expensive welding was to insert the injection pipe into the final straight section of pipework.

I would suggest you purchase a hump-hose from Catalina or another speciality source.  It will reduce the vibration transmitted from the engine to the hull.

[stamch]

Thanks Charles, that's kinda what I thought would be the only way to remove the "Y" fitting.  
 
If that's what you consider "easily done", what is a hard job for you?  I find going under the aff berth to replace the zinc painful.

Cap'n Stan