No damage to the transom. they are just through holes for the U bolts.
I fired the boat up this weekend in the driveway after getting everything ready for spring here in Michigan.
it is louder at idle. sounds good, wish i had a good cam in those stock 330's though
the water really flapps the rubber ....um... flaps.....

. I think they were a little more dampened the old way with the volume of the silent thunder box.
when i fired the second engine up. noticed my drive inicator
( dumb merc volt guages) showed a funny location so i cycled the drive up and down. Well, that engine sounded SWEET!!!!!!! till i realized i was running dry exhaust due to the earmuffs falling off the drive ( how stupid)
shut her down at 200 deg F !!!!! when i realized what i did and put the water back on right away and started and cooled here back down.
no damage to exhaust hoses, but i hope i did not burn the impellor. That is the absolute worst job in a 272. with your feet straight up in the air.!!!! been there , done that....
so. we will watch it on the first run in 10 days. our first boat club run on lake michigan for the season.
but it does sound nice. no different that any other boat with thru hulls and no cans.... but definitely louder than silent thunder. I don't expect any performance improvement, just sound...
Ramb