Silent Choice/Captains Call
 

I bought a 265 DVX with a 7.4 litre late last year and the previous owner left the exhaust stock. It was OK for a little while but I want to make noise now (wifes not happy about this idea). I'd like to put a silent choice style exhaust on but know there are a few differnt choices on the market. Anyone have any suggestions as to which is the best bang for the buck or best quality?

Also, I may just put straight thru hull on it for the time being and add the silent choice style exhaust later down the road. Does putting straight thru hull on before any adjustable exhaust pose any problems?

Any advice on what equipment to use if I go ahead with strictly thru hull?

Don't mean to ask a million questions at once, first boat with a bigger motor!

Thanks for the help!

Just want to point out that if your boat has the stock "Y" pipe that directs the exhaust through the propeller, you have to pull the engine to install the "block off" plate on the inside gimbel unit. Your first idea might be better, because you need the y-pipe for the switchable exhaust systems. Corsa Performance is whom I would suggest. At one time they made a nice manual system you had to switch by hand, at a great price.

http://www.corsaperf.com/marine.htm

XT

Naahhh, he can easily block off the Y-pipes using the existing rubber boots, some silicon, and a pair of the black rubber block off plates from the hardware store. I temporarily blocked mine off this way until I can get some diverters fabricated for my Lightnings, and it works fine - no leaks at all. If worried about doing it that way, someone was selling a pair of aluminum oval block off plates in the swap shop that would work.

It wouldn't be that much more work or money to go ahead and buy the diverters and make it functional. There were a few sets of the Merc Silent Choice setups in the swap shop for a reasonable price.

If you are not worried about making it switchable, here is a company on ebay that fabricates a diverter with no butterfly that woutes it out both the prop and transom, like the Corsa Quick 'n Quiet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MARIN...ssoriesQ5fGear

You know, I know I'm new here to the forum, but not to hot-rod boating, and my real experience comes from being a retired Coast Guard Damage Controlman and having a 50-ton USCG Master License. On behave of all active duty Coasties in your area, please make that set-up as temporary as you can.

Someone advising against noise coming from a powerboat on a powerboat forum! :party-smiley-004: Something isn't right. :party-smiley-004:


:lolhit::lolhit::lolhit:



I would suggest keeping the Y pipe and using the Captain's Call set up if you are just keeping it stock but wanting noise. If you go with the right tips you'll also get just a little more noise. And you probably would even hear the difference between the true through vs. the Quick and Quites in my opinion.

I have a set Quick and Quite for sale if you are interested, PM me your email address and I can get some pictures to you.

Don't think he was talking about the noise. He was talking about the tempoary fix with the rubber hoses and block off plates.

True! I loves me some noise. Just advising against the effortless ability to sink and sink fast. No bilge pump on a 27' boat is that big.

But I am on board with you on the Silent Choice. Pinellas County Florida is cracking down hard on boats with straight pipes. I too am considering switching from Quick-n-Quiet to full switchable exhaust. I just struggle with "if it's too loud, you're too old." Let us know what you end up with.

I will tell ya that I love them loud but after a ticket and we even run mufflers, I wouldnt mess with it! I would seriously listen to XT's advice they used to build them and still work on them, if that is how they say to do it i would not question them at all! Short cuts are not worth it in this field.

Bottom line you will most likely end up regretting doing it after the cost and first noise ticket.

Oh, this makes muck more sense. :o :o Sorry, I was never the sharpest tack in Reading Comprehension 101. :party-smiley-004:

A sinking ship is a bad thing to say the least! The block off plate is a pretty solid set up and I too would advise against the rubber caps. But to do the block off plate you will need to pull the engine like XT said. The block off plate the exact same concept, attachment, seal and bolts as the Y plate. The block off plate even gives you the extra hole for all 5 bolts verse just 4 on the Y. It is a permanent fix and the kit is available from Merc.

I just switched to the true through with CMI headers and I am expecting to have some issues. If they get to be a little too much I will add the switchable tips. But until then... I will keep the noise. :evilb:

We have talked about this topic many times. If you are planning on keeping the engine stock get the switchable exhaust. If you are planning on engine upgrades go strait through the hull. Bigger cams need long exhaust or it will suck water back into the engine. If you boat in places were the WP crack down on noise you can get the switchable mufflers. You will probably gain about a MPH on a stock engine. Mine is loud all the time, there are times I would like to have the switchable back. But things must be sacrificed for speed.....

Did u know
 

Back in the summer of 1990, Jim Browning the owner of Corsa Pef. had known the I purchased a set of his manual diverters for my brand new Baja 260 with the 454 Mag. He asked me at work one day if I would be willing to sacrifice some time on Lake Erie to test a electric solenoid version of his manual diverter. I agreed, and met him at the boat ramp and he installed his prototype on only one side of the motor. His main concern was if the solenoid was strong enough to hold closed with all the water & pressure going through the exhaust. Well it is safe to say the the smile on his face was just like the credit card commercial (PRICELESS)!

PS. My first Corsa electrical system was NC.

XT :drink:

Nice!

Manual Diverters?? I've never seen them. Granted I am an old school jet-boater, but you can't touch even worn out electric diverters for under $500.

OK guys, I can understand your concern about sinking a boat through the Y-pipe caps. If you are worried about them popping off, then run some stainless screws through the rubber boot into the rubber plugs before you silicone them together. There really isn't that much pressure up against them, especially if the flappers are still in place in the Y-pipes (as mine are).

If you are still worried about it, here is a link inn the swap shop to a member selling a pair of the Hardin Marine block off plates for the Y-pipes. These offer a more permanent solution.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...pipe-caps.html

Of course, if you plan to stay with straight thru hull, then pull the engine and get the Y-pipe out of there. It is a much cleaner solution. But if you are planning to eventually go back to a switchable exhaust, then I see no reason to go through the time and expense of pulling the motor - twice. Unless of course you are planning to refresh the motor.

Good luck!

I wish that I had photos of them, but back in 90' there were not many digital cameras like today. they looked the same but with a spring loaded "T" handle that locked in both positions. You had to open the motor lid and switch them by hand. I think they deleted them shortly after the electric version.

Sad to say that boat burnt to the ground with 20-30 other boats, motor homes, & travel trailers the following spring, a week before I was to get it out.

XT :picard1:

I am not too worried about sinking. I went with the block off plate and clean install look. :drink:

But then again, the way I currently feel about our friggen boat I wish the SOB POS would sink!!! :angry-smiley-038::angry-smiley-038:

Seems to me like there was always a floating "something" in the waters in Lake Alatoona in the Atlanta area. I was scared, even at cruise speed, of running into a tree, telephone pole or whatever that would shear off the drive. That's an awfully big hole at the rear of the boat. How anyone could contain flooding is beyond me? Just be careful...you know what I mean?


Course I've been drinking tonight.......

No, I don't want to hit anything or get hurt. More like while it is at the dock or we are in a cove. No high speed impact. :lolhit:

I was so excited to do this project but now I regret the day I first looked at our boat. The thing must have been build on Friday the 13th or some witch cast a friggen spell on it!. :angry-smiley-038: Nothing but bad luck that keeps getting worse for me (us collectively... my wife is a trooper). One step forward five steps back. :hitfan: :offtopic: :angry-smiley-055:

I whacked a mostly submerged stump several years ago and nearly knocked the drive clean off the boat. The only thing holding it on was the trim lines and the remnants of the U-joint bellows. I had to stuff my t-shirt into the drive bellows hole to slow the water coming in. If my buddy had not been running along side to pull me back, the boat would probably be on the bottom.

I know what you mean about endless problems. Last week I was ready to just pull the plug on mine after the power steering ram decided to blow a seal. This was after the litany of problems that I had getting it onto the water this year - all well documented on these forums. Hang in there, and just keep putting out fires.

Thanks for the encouragement! But if I start documenting everything that was and is wrong with this latest project I am sure sparks will really start to fly since the person that has me by the short hairs is a prominent engine builder on this forum. Hell, he was even listed in latest edition of Powerboat. When I speak with others for help and advice and when they find out who it is they ARE ALL SURPRISED that this is going on! I can only imagine if I had a real scumbag shop working on it how even more awful this experience would be.

Sorry for the hijack. :party-smiley-004:

TW720HYY

As you know. The two happiest days in a boat owners life, is the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. Sorry couldn't resist:grinser010:

Seriously. Hope everything works out for you.

And back to topic. I like the Corsa CC too.

Oh believe me this statement is the truth with one right now. :lolhit:

Thanks for all the feed back. I plan on keeping the motor stock or as close to stock as possible. It's not a fast boat and I am just going to have to realize that, on a good day "down hill" I may get 55-56 mph. But she still floats and allows for adult beverage consumptions and sunburns, beats the office!! Anyhow, I checked with Corsa and talked to one of the sales guys there, he informed me that a system would cost around the 2000# range. Seemed kind of pricey for nothing more than noise.

I was told that i needed a 2 inch drop down style corse captain call exhaust (more $ than normal) as my boat has a 3" spacer above the riser. I checked it out and I dont see the so called spacer. Anyone know what this would look like?

Looks like i may just have to bite the bullet and go with the captains call.

Thanks for the input!

I think you misunderstood, or he explained it wrong. What you might have is a riser that is 3" taller than the "normal" ones. Can you post a pic? Anyone ever heard of a spacer to put under the exhaust risers?

My 2-coppers worth, I installed silent choice on my 27PC after replacing the 7.4 with a 502 MPI. Cutting through the 4-inch transom with a 4-inch whole saw was the hardest, had to cut from both directions. Installed Corsa muffler tips along with flappers to keep the possibility of water intrusion when stopping. They have worked very well up to this year. They are spring loaded open and need power to close. One closes and one is intermittent. Looks like I have some corrosion on the contacts which are hard to get at. Thinking of replacing the connectors with some water proof ones with hopes this will fix it.

These are off a Baja...

I dont know if it will work on your set up but i have a set of gil manifolds, risers and the captain call diverters with wiring harness that i took off my hp500 that was in a 25 outlaw

Thanks again for feed back. that must be the 2 inch drops that Corsa was talking about.