I missed that important little detail, RJC.

the welded bead is about twice as thick on the starboard side as it is on the port side. the welded beads appear to be straight, but it is just too thick on the starboard side for the flange to be flush with the head. the bolts go in fine and seem to line up fine.

WTF?

The flange is not supposed to be flush. The raised weld creates a better squeeze on the gasket surrounding the port. Give CMI a call, 920 722 7084

Make sure you tighten the bolts up even. If you put a bind on one bolt and the header flange it will not tighten properly. Loosen all the bolts and start over.

Geez RV, you don't trust me? I'm crushed.

JOHNNY, it's not that i don't trust you, it just looks excessive on the starboard side. the port side looks fine. you know i worry about everything. if i didn't worry about this, then there would be something wrong.

Punk Rocket
You seem to be convinced that the manifolds are not correctly made. Call CMI talk to their tech guy see what he says.
They may want to reinspect them.
Go federal express or ups red both ways its only money and your not boating.
I had them weld in a set of rings in the long extension tubes to eliminate water reversion in the tube and they turned them around in a short time frame.
Post your findings.
Tank u

ran the boat today. the header flange seemed to be sealed to the head. did not appear to be any exhaust leaks. i just fits a bit funny, but it appears to be functional.

i did have some water leaking between the header and the tail pipe around the cool collar clamp. i'll try and re-align the tail pipes and tighten it all up again.

The cool collars should be easier than the old rope style. we'll see if i can get the to seal. they both drip water steady.

i have a 29 fountain. sometimes i run up on clear lake, but usually lake travis. haven't been to conroe. is it worth the trip?

I don't think you should have water that close to the collar as the water should dump out further back in the tail pipe.
Where is the water coming from?