Come over and listen to may apache ! Talk to tracy at riggs marine>920 872 2728

I got a noise ticket last year in Racine. They pulled me over coming out of the marina. Dry to the tip stellings. He made me go back to the fuel dock and tie up. He did a safety check, then proceeded to get out the decibal meter. He asked me to start my engines, I started one engine, and could see he was already taking his reading. I pretended to be trying to start engine #2 but he didnt notice, nor realize. Not that it mattered. He said the meter was fluctuating between 95-110DB, (blower surge). Either way he wrote me and sent me on my way. I just bit the bullet and paid it. I plan to mock up some temporary turn downs for when I go back up there. I see no other way to pass the 86db test.

I got a $650 noise ticket. Contested it and beat the f_ckers.

What do you have on yours? Andy

I leaning towards either modifying my exhausting tips or chancing making the DB acceptable level with the Hardin Marine setup. Installing a pneumatic controlled butterfly valve at the end with turndown off the bottom would give me the best of both worlds. But this would be a winter project.

You can see my big boy 5" muffler in the pic. They can be a pain sometimes, especially to keep clean. The actuators work fine. Sometimes they stick closed, they can develop air leaks and keep opening on their own, I blew one out when I forgot to open them getting on plane. They make a nice difference sound wise, I don`t feel like a total a-hole idling around the marina and you can hold a conversation when they are closed.
I went dry exhaust this year.(LOUD) but i did put a pisser in the tails to keep the mufflers from getting too hot. haven`t tested that set up yet.
Turn downs are definately the "trouble free" option.


http://33outlaw.zenfolio.com/img/s8/...82512071-4.jpg


http://33outlaw.zenfolio.com/img/s2/...58888604-3.jpg

These are unbelievably effective and easily removeable when not in a sensitive area.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps901428cc.jpg

In my opinion, this type of "muffler" is the only, truly effective way of quieting your boat. Switchable mufflers and all the complexities that they entail are not anywhere near as effective as routing the exhaust underwater at idle and still having the exhaust point downward. No restrictions at all. The pictures of this type, on my Cigarette (that were custom made for my application), also had the benefit of keeping the "sound/exhaust" between the drives and not allowing it to radiate to either side.

RMP, didn't you experiment with a set of turndowns that actually had a switchable tip with a butterfly incorporated into them? Seems like I recall seeing a picture of them on OSO. What was the issue with those? Did they help at all?

I have a set of the full time Gil muffled tips on mine, and while they definitely knock the edge off the sound I would have with open headers, you still get a resonant droning right around 12-1500 RPM that is kind of annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love the throaty sound of my big block, and it's fun to light it off and see everyone jump a little, but there are times that it would be nice to knock it down some. The turn downs look interesting. Might have to experiment with a set of "redneck engineered" models before spending the big bucks on some "purty" ones.

Also, I think I recall reading that turn downs require a small air hole to be drilled above the waterline to prevent siphoning or the "drinking straw" effect. Has anyone found this to be the case?