Hey All,
I have a 95 27 foot fever with a single 525SC. Just finished my top end rebuild and am dreading putting the clunky oem exhaust manifiolds back on. Would really like some nice looking headers but the prices I am seeing and the numerous options on them back me up pretty quick. This boat will only see fresh water so with that in mind does anyone have a recommendation of a certain set? What type of legitimate performance gains will I see? Any drawbacks?
Thanks in Advance!

The Gil manifolds are pretty good. When I switched to Lightning headers I do not remember much, if any, power gain.

Noticed your a pretty steady wealth of knowledge around here so just curious why you changed yours out. Are youable to romove your valve covers with the lightning headers still on?

Gils, power flows, kodiaks all about the same. Nice used sets can be had for around $6-800. Try to find a set with stainless risers and all the hardware and tubes, it will save you some time and cash trying to find any missing parts to the system. Reversion could be a problem if the risers are too short, depending on your cam selection. Helping an engine to breath is always helpful but power gains are minimal. You could see maybe a few mph gain 1-3 maybe. The lightnings are having good results but they are more of a true header only in cast form. Most of the above are aluminum manifolds so some weight reduction is picked up. Guys are always upgrading so theres always some deals out there to be had. Good luck on your project!

Arcticfriends talked me in to it. No, the valve covers don't come off unless you loosen the header which usually wrecks the gasket, so you end up taking the whole thing apart anyway. Lightning headers are lighter and look very good. If your exhaust is in good shape, you could spend the money on other stuff and get more bang for the buck. my.02

I have a set of used CMI e-tops with tails, $1600 obo if your interested. 847 613 7319 Rob

Dana's are nice pieces. Almost like true headers without the problems. They can polish or fusion coat anyway you want. I built some 525 clones and used them. Dana had to build some custom risers for me. They did a great job for a reasonable price. The runners in these stay separated all the way to the riser. The exit from the exhaust port co
es out straighter but they also require more lateral clearance. I will post some photos of mine to give you an idea.

Photos