Hey, Iv got a 1995 Crownline with a bone stock carbb'd 454 Mag. I want to put a bigger cam in it. Im not looking for a big HP gain or MPH. I just want a more radical idle. My heads are being sent off next week to be freshend up and now would be a good time for a cam and valve springs. I am running stock exhaust manifolds. So I would like to know how radical (or not radical) of a cam I could run without having to worry about reversion. Any help would be greatly appriciated.

You can't go with more than a stock cam without better exhaust. It will revert water with the short stock risers.

Would a stock 496 exhaust setup be good enough?

I'm looking to do some similar small upgrades, and since I just got this boat, the wife definitely won't stomach an engine swap.

The gains will be so small, they are not worth it. If you are lucky, a cam and 496 exhaust will get you 1-2mph at most.

Yes, he is correct. If you upgrade the cam on that you should also do the exhaust..

My vote is to leave it stock. Take it from a dog that has been beat with a baseball bat. Stock - starts (most of the time) once you start tweaking it, things just break and you spend the rest of your life chasing problems. I rather have a stock boat that starts and is dependable than a "cool" boat that is always broke. Just my .02 cents.

Besides, at least in my world these projects take three times as long and cost twice as much