[C320-list] water lift muffler

[John Frost]

Lou

The underside was flat fiberglass. I put a rubber mat between the hull and
the new muffler to absorb vibration. I didn't use any gaskets.
I don't have a picture of the strap. I have a roll of nylon webbing
something like seatbelt material. I folded a tab on one end and screwed it
to the hull using a big washer.  I then ran the belt over the muffler and
did the same to the other.
I did this because all of the failures that I read about happened at the
mounting screw holes. Either they are too close to the inside of the muffler
or they create a stress point for vibration.

By the way, I wasn't sure I would get my new muffler in time for a trip so I
"repaired" my old one by putting epoxy on the outside of the crack and
heavily spraying inside the muffler with the black sealant material sold to
patch gutters and things. I tried to form a rubber bladder inside the old
muffler. I never had to test it, but you might give that a try

Thanks,

John C. Frost
President
Safety Technology Services, INC.
2627 Trailway Rd. SE
Huntsville, AL 35801
(256) 650-0335
john at frostnet.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Louis
Spitz
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2021 12:41 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] water lift muffler

John, Do you recall what the underside of the muffler looked like?  What
gasket did you use? Could you send me a poicture of the anti-vibration
strap?
Thanks so much.
Lou

> On Sep 19, 2021, at 10:47 AM, John Frost <johncfrost at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> That is a common failure for 320's. The fiberglass muffler develops 
> cracks because of loads and vibration. A mechanic in Chattanooga gave 
> me a temporary fix by grinding out the crack and filling it with 
> epoxy. That got me home. Catalina will make you a replacement but 
> requires a number of specific measurements and significant lead time. 
> You can also buy similar mufflers from other suppliers. The volume of 
> the muffler is important so that it doesn't fill during starting and 
> cause engine damage. When I replaced mine, I used a strap to hold it 
> down to minimize vibration stresses. Others have also added flex hose 
> on the inlet side to reduce stress
> 
> John
> 2009 C320MKII
> Hull  #1118
> Lake Guntersville, AL
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of 
> Louis Spitz
> Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2021 8:12 PM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: [C320-list] water lift mufflerl
> 
> I panicked when I saw water above the floorboards.Turns out after all 
> the panicking, checking thru hulls, etc., that the culprit was the 
> water lift muffler. Water was gushing from around the entire base. 
> With the engine off and all thru hulls closed, the water stopped 
> flooding. Now, how do I fix this thing? Any advice appreciated!!
> Thanks.
> Lou Spitz
> #195, 1995 C320
> 
>