1999 Ski Nautique Defective muffler

In an earlier post I requested ideas on changing out the cup on a Rule bilge pump.

I was prompted to finally fix it because over the last few years and especially this year I have had more and more water in the bilge. A friend (Chris) that i ski with 4-5 days week also has a Ski Nautique but it is a 1998. He has noted several times that I must have a leak somewhere to always have water in the bilge. I told him I never remember a time when I did not have "some" water in the bilge. I am the original owner and I do all maintenance and most repairs.

So, finally we started trying to track down where the water was coming from.

We checked every hose clamp, every hose, basically anywhere water could come from.

We narrowed it down to the muffler or the rudder box..

With dog house , back floor and seat removed and a bone dry bilge we lowered the boat in the water and immediately spotted a small trickle of water coming from underneath the hull hugger muffler.

When we pulled the muffler off we found what had to be a factory defect on the port bow underside of the muffler. Notice what appears to be a glass patch on the bottom corner of the muffler. Also note I have "never" removed this muffler until today.In the 2nd photo you can clearly see another crack ( about 8 inches) in the fiberglass in the mid section of the muffler (see photos).

Last Photos are the after DIY fiberglass repair.

A whole lot cheaper than a new $800 muffler!

This is my 2nd Ski Nautique. The first was a 1985 2001.

Love my boat and really surprised at the existing patch on the bottom of the muffler.

If the proper maintenance was performed it probably would have been noticed before the muffler wore through hence causing the leak.

Just saying 

I would add some mat or biaxial cloth to reinforce the repair not just resin. Now seeing the pics with a better screen I see you did. Wouldn't be a bad idea to add a little extra mat on the corner where the tend to wear.

As for the muffler maintenance I check the clamps for tightness, visual check for chaffing/leaks, insure rubber pads are still in place that would probably surfice Keno.

 I use a drippless shaft seal so anytime I have water in the bildge I look to see where it's coming from. Guess it's the 33 years of flying helicopters that causes my OCD.