1975 Ericson 27

Exhaust System

The exhaust system turned into a rather interesting part of this project. It is something that is superficially simplistic, but as I delved into it I soon discovered that there are some very real issues that must be taken into account. In my case, the original design has the engine below the waterline and the exhaust discharge in the transom above the waterline. I stayed with this basic layout. In addition, the original installation had a riser in the port cockpit locker. I have followed this also with a Vetus water lift muffler in the same basic location. Of note, don't go looking to buy one of this particular style. I stumbled on this as a never used item in a boat consignment type shop. Despite it's age, Vetus was very helpful in assisting me with the installation and placement of this and engineering of the system (I must also point out that I received much helpful input from the Ericson list hosted by Sailnet). Given where my engine is located and the transom exit, it works well to do the water injection in the cockpit locker and align the exit of the waterlift to have a straight shot to the discharge in the transom. Some of the factors that are being taken into account are positioning the components to prevent water back flow into the engine, either from overcranking or positional issues. The upper area of the bulkhead where the original riser had been mounted looked like it had taken a bit of a beating from heat. Given this, I decided I would give a go at a really simple heat shield made from aluminum flashing. Some of the photos in this page are "in progress", so dangling wires, hoses etc. have all been taken care of. Also, the pre-water injection side of the exhaust system is ultimately wrapped with insulating header wrap.


Exhaust exits on right of photo through bulkhead to a T at about a 45 angle. The bottom of the T has a bush and plug for emergency drain	On the other side of the bulkhead, looking up from the T towards port cockpit locker.	The other side of the prior photo looking down from the port locker to the T. Note heat exchanger in this and prior picture. I'll repaint it next year...	Zooming back a bit we see now a straight vertical rise of the hot side, over the loop and then down to the water injection and the Vetus water lift with it's discharge going directly to the transom at a slight decline.
	This is taken holding the camera at the outboard edge of the hull aimed towards the centerline. Vetus is in foreground with discharge to transom on right	The water injection fed from raw heated seawater discharge from heat exchanger
	The exhaust "header" wrapped in final form.	The rest of the exhaust system wrapped to the point of water injection

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Last update: 6/16/04