Velocijet Fumes

[Justinf89]

Another topic about velocijet mailbox slots. Every time my family or friends come onto MY Bertram, I always hear complaining about the fumes in the back when idling around such as when fishing. Quite frankly, I'm tired of the complaining about my boat. I've tried explaining that it's just a Bertram thing to get over it but no one cares. Anyway, what I'm getting at, the boats going up on the hill this Tuesday and I'm contemplating changing the mufflers and tips over to the 5 or 6" that pcm 454's require, to go straight out the back, bypassing the mailboxes all together. My question is that is this going to be just as bad? I hate to make my Bertram not original but I'll do what I have to. Another issue I have is that the mailbox slots will stay, as I have no intentions of doing glass work. I was just thinking about stuffing 5200 in there, of course making it presentable. Any and all ideas are much appreciated. Thank you.

[dougl33]

I believe the whole point of the velocijet system was to reduce/eliminate the station wagon effect. While I have diesel now, I never had anyone complain. Maybe you have a leak in the system? It's quite likely that the outlets have broken away from the inside of the hull and you are dumping exhaust in to the hull. If this is the case, its an easy fix. Do a search on the site. I would not recommend changing it out.

[little doc]

I have diesel in a 35, but I only have fumes in the cockpit under acceleration. The rest of the time I don't smell exhaust at all (almost). Are the exhaust line pulled off the velocijet ports? That seems to be a recurring problem. Is there a leak in the system somewhere else? Good luck Scott.

[IRGuy]

As Doug said, the whole purpose of the Velocijet exhaust system is to get the exhause gasses away from the stern of the boat so they don't get sucked back into the cockpit when the boat is moving. When I bought "Phoenix" there was a terrible odor of diesel exhaust fumes in the cockpit, so much so that the surveyor noted this in his report. When I started looking for the source (sources) I found what Doug mentions above, namely that the transition piece which is at the end of the round flex house and transitions to the rectangulat mailbox slot via a 90 degree bend was cracked, which allowed the exhause hose to drop off. Almost all the exhaust gasses were going into the space under the cockpit side decks.. some was still leaving through the slots, but most was not. These transition pieces are fiberglas. I removed and repaired them. Upon reinstallation and reattachment of the flex hose the bad odor went away. Before I would monkey with your existing exhaust system I would look carefully at these items.. this might be your only prooblem. Another concern.. occasionally.. usually when you increase your engine speed very quickly.. a gush of a few gallons of raw water will come out of the mailbox slot. If the exhaust hose is disconnected this water will be released inside the space under the cockpit side deck! The positive side of this water release is that it is fun to watch the tourisis jump when they are looking at your boat and while in neutral you quickly increase throttle and about 10 gallons of water comes gushing out at their feet! Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC Wilmington, NC

[buzzk]

I don't like the Velocijet exhaust either. It's a plain to clean where the exhaust comes out of those jets. But I haven't had any complaints about exhause gases in the cockpit. But mine work so why change them but I have thought about changing them. Buzz

[IRGuy]

Buzz... After spending about 6 years of my career in what my employer called "technical service engineering", and another 8 or so years managing the tech service engineering group, I subscribe to old saying.. "If it works, don't fix it"! As far as I am concerned, (with my boat having the Velocijet "mail slots") whether I like them or not, they work. If I was going to remove them I would suspect I will need to redo the whole exhaust system to account for the fact that your exhaust gasses will all be going out your transom. Larger outlets on the stern, larger hose, some changes to whatever is hidden from view.. I suspect most of us with 20-35 year old boats have plenty of other places to spend our money. I also suspect each diesel engine has it's own unique set of operating parameters.. I ran the boat 170 nm in two days coming up from Charleston, with only a slight hint of soot on the hull sides.. but I have seen other B33s with big ugly areas of soot. Maybe I am just lucky, but I will keep the system as it is and if I start to get soot I will just clean it off. Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC Wilmington, NC

[buzzk]

Usually my boat doesn't soot up bad but when the conditions are right it will soot up some. Now that I'm using Rejex it does come off with a little soap and water without using any elbow grease. Before I used Rejex if the soot dried on it was hard to remove. Wax didn't work as good as Rejex for me. Buzz

[dougl33]

I do have sooting issues, but I've been using rejex for about 4 years (in fact I just put the first coat on today). I've thought about getting rid of the velocijets to keep things clean, but I will say that my boat is a little quieter than Bill Dunlop's. That being said, I don't smell fumes any more so on Bill's boat than mine.

[Justinf89]

I appreciate all the insight guys, I think I will leave them alone, although they are in perfect condition and have not "detached". I took the boat out today with my family and no complaints, even after I asked about the smell. I really appreciate the help, Justin.

[IRGuy]

Justin... Just to be sure.. I suggest you at least check the large hose type clamps that hold the flex exhaust hose to the transition pieces.. mine had fallen off on both sides (probably because the cracks in the transition pieces reduced the clamping pressure). Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC Wilmington, NC