Bertram33 User Forum

hello again and thanx for your help on all my rookieness, i am getting some worm water dribbling back from my stb. muffler area running to my bildge in transom area, it started after i rebuilt my stb. engine, maybe something was not connected quite well , but my question is that in worst case scenario do i have to remove my cockpit cover to fix or replace my stb. muffler??? as always thanx in advance...Pete

Pete, It's a 99% chance that what is actually leaking is the Velocijet connection under the gunwale. A good many of the posters on this forum have had to fix that leak. Al

Pete/Al, Since he rebuilt his engine before this started I'd bet that it is the hose at the muffler inlet. The hose material collapses slightly over time, leaving less than ideal tension on the clamp. When it gets tugged on to remove exhaust parts, it loosens up enough to leak. The only way to fix it is to pull the deck. I replaced my clamps with double T-bolt clamps. The good part is, you'll get the chance now to change the fuel fill hose and clean it up in there.

al what is the velocijet thingy anyway??? and where is it??

Not to steal Al's thunder, but the velocijet is an exhaust system with two sets of outlets.. one which discharges mostly cooling water exits in the usual way through the transom, while the second exits about 2/3 of the way up the side a foot or so forward of the transom, and discharges mostly exhaust gasses. This outlet is semi-affectionately known to us here as the "mail slot", because that is what it looks like. I have read somewhere this is supposed to discharge the diesel exhaust outboard and away from the boat, while the normal mixed exhaust through the transom allows diesel exhaust gasses to get sucked along and into the cockpit by the vacuum created when the boat moves forward. The rectangular ports have a transition piece behind them which takes the round exhaust tubing and transitions it to the rectangular shaped opening. When I bought my boat the surveyor noted there were exhaust leaks inside the panels under the port and starboard gunwales. These were caused on both sides by the fiberglas transition piece having cracks in it. I removed both and repaired and reinstalled them. Problem solved! Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC Wilmington, NC

Personally I don't like the velocijet exhaust system. It's a place to leak. Although mine hasn't leaked. On other diesel boats I've owned I never had trouble with the exhaust in the cockpit or even a smoked up transum. But I do have to clean the area around the mail slot after I take the boat out. Buzz buzzk 1988 Bertram 33 FBC Buzz Off Morhead City, NC

Not to mention , when you start the boat at the dock, if someone is standing near the outlet, it will sneeze all over them. Great fun. It would make sense to rule out the velocijet system before taking the deck off since it's easy but my money is on the loose hose clamps.

Personally, I don't have any opinion one way or another as to how effective the split exhaust system is.. I repaired my transition pieces because they were leaking.. I suppose I subscribe to the old adage "If it works, don't try to fix it!". I have them, they work, and yes... occasionally when you start the engines they do spritz out a couple of gallons of raw water onto the float.. fun in a crowded marina at times.. but they are there, so I keep them. Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC Wilmington, NC

They make our boats much quieter than most comparitively powered boats. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... sabeth.jpg[/img]

I'm glad they do something good. Were they standard on both gas and diesel boats? Buzz buzzk 1988 Bertram 33 FBC Buzz Off Morehead City, NC

Buzz, I have by far, the quietest inboard on my dock. It can actually be a disadvantage sometimes. I have a difficult dock to get into & oftentimes no one comes over to grab my lines since they didn't hear me coming in. Al

thanx guys i found out this morning where the velocidoolies are and were from a friend at my marina he also said to have my mech. check the hose clamps before i start to take cockpit off. BTW if i do have to take the cockpit off, any secrets or suggestions before i go death com 4 or 5...Thanx a million AGAIN..Pete

Buzz, I always thought they were unique to the gas boats as I had never seen a diesel boat with them. However, Frank B's boat has them and his boat came from the factory with Cats. His boat seems to be unique though as his boat is an 83 and it appears as though it may have come from the factory with inch and a half shafts as well. Bertram didn't use inch and half shafts in any of the 33's until 87 and that was on gas boats. BTW, You can't get to the muffler clamps these guys are talking about without taking the deck up. Pete, You'll need to cut the caulking around the edges and you'll need to unbolt the fighting chair bracket from the bulkhead in front of the gennie. This is easily done with two guys. One getting a wrench on the bolts via the fuel sender hatch and the other via the gennie. Finally, after unscrewing the ladder from the deck, you'll just need to cut the caulking between the top of the after bulkhead and the deck itself. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth Marblehead, MA [img]http://www.bertram33.com/photogallery/p ... sabeth.jpg[/img]

I'll have to second Frank's motion. As soon as you apply any sort of twisting or turning motion on the exhaust hoses caused by removing the manifolds, the muffler clamps break loose. My clamps were all rusted and broken and the hose was able to spin freely. This is what started my 2 year, total refit project. I couldn't just stop there! 1988 Sportfish Attitude Adjustment II Fort Lauderdale, FL

A few of us have had this problem. I still have something leaking on the Port muffler. Must have been 2 years ago now, I pulled the deck, fixed the mailboxes, put in all new clamps (the expensive ones). Fired it up, and everything was dry. Put the deck back down, and all was well for awhile. Then I start getting more spitting water when you fire off the Port engine, and I get raw water in the bilge while underway. Not a lot, but enough to annoy me. So I'm thinking...crack in the bottom of the muffler, maybe I tightened the clamps too tight and cracked where the hose slides on. It's not the hose, I replaced them too. So up with the deck again...but not this week. Gene Dugan Boca Raton, Fl. "Nauti Marie" 1989 33 FBC