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On Friday I received my FAE Exhaust from the group buy and thought I'd share my install. I opted for the though hull install. The big difference between through hull and bracket from what I can tell is for through hull they give you a backing plate to help support the exhaust pipe.
The documentation was pretty good overall. The template they sent as part of the documentation was a little off. The holes were closer in than they showed on the template. I verified the backing plate lined up with the exhaust pipe and then altered the template so that the holes lined up with the exhaust pipe and backing plate. Also, what the template showed "UP" was my "DOWN". I had two hole at the top and one at the bottom.
Here are the tools I had on hand. Nothing fancy. You probably do want a lot of disposable gloves. 5200 is awful. Debond is a must. Shims were also really important. The rest were basic hand tools, a rubber mallet, a drill, and a caulking gun.
When you do this, it's a good idea to leave the wrap on the body of the exhaust. Take it off the part that goes through the hull but leave the rest on. If you use as much 5200 as they recommend, It's going to get all over the outside of the boat, pipe included.
I've read it elsewhere and it's true. Removing the old exhaust port was by far the worst part of this project. Use debond, a razor, some shims, and slowly work it off. As you build a gap, spray more debond to get better contact. I don't have pics of this but the instructions do a good job there. The screws holding the exhaust port on are through bolts. I went inside and held the nut while my partner took out the screws. They're really in there.
Then I taped up the form to drill my holes. A always with gelcoat, go in reverse until you're through the top layer.After that I stuck the FAE into the hole to verify the holes were lined up and to tape the area around the FAE for the 5200 that would eventually seep out all over the place,
I had a little bit of a problem with the through hull backing block. The inside of the hull is not flat. Like at all. I might could have cut the block down to make out fit after some trial and error. Instead I took some hdpe scraps I had to make some blocks to make the backing plate fit flat against the hull. Yes, there were gaps. No, I didn't get pics. Sorry, I had already put the 5200 on the pipe and didn't have as much time as I would have liked. If it leaks, I'll chip out the hdpe, cut down the backing plate and reseal back there. But it's on there pretty solid as is. I tacked it in place with 1.5" galvanized wood screws. This was the second hardest part of this project. It's really hard working a drill back there. I ended up using my 90 degree attachment which isn't great with wood screws.
From there we put the pipe through and attached it to the mounting plate. I would strongly recommend getting the caulk gun sized tube of 5200. You don't need that much but you definitely need more than a small tube. Once it was mounted it was a mess. 5200 is all over the place. Glad I taped off the area.
About 4 hours later I came back to clean off the excess 5200. The tape took care of most of it. On some of the tough areas I sprayed debond onto a rag, dabbed it on the area, and wiped the excess up after a few minutes. That was way easier than I thought it would be.
It takes a week to cure so we'll do a lake test next week. If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them. Sorry I didn't get better pics of removing the old exhaust port or anything from the time we put 5200 on the pipe until the pipe was screwed in.
Overall, it was a pretty straightforward project with some annoying moments. If I had to do it over again, I probably would've just done the bracket instead of through hull. The backing plate it kind of a PITA. But the Nautique pipe doesn't have a bracket so I didn't want to do one with this one. Overall, it's a great looking product at a great price from a vendor who gives us a good group buy discount every year. Pending a lake test, I'm very happy with it.
The documentation was pretty good overall. The template they sent as part of the documentation was a little off. The holes were closer in than they showed on the template. I verified the backing plate lined up with the exhaust pipe and then altered the template so that the holes lined up with the exhaust pipe and backing plate. Also, what the template showed "UP" was my "DOWN". I had two hole at the top and one at the bottom.
Here are the tools I had on hand. Nothing fancy. You probably do want a lot of disposable gloves. 5200 is awful. Debond is a must. Shims were also really important. The rest were basic hand tools, a rubber mallet, a drill, and a caulking gun.
When you do this, it's a good idea to leave the wrap on the body of the exhaust. Take it off the part that goes through the hull but leave the rest on. If you use as much 5200 as they recommend, It's going to get all over the outside of the boat, pipe included.
I've read it elsewhere and it's true. Removing the old exhaust port was by far the worst part of this project. Use debond, a razor, some shims, and slowly work it off. As you build a gap, spray more debond to get better contact. I don't have pics of this but the instructions do a good job there. The screws holding the exhaust port on are through bolts. I went inside and held the nut while my partner took out the screws. They're really in there.
Then I taped up the form to drill my holes. A always with gelcoat, go in reverse until you're through the top layer.After that I stuck the FAE into the hole to verify the holes were lined up and to tape the area around the FAE for the 5200 that would eventually seep out all over the place,
I had a little bit of a problem with the through hull backing block. The inside of the hull is not flat. Like at all. I might could have cut the block down to make out fit after some trial and error. Instead I took some hdpe scraps I had to make some blocks to make the backing plate fit flat against the hull. Yes, there were gaps. No, I didn't get pics. Sorry, I had already put the 5200 on the pipe and didn't have as much time as I would have liked. If it leaks, I'll chip out the hdpe, cut down the backing plate and reseal back there. But it's on there pretty solid as is. I tacked it in place with 1.5" galvanized wood screws. This was the second hardest part of this project. It's really hard working a drill back there. I ended up using my 90 degree attachment which isn't great with wood screws.
From there we put the pipe through and attached it to the mounting plate. I would strongly recommend getting the caulk gun sized tube of 5200. You don't need that much but you definitely need more than a small tube. Once it was mounted it was a mess. 5200 is all over the place. Glad I taped off the area.
About 4 hours later I came back to clean off the excess 5200. The tape took care of most of it. On some of the tough areas I sprayed debond onto a rag, dabbed it on the area, and wiped the excess up after a few minutes. That was way easier than I thought it would be.
It takes a week to cure so we'll do a lake test next week. If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them. Sorry I didn't get better pics of removing the old exhaust port or anything from the time we put 5200 on the pipe until the pipe was screwed in.
Overall, it was a pretty straightforward project with some annoying moments. If I had to do it over again, I probably would've just done the bracket instead of through hull. The backing plate it kind of a PITA. But the Nautique pipe doesn't have a bracket so I didn't want to do one with this one. Overall, it's a great looking product at a great price from a vendor who gives us a good group buy discount every year. Pending a lake test, I'm very happy with it.
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