Montego Muffler Project

[Tenna-Sea-N]

I installed mufflers on my 1987 Montego 3257 this weekend. The early 3257s came without mufflers just 4 straight pipes out the back. Needless to say I've held the reputation of the loudest boat on the dock.

CHOSEN MUFFLER: I wanted to maintain engine room space and keep the cost down, so the muffler of choice was a "Slip in" style silencer. The muffler looks like a beercan with holes punched in it and a baffle in the middle. They are designed to reduce the volume of High performance boats up to 475hp, while being easily removeable when noise is not an issue. Total cost was less than $400.00

INSTALLATION: It seemed like a simple enough project, remove the flapper, drill a hole in the tailpipe, insert the muffler, secure it with one 1/4 bolt, put the flapper back on. Before booking time in the sling to do the installation on shore, I tried to "Slip the muffler in place and found that it didn't fit. I found that I had to reduce the diameter by about one to two millimeters to get them to fit. This was accomplished with a simple Dremel tool. Rather than wait for the next lift appointment, I decided to put my cordless drill in a plastic bag and do the installation in the water. (I would advise the high and dry installation method).

RESULT: It's still loud, but it's no longer "Redneck Loud" The silencer was advertised with a 10db reduction at idol and 4-5 Db under power. I got less than expected noise reduction at idol, however, my neighbors were pleased with the result. I got better than expected result under power. Normal conversation is possible now under way. I've successfully passed the trophy for loudest boat on the dock back to the Detroit 671s.

Silencer photo below:

 

[Unknown]

Hmmm, that's interesting, Paul. So if I understand correctly it is installed right in that metal pipe that exits the transom, onto which the "flapper" (Salisbury Exhaust-Gard or similar) is clamped??? Perhaps I could use this in my boat. Are there any down sides to this installation/usage? Why didn't Carver use mufflers originally - just for economics or was there some other reason???

 

[Tenna-Sea-N]

Carver originally designed the Montego in the late 80's to appeal to somebody who wanted the room of the cruiser with the appeal of a "sport boat". They took the ugly boxey style of the Mariner, combined it with some express-boat stylings ripped off from the 34 Sea Ray, and came up with an ugly express cruiser with a lot of interior room. (I love it!) The flat deadrise, and elimination of prop pockets gave the Montego a speed advantage over Sea Ray. They pulled the mufflers off to give the Montego "a voice of authority" according to an artical written announcing the Montego's release in 1986. And of course, with the mufflers off, it feels like you're going 20 miles per hour faster than you really are.

The only installation downside was having to custom fit each baffle to each pipe, (which wasn't a big deal.) They didn't just come out of the box and slip into the tail pipe, as advertised. (maybe with some pipes they just slide right in, but not on my boat.)

You unclamp and remove the flapper. Then drill a 1/4 hole in the pipe. Insert the baffle and bolt it down. The flapper slips back into place without any extra effort and clamps back in place. The baffle bolts inside the pipe, the flapper clamps outside with no interfearance. I liked the "Livorsi" brand muffler specifically because of the bolting tab extending off the back of the baffle allowing you to install it in a tail pipe with as little as a half inch of pipe sticking thru the transom.

From a performance standpoint, I didn't notice any difference. I don't run my boat at WOT very often, so it's hard to judge lost horsepower. My guess is that on a cruiser, you won't notice any loss in horsepower. On a Go-Fast, if you need the extra mile or two per hour, pull them out when need speed, put'em in when you need please the neighbors. This muffler is actually designed for high performance boats. I've only seen this type of muffler advertised in 4" pipe size.