Hello Cape Dory owners. Another season here in Ithaca, NY has started. I just wanted to give some feedback to those of you who took the time to answer my question late last summer about my Typhoon Senior. At that time, I was having a problem with exhaust fumes choaking my outboard when I had the well hatch closed. When open, exhaust fumes came into the cockpit and, of course, the noise was much greater. Your suggestions were that there were exhaust ports just under the power head eventhough the main exhaust went through the prop. Well, at the end of the season, I inspected the motor, a Mariner 8 hp and sure enough there were two small openings. Other onwers encountering this problem fabricated exhaust manifolds and vented them through the hull. Their solution worked very well for their boats. This past winter, I began looking for materials to fabricate such an arrangement and, in the process, came up with another approach which I have implemented and tested out on a short run up Cayuga Lake. My approach is thus: There are two vents on the top of the motor well hatch. One I left closed and the other has the curved vent on it. I found a Rule 3 inch diameter bilge blower which, after filing off the rim flange, fits nicely inside the curved vent. I wired the motor to the power pannel, which is fused, in the cabin and turn the blower on when I am motoring. With the hatch closed, the motor now runs without faltering and I do not smell or see any exhaust gas. The blower draws about 1/3 the output of the motor generator so I do not expect any operating problems. I installed the blower on the starboard vent as this side had clearance with motor. To assure that the blower stayed in place, I clamped the assembly with a 3-4 inch hose clamp. The blower does have a hum to it but I do not find it objectionable.
Again, thanks for all your feed back. I hope these approaches will help others.
Exhaust fumes in cockpit
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