Re: Bad Exhaust Flapper Twice in 18 months. WHY?
With all the "space age technology???", ther is no excuse for not marketing a bullet proof flapper. Considering the price the marine industry charges for parts, there is no excuse.
This thread is really about proper maintenance and what a previous owner may have left for the next owner, whether by ignorance or choice.
So, please pardon me while I defend the Marine "higher prices", but it sounds like you want the price to go up!
Like the coffee pot the airforce ordered in the 80's that can make coffee upside down, sideways, zerogravity, 50 below, 250 above, wanted it for some 'round the clock duty command plane...the winning contractor made it and the cost was in the hundreds of thousands. Most airplanes would not need the extra engineering for a literal bullet proof coffee maker like that but you could get one. The coffee maker might cost as much as some planes.
Same with flappers or any other item designed to work within parameters plus safety factors, with proper cooling system maintenance the OEM ones as delivered can outlast the engine usage-wise. Now, even if the flapper could outlast a cooling system meltdown, the rubber exhaust hoses and other components including heat sensitive parts of the engine most likely did not make it thru with no fixes needed and the boat is in drydock anyway until the rest of the cooling system and all is fixed. Flappers seem like the least of the worries at that point and they are easy enough to fix compared to costs of ones that could never fail. And make ALL of those components (impellers, engines, exhaust, etc) to where they can tolerate a meltdown? Wow, does not bode well for entry level boating in my opinion.
19' Boat with normal duty flappers: $22,000 msrp
19' Boat with nuclear war safe flappers: $24,000 msrp
19' Boat that cannot be broken ever: $210,000 msrp*
Taking care of the entry level boat---"priceless" (in comparison to repair costs.)
Following the manufacturer's recommended schedule maintenance can save a lot of money and headaches and even disasters. You cannot just keep running an airplane, it needs to have the
operator take care of it to stay in the air. Same for boats (much more so than cars), I'm just sayin'....
*with special coffee maker: $460,000 msrp, call for quote.
