Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave R
I'm trying to think of a way a properly operating exhaust system could cause a boat to capsize. I cannot fathom why it would make a boat take on water. My boat's exhaust is wide open and completely submerged when not on plane, yet my boat does not sink becuase the exhaust has to travel upwards, above the waterline before turning down to exit out of my stern drive. I would think that the root cause was a design flaw or poorly executed modification that affected the height of the elbows on the exhaust system, not the location of the outlets or the lack of baffles within.
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The article (and the investigation) consists of two 12" x 16" pages with too many paragraphs to type out,
but I found a picture! 
You can tell it's a Fountain "by the
nose".
(I read that at www.winnipesaukee.com after a Fountain sank below Lake Winnipesaukee waters). 
With their very heavy iron engines, Fountains and most other GFBLs float (and idle) "stern-down"—and very visibly.
Intuition 
would tell us they're already prone to capsize.
Since twin 496 MerCruiser engines are heavy—and the 38' boat had so many of its crew
aft 
I suspect that even "factory-designed" exhausts would be overwhelmed when displaced below the waterline.
The article doesn't address such a "loading-fault" by the operator, but the operator
paid to have the boat raised from the bottom, and has likely omitted any data that could later prove incriminating.
(This is an
insured six-year-old boat).
1) So what happens when there are
two channels through which to sink a boat in this manner?
2) As
hazelnut has put-forward, wouldn't
real safety for New Hampshire boaters mandate that
all boats have "switchable exhausts" installed—so a Captain can save his boat and crew from a capsize and sinking?