Wrap your tuned pipe to keep the inside of your boat cooler!
When I built my I-Box I was a little bit concerned with heat build up inside
the hull. I know how hot a steel tuned pipe can 
get and wanted to
limit the heat generated inside the hull as much as possible. Since I was
building this boat so my daughters could also run it, I also wanted to do what
I could to prevent accidental burns. We've all touched a burning hot tuned pipe
at one time or another and I wanted to save the girls from having to learn the
hard way how painful this can be. It also happened that the pipe I wanted to
use was not really pretty (prototype pipe) so this would make it look much
better!
I ordered some 1" wide pipe wrap tape and stainless steel locking ties
from DEI (Design Engineering Inc). The tape is made of thick fiberglass weave
and is available in different colors. I ordered two 15ft rolls, but one roll
was sufficient to wrap the entire pipe and header.
Wrapping the header section was fairly easy as was the first half of the pipe.
When I passed the mid-section of the pipe the wrapping wasn't going so well.
The wrap would not form well around the converging cone and it just kept
slipping down to the stinger. After trying several times I realized it was not
going to work out. I could not wrap the entire pipe with one piece and would
have to do it in two steps.
To do the section from the stinger to the mid-section I split the tape in half
to get a 1/2" wide strip. This formed much better around the pipe. I also
used some high temp silicone on the pipe itself to prevent slippage of the
tape. I had no intention of removing the tape later on. I then started at the
flange end of the header and worked my way to the mid-section of the pipe using
1" wide wrap. Where both tapes meet I overlapped with the 1" strip
and secured it in place with one of the stainless steel locking ties. I also
secured the tape on the header with a locking tie.
I was quite happy with the end result. I thought it looked great! I then headed
to the lake and ran the boat for a good while and the tape held up perfectly.
It did not move at all and the inside of the boat was nice and cool. I could
actually touch the pipe with my hands without burning myself.
My application of this wrap was more for appearances but in theory it should
also help with performance by keeping the heat inside the pipe keeping the
exhaust gases temperature higher. I have not tested this however, I am quite
satisfied with the fact that it keeps the inside of the hull cool, I don't burn
myself if I accidentally touch the pipe and it also looks good!
Happy Boating!