Connecting the exhaust pipe to the exhaust elbow can be problematic for a couple of reasons: it gets hot and it gets wet. Oh yeah, and it needs to be air tight so you don’t end up leaking exhaust into the boat.
All this is complicated by the fact that the old asbestos packing they used to make up this joint is no longer safe or available. But there is a pretty good substitute. I use flax packing, like that used in a stuffing box, and Permatex no. 2 non-hardening gasket compound. Be sure and use copious amounts of the gasket compound. Just slather it on very thickly. You want it to creep into every crevice that might leak water or exhaust. Then screw it on and tighten. Problem solved.
