Love this thread. Great job on the specs.
However, my thought process works a little different than yours. The way I combatted the noise of the exhaust on my Sunsport 242 was to increase the decibel of the stereo system. Seriously.
At one point, I did think about FAE install but it has mixed reviews. Yes they work...when they stay attached to the boat. Referring mainly to aftermarket on older inboards.
Mufflers are cheap as I know several friends and family included that have had issues with them. My Sunsport 242, which has the ULTRA barrel style muffler, has now decided to implode. The baffles have come loose inside and it sounds like rocks in a washer machine. So, I'm going muffler delete using FAE straight pipes. I don't think it will make it any louder and I honestly love the sound of my inboards.
I'm at the lake...in an inboard...what's not to love about that sound?