Hi All:
Engine noise in my cockpit to way too high and I want to add more soundproofing. Lining the whole engine room seems daunting given the surface area but adding temporary baffles seems equally complex. Has anyone done battle with his problem. I upgraded to a Perkins Prema 50 a number of years ago and added a Walker Airsep to try and quite things down but it only lowered the frequency of he noise. Just put in new motor mounts a well (cushyfloat).
Any and all suggestions welcome.
By the way, just returned from St. Thomas after visiting a friends boat and saw 2 DE 38s. One in pretty bad shape (derelict ?) on a mooring and the other (in better shape) at a mooring off Water Island, name on the boat was HYDRA, home port St. Thomas . Never got to talk to the owners on either.
Carmine
S/V TOPAZ, 1975 DE 38
Our engine is noisy also. It is the original 32 hp universal/kubotu diesel. I'm not sure what would quite it down other than insulating the engine compartment or building a engine box around the engine. A newer balanced higher rpm diesel would probably help. More like a car engine than the traditional marine engine. I think that without a lot!!! of work and expense their isn't a lot that will help much. Make sure the sound and heat insulation on the companionway stairs is good.. Maybe some sound absorbing paint inside the engine compartment? insulating all the exhaust hose from back of engine to thru hull and the water lift muffler might help some.. depending on the muffler though it might let it get to hot over time if it is a composite? I'm stretching here and am not sure about some of these.
Easy ones to do are insulating exhaust run, making sure the companionway and bulkhead are insulated,
harder ones are insulating the whole thing, painting the whole thing, changing out the exhaust system to a different configuration that is quieter, building a smaller insulated engine box that gets adequate ventilation.
See my post elsewhere about insulation. Armaflex is both thermal insulation and sound insulation, made of closed cell foam and also has a fire-retardant property. Have not installed yet, plan to. I have also seen some references of truckers and truck racers installing this material underneath the hoods of their vehicles as sound proofing for their hot rod engines.
Currently Oasis has fiberglass insulation in the engine room on all sides, works well for heat but the sound passes right through.
Also vibration is another aspect, not just in the engine room, a simple example is the clinking of silverware can be crazy, so for example I stow these vertically so there is less jiggling and put towels between pots, etc.
Soundown (Salem, MA) has a range of soundproofing material available. I did the inside of the hull and the bulkhead/stairs forward of the engine in Perelandra. It helped, but I still have to do the overhead for what I hope will be an effective solution. I plan to do that this spring. The soundproofing is made up of two layers of foam with a thin lead or vinyl sheet between them. One face is covered with a reflective mylar film, and the other is adhered to the bulkhead with spray adhesive, and screws with thin fender washers at about every 12" or so.
http://www.soundown.com/AI.htm
I'll see if I can find any pictures to post.
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