[C320-list] Engine soundproofing

[Joe M]

So making hot water & charging batts on the mooring, that 30 horse engine
is sounding like 300. It is maddening at times. This is the winter I want
to knock that noise down.

Looking at the self stick panels from sailor solutions. They are 1” thick.
My only apprehension is I worry there is not much room to accommodate the
panels. The front engine cover seems very short on extra space.

Anyone use the panels with success? Installation went ok? And how much of a
noise difference?

Joe. 2002 Hull # 902

[islg...@aol.com]

I installed the panels you mentioned, 20% reduction in noise. In the front engine cover you need to make a cut out for the crank shaft. 
RichBarbara Rita 897

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On Wed, Oct 27, 2021 at 1:21 PM, Joe M<smith.b...@gmail.com> wrote: So making hot water & charging batts on the mooring, that 30 horse engine

[RONALD HODEL]

Joe, I am at a dock but my solution was to not run the most expensive thing on the boat (my engine ) to heat water and keep the boat warm. I’ve installed a hydronic heater and use that to heat the boat and the hot water tank, completely bypassing the engine cooling system, and for electricity I have 160 W of solar that is more than enough in Dana point California, to keep the batteries charged and the refrigerator running 24/7. It’s an expensive solution but it’s what I’ve chosen to do. I haven’t had the battery charger on in over half a year and we spend at least a couple of nights a week on the boat.

Ron Hodel
Lokomaikai #1070
Dana Point, ca

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> On Oct 27, 2021, at 10:21 AM, Joe M <smith.b...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> So making hot water & charging batts on the mooring, that 30 horse engine

[Joe Luciano]

While I haven’t installed this product on my boat, I have used it in an RV to insulate from road noise and it works very well in that application. The best part is this stuff is thin which will not impede the rather tight fitting engine compartment. It’s called Dynamat, and the best of the best material available on the market for this purpose. The difficulty in soundproofing a Catalina engine compartment is the fact that all of the edges where compartment access is necessaary will still be uninsulated. So, given that fact, it may help some, but not work as well as in a vehicle road noise application where you can pretty much cover everything except door edges.

Here is an example:

https://www.amazon.com/Dynamat-10455-Self-Adhesive-Deadener-Xtreme/dp/B00020CB2S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=soundproofliv-20&linkId=a213b2c1aa194aa10724935b7abefcf3&language=en_US&th=1 <https://www.amazon.com/Dynamat-10455-Self-Adhesive-Deadener-Xtreme/dp/B00020CB2S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=soundproofliv-20&linkId=a213b2c1aa194aa10724935b7abefcf3&language=en_US&th=1>


Joe Luciano
# 1044

> On Oct 27, 2021, at 10:21 AM, Joe M <smith.b...@gmail.com> wrote:
>

[Scott Thompson]

I used the kit from West Marine, which is foam plus some heavy material
covered by shiny foil. I had to remove a bit of the foam near the main
engine pulley, and then covered that up with foil tape that came with
the kit. It worked fine for many years to reduce noise somewhat, but
things were still pretty loud below with the engine running. The only
maintenance during those years was adding a bit of the foil tape here
and there to repair the nicks that inevitably occurred now and then when
removing or reinstalling the engine covers.

That is, until last year when the foam fell apart, letting everything
sag towards the engine. So I pulled it all out. It left behind a sticky
layer of adhesive and bits of foam that have proved very difficult to
remove. I spent many hours working with Gunk adhesive remover, gloves,
and scrapers last winter to try to clean up the inside of the covers,
and I was not completely successful.

So I'm thinking that if I try again I do not want to use a product that
relies on adhesive for installation.

In the intervening years I installed good solar panels so we now find we
do not need to run the engine at anchor often to charge the batteries.
And if we need hot water we can always heat some on the stove if the
tank has gone cold. That does not work for showers, obviously, but most
of our cruising is in warm weather where cold showers are fine.

Scott Thompson
Surprise, #653 (1999)

--
Scott Thompson
Surprise, #653

[Brian/Carol McLamb]

Yes. I have benefited from them for 10+ years. You are correct that some trimming around the front of the engine is necessary, but well worth the time to cut and fit In place. Serenity #1075.

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> On Oct 27, 2021, at 1:21 PM, Joe M <smith.b...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> So making hot water & charging batts on the mooring, that 30 horse engine

[Chris Burti]

I did this project using the Soundown panels and it was a relatively easy
job. I recommend that you use the optional pin hangers. The only place that
it was tight was the pulley on the front of the engine. I ran the engine
and let the pulley cut its own clearance and then taped it with the foil.
There was a noticeable reduction in noise and heat. I used my iphone to
run a decibel check and don't recall the numbers, but I think it was a
15-20% reduction. Still noisy, but better and worth the effort. The only
real downside was that the covers are very heavy now. This led me to
installing an 8" inspection plate on the side of the aft cover so that I
can check the oil without having to remove the cover... which was a good
idea anyway.

Fair Winds,
Chris Burti
Commitment #867
Farmville, NC

[Joe M]

Wow thank you all for the replies! I will move forward with the project,
watching closely the clearance for pullies.