Soundproofing Engine Compartment

[Allanbc]

On my Pearson 365, what originally passed for soundproofing material in the engine compartment has pretty much all fallen off. I am wondering what others have done for soundproofing the engine compartment. I've seen the soundproofing tiles from Sailor's Solutions and have seen blogs where people have used the 4'x8' sheets of soundproofing from Home Depot.

Any suggestions on what to try or what to avoid from those who have done this?

Thanks,
Allan

[Faster]

I like the foil-backed foam with a lead layer.. glues in easily with spray contact cement, easy to keep clean with the foil surface out. Looks tidy too. Around here it's about $60-70 per sq meter or so... In areas where you have no true divider or surface, you can hang it as a curtain. It's available in most marine supply stores.

[Sabreman]

We had the same problem. The old foam disintegrated and became a huge mess. On this boat and the last, I replaced the foam panels with new ones similar to those below. They are easy to cut and install.

Sound-stop Foam Panels

[blt2ski]

I redid my compartment with some 1" foam I got a WM last May. It was enough that this more or less slightly deaf person could hear crew talk a lot easier. IIRC it was $120'ish for a 3x6 sheet of the foam, with tape and nails to hold it in place. The backing was a peel back paper with glue already on it.

marty

[Faster]

Some more options:
Boat soundproofing by Acoustical Source

[jrd22]

Like Faster I've used the foil backed, lead lined foam, 1.5" thick. We replaced old foam that like yours was falling apart and it made a big difference.

Hamilton Jet sells all the different products and they have a lot of information on the subject. They have a store in Seattle and I'm sure they ship. Here's a link: no affiliation.

HamiltonJet Noise and Vibration Control

[dangc2000]

I was just going to put a post on this subject and saw this on the recent forum....I am looking at a San Juan 28 to purchase with a Yanmar diesel. Seems to run great but am struck by the noise and vibration it puts out especially down in the cabin( wife won't like that ). From what I've read this is a characteristic of this boat with this motor. The engine is simply surrounded by by it's wood compartment box and no further insulation. So my question is: Just how effective is the sound reduction material and what about vibration control? And once insulated, is there a worry of excess heat generation?....anybody have experience with this particular boat?

dan

[Faster]

The foam soundproofing will be quite effective.. esp compared to having had nothing there in the first place.. do check to see that you'll have clearance for an inch or more of soundproofing - some of these engine boxes are a tight fit.

It cannot, of course, do anything about the vibration. Have a close look at the engine mounts to be sure they are in good shape. If the vibration persists, esp underway and at speed, have the engine alignment checked carefully.

Heat buildup (in the engine box) may be greater, I suppose, with insulation, but it's not excessive since the engine is maintained at a reasonable temperature. If there's considerable length of un-cooled exhaust pipe you might want to specifically insulate that too.. but usually the mixing elbow is quite close to the block.

A nice feature is an engine box exhaust fan that runs while the engine runs to help dissapate/remove the heat and coincidentally some of the odors sometimes associated with a running engine. Running it for 5 minutes after shutdown will help even more.

[dangc2000]

Sounds ( no pun intended! ) good. Thanks for the advice.

DAn

[chef2sail]

Like Faster aND jrd i REDID THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT LAST YEAR AND IT MADE A huge DIFFERENCE. tHE OLD SOUNDPROOFING WAS TURNING TO DUST. sIMPLE TO INSTALL. tOOK ABOUT 1 HOUR.