My 2014 upgrades

[0627Devildog]

I wonder if there would be any concerns for folks boating in hotter climates, like A.Z. or Texas, for instance. . . . Be sure to keep us posted with your readings if you remember. We can always have a member with a similar boat take "before" readings. While not exactly scientific, it might show something worth knowing.

 

[Ronnie]

I agree and plan to post my baseline sound readings and results soon with temp readings to follow.

 

[Ronnie]

I completed my sound absorbing/deadening project today by reinstalling or resecuring the air filters/boxes, throttle cable mechanisms (it looks like the cables run from the throttle levers in the cockpit to these devices in the engine compartment which have a bundle of wires going to each engine) and the related cables. I also reattached the blower hoses, taped up any remaining seams and put a new seal around the fuel tank hatch opening. I may still trim down the original hatch material and reinstall it as well. Here are some pics but there is not much new to see.

I think I'm done with the big stuff this year, I may wait until Winter to install the amp.

 

[steined]

Awesome work Ronnie! Did you need longer screws for the throttle assemblies or air boxes or anything?

Thanks!

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks Steined. I almost got new bolts for the air filters (which I put on first) but I ended up removing the sound deadening material under them instead. As for the throttle cable assembly hardware, I just compressed the material that was there with the stock nut and bolt. Those four throttle bolts probably took me over an hour to tighten because of the obstructions (the fresh water tank and batteries, in my case). I was surprised by how hard it was to remove the stock seal around the fuel compartment, there goes another hour of my life. I'm happy with the appearance but have to wonder about the results. The baseline and readings and those I took after I redid the hatch and sealed the opening don't make sense (another reason I haven't published them).

How are you liking your install? Anything you'd change or forgot to address? I'm asking because I may need to take care of it/them too and I'd rather do it while I've still got the motivation (I'm sick of driveway boating).

 

[steined]

Thanks Steined. I almost got new bolts for the air filters (which I put on first) but I ended up removing the sound deadening material under them instead. As for the throttle cable assembly hardware, I just compressed the material that was there with the stock nut and bolt. Those four throttle bolts probably took me over an hour to tighten because of the obstructions (the fresh water tank and batteries, in my case). I was surprised by how hard it was to remove the stock seal around the fuel compartment, there goes another hour of my life. I'm happy with the appearance but have to wonder about the results. The baseline and readings and those I took after I redid the hatch and sealed the opening don't make sense (another reason I haven't published them).

How are you liking your install? Anything you'd change or forgot to address? I'm asking because I may need to take care of it/them too and I'd rather do it while I've still got the motivation (I'm sick of driveway boating).

I wish my install looked like yours! That looks super professional! I have to say it again!

I'm not all that impressed with the results. It helped but wasn't overwhelming for the amount of effort that went into it, especially once I raised the bimini and the water noise increased! I only did the fuel hatch and the engine hatch. I am convinced, and know for a fact, that there is a good amount of noise coming through the side walls into the storage compartments, when you lift a seat underway or while at idle, the engine noise increases quite a bit. I installed the pipe foam along those walls and that helped, so I want to either install the acoustiblok as a curtain from the "firewall" (in front of the batteries or water tank) or in the engine compartment along the side walls to contain that noise. I just haven't had the energy to do it yet. The acoustiblok is hard to work with since it isn't self-adhesive. Luckily I can screw it into the sidewalls pretty easily so I actually think it will be a little less work doing those sidewalls than the engine hatch, specifically with the acoustiblok that is. For the acoustiblock to work its best it needs to be pretty much no gaps and completely sealed, I just don't think I can get to that in that engine compartment. Your material looks more forgiving on the install (even if it isn't ultimately as "ideal" in an "ideal" installation but who knows if it is or isn't), we all know (at least now) an ideal installation is almost impossible in that engine compartment!

One of the things that concerns me a bit is the idea that I would be creating barriers for the sound to the front (engine hatch) and sides (side walls) then if I did the back wall (which I'm not sure would be easy with the acoustiblok needing adhesive and time to set), the only place for the sound to escape is below the engine into the hull liner and hull, which probably sets up a good amount of resonance. I'm not sure yet. I think I'm going to try the sidewalls and see how it goes. But with the "mufflers" being behind that back wall, it would probably help to cover that as well. We'll see. Maybe I'll put a layer in the cleanout tray hatch?

 

[Ronnie]

I just watched the boat test review of the Searay 250 slx with quiet ride technology. According to the review at cruise the engine volume was 82 db which allowed for conversation not yelling to be heard. So this will be my soft target for my sound reduction upgrade although I will be happy for any improvement over stock.

http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=3158

 

[0627Devildog]

Don't they use some kind of noise cancellation sound waves to achieve this. . . . .? You're setting a pretty high bar for yourself. ; )

 

[Ronnie]

Yes, SeaRay uses a lot of other tech in their quiet ride system but 82 db is just a soft target as I wasn't sure how quiet I needed to get it to have a conversation instead of yell at cruising speed. Most of the readings I've taken so far have been in the 90s throughout the above no wake mode RPM range, this has been with and without the stock sound deadening material in place so anything in the 80s, even high 80s, will be an improvement over stock. 82 db is also unrealistic since I don't use the same db meter or take the readings the same way that boat test does but I like having a target so an 82 db soft (stretch) target is as good as any.

 

[maboat]

@Ronnie - With all that reflective foil lining the engine compartment, are you concerned at all about running hot?

I doubt it makes any difference. Remember that engines are essentially air pumps. The twin 1.8L engines will be sucking 3.6 Liters of air every other revolution. At 2000 RPM, they are moving 3,600 liters of air through that engine compartment every minute.

 

[davel501]

I have been wondering about the parts of the exhaust back under the cleanout tray. The water box and a resonator are in there for each engine. I wonder what some dynamat on those would do.

 

[Ronnie]

I've thought about installing some sound deadening material in the water box compartment as well. If the water boxes get hot at all I would probably put the material on the walls of the compartment instead of on the boxes themselves. It would likely be a pita because of all the obstructions, the small opening and relatively small size of the compartment . Still, maybe nex year.

 

[Ronnie]

I finally got on the water after completing my sound deadening project. My crew thinks it mad a world of difference and I've noticed that I can hear and speak to people more easily / at a lower volume than before over the entire rpm band of both engines. However, my badline, along the way and final readings don't reflect much if any reduction in volume. I'm scratching my head on this one. Maybe the sound has just changed but the volume is the same. Maybe I jacked up the readings with inconsistent process. Not sure but I am happy that it made a noticeable difference to my crew and I. I will try and post the readings tonight but from memory there was only a 2 to 4 db decrease in volume from bare (no sound deadening material, not even stock) through project completion.

If someone comes up with a better testing method or wants to replicate what I did with their stock boat I'd be willing to take more readings.

Other misc work, I reinstalled the large stock piece of sound deadening material over the new stuff. It can't hurt and was easy to re-install (spray on some glue and press I into place).

I also out another go pro mount on the boat, this time on the center windows frame.

Lastly I tested an old xm radio antennae out on my boat. I placed it on the top of the towers tow point and it worked flawlessly. My plan is to mount a marine version there on an led light adaptor I bought last year.

Pics to follow.

 

[Ronnie]

Other small things on my list are to replace the 3.5 mm aux connection and install the 6 channel amp ASAP. Now that I can hear the stereo better over the engines noise I realize how shitty it is. Hopefully, the amp will be all I need.

 

[jonw9]

A 3 dB reduction in volume would indicate that the noise was reduced by half.

 

[Ronnie]

I know the Richter scale is like that, that is one magnitude of difference is something like ten times the difference but I thought db was was measured / read on a one to one basis.

Anyway, here are my (max) readings:

No material:
79 db at idle, 81 db at no wake mode 3, 90 db at 6k rpm (cruise), 98 db at wot.

New material at the stock locations and seal around the engine hatch:
N/a at idle, 85 db at no wake mode 3, 98 db at 6k rpm, 100 db at wot.

Installation complete including fuel tank hatch:
76 db at idle, 84 db at no wake mode 3, 95 db at 6k rpm, 98 at wot.

For comparison on the trailer (out of the water)
Engines off (just surrounding noise): 63 db
No material at idle 84 db
Installation complete 84 db.

If I was going just by the readings I'd say I was better off with no material at all. I will not put any weight on my opinion since I may just be in a fools paradise trying to justify the time and expense but my crew had no idea what the readings were they (and I) can tell that there is a huge difference in the sound and the volume we need to speak at now that the material is installed. Again, I'm open to taking new or additional readings in a different way or with a different application if anyone is willing to do the same on their 240 series boat for baseline comparison purposes.

Here are some pics of what I see on my db application.

 

[jonw9]

dB is a logarithmic scale. 10 dB difference is an order of magnitude, 3 dB is twice (or half if negative), and 6 db is 4x (or 1/4 the original if negative)

I would negate the trailer readings, as I am sure the water has a large attenuation effect, which would override the minimal gains in the matting on the upper surfaces. But it does indicate that the engines alone are 100 times louder than the background. However how often do you sit in the dry boat and chat with the engines running?

Your numbers seem to indicate that the "after" is marginally louder than the no material at all, but it is hard to say without background reading for each test as well. Meaning if the background noise was higher when you did your after measurements, then the overall reading would be higher as well.

At this point, without tearing it apart to gather additional data, I would be happy with the project knowing that the perceived reduction is there. Perhaps comparing to another "stock" boat at some point may provide some reinforcement.

 

[Ronnie]

@jonw9 thanks for the feedback and education. I'm somewhat disappointed by the readings but am happy with the perceived results, especially since my crew noticed the difference. About my crew, my son is at the "go with the majority" stage but my wife and her friends (the rest of my crew) are not, they don't are how much it costs or how long it took and their responses usually reflect that (i.e., raw truth from their perspectives). Their general opinion is that the boat is a lot quieter than it was before throughout the rpm range. Still, I'd like to compare stock to non-stock again in the future if the opportunity arises. Lastly, I'm wondering if I just changed the tone of the sound not the volume and if so whether that is the difference we are hearing.

 

[Ronnie]

Here are some pics of the most recent and planned upgrades I've done/am considering. I also ended up exchanging my previous 4 person tube with a new one since the old one developed a leak during the offseason that we just found out about last weekend, when we needed it.

 

[Glassman]

Time to stop @Ronnie

You need to go relax. Don't worry about the boat. Just go boating....

It took a life changing event for me to realize the boat was great just as it is...

And my wife told me so too, time after time, it was meant to relax on, get away from the zoo.

That day I just stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags.

It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And I puzzled and puzzled 'till my puzzler was sore.

Then I thought of something I hadn't before....

...What if boating, I thought, doesn't come from a store.

What if boating, perhaps, means a little bit more ?

Go be with your family, be with your friends, pack your board shorts and get out the door!






my thanks to Theodor Geisel for inspiring my life