What is the best sound deadening product

[PEARCE]

I used the West Marine stuff in my boat and I'm pleased with the results. I used a sheet on the engine compartment lid and I cut a sheet in half to do each side of the engine compartment. I have the gullwing doors for rear storage access on my vintage 230 and I put the insulation inside those compartments on the engine room wall. I can barely hear the motors at idle on the water. I left the factory foam insulation in place and just scrapped away where I needed to glue the anchors for the new insulation. The West Marine stuff is quite heavy for what it is.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Of note... the foil tape that comes with the West Marine kit is crap! It doesn't stick worth a crap, so you are better off picking up a roll of foil tape from Home Creepo in the HVAC section or order online. The tape sold for HVAC ductwork will stick for years.

 

[Ronnie]

I have to say @Ronnie , that is a remarkably clean and professional looking install. There is no way I could do that install. You had to have removed 30 hoses to get into some of those places. I am guessing yours is MUCH quieter after that. In all of your pics, I can only make out one area that I even see seams in. Very nice work.

Thanks for the compliment Mel.

 

[steined]

I have installed plywood on both sides blocking the under seat storage and the channel behind the seats from the engine bay. If I add sound deadening to the plywood, the hood and behind the fuel tank I should be covering most of the area where the sound can come foreward.

I think that's a good plan. As for material. I don't have the best answer. I think Dynamat is easier to install than the Acoustiblok as it is self adhesive, however it isn't a

Thanks for the compliment Mel.

I agree Ronnie. That is TOP notch work! I wish I could accomplish that!

 

[Trevor Shipman]

So @Ronnie did it make a big enough improvement? Trying to decide it it's worth the time an money?

 

[jfkraus]

I installed Acoustiblok (http://www.acoustiblok.com/marine.php) on the engine cover over the winter. I'm planning on doing the fuel tank cover as well. We're taking it out on the water for the first time Memorial Day, but initial on-land results sound good! If all goes well, I'll put this stuff everywhere.

 

[Ronnie]

So @Ronnie did it make a big enough improvement? Trying to decide it it's worth the time an money?

I think it's worth going full bore on the 230s to eliminate the whine that they produce at the higher rpms. If I could do it again on the 242 I would limit the effort and expense to adding bulb seal around the hatch and filling the gaps between the side walls of the engine compartment and the hull. The 240s are already quiet compared to the 230 hos so I would start small on the 240s and Refine as / of necessary, as determined by you and / or your spouse.

 

[MNdrifter]

I put Soundown on the walls and hatch of the engine compartment. It helped but I still wasn't happy. I put my phone on the engine and took some video as I closed the hatch. I could see light at the corners. I added an extra strip of Soundown to complete the seal. That really did the trick. Make sure you seal the hatch completely.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

Through some car forums, I have seen statements that said that Eastwood's sound deadening offerings are much cheaper and just as good as Dynamat.

 

[steined]

I think it's worth going full bore on the 230s to eliminate the whine that they produce at the higher rpms. If I could do it again on the 242 I would limit the effort and expense to adding bulb seal around the hatch and filling the gaps between the side walls of the engine compartment and the hull. The 240s are already quiet compared to the 230 hos so I would start small on the 240s and Refine as / of necessary, as determined by you and / or your spouse.

As I was doing the oil change this past weekend allowing the engines to warm up, I closed the hatch and listened around the side walls of the engine inside the storage compartment. There were some areas where it was loud and once pressed up against the other walls it would quiet, so the pipe insulation / bulb seal between engine compartment and storage is my next area of attack.

The other area I noticed was louder / resonating was the clean out hatch where the waterbox / mufflers are located. I think I might throw a layer of Acoustiblok on that hatch as well. It can't hurt!

 

[JAUGA82]

Hi Ronnie, I just did the same thing for my engine hatch seal. If anyone else is interested, spraying the inside of the pipe insulation with spray adhesive before applying it is pretty much the only way to get it firmly secured. It only comes with a 1/2" strip of adhesive on the edges, and it's not sufficient. The good news is, this made a significant reduction in noise. Enough that I'm satisfied not doing anything else. However, the engine hatch now sits higher than its supposed to bc of the thicker insulation. It latches securely with just a little more force than previously required. Are you having this same problem? I have a feeling it's because of the insulation that runs across the top, but I don't want to start pulling it off and testing because of the mess it will create due to the spray adhesive I applied. I've included some pics below. Any help is much appreciated.

View attachment 6684 I've got more detail or will have more detail in my 2014 upgrades post but I just completed my sound deadening project so this is all very fresh.

What: 17 linear feet (1' x 4.5') of 1" thick peel and stick fire and water resistant foam with a reinforced foil / reflective face and a roll of foil tape.
Where: Replaced all hatch material (and added a little back), surrounded the engine compartment from the level of the engine mounts creating a dome like cover over both engines. Also put on the bottom of the fuel tank cover and part of the compartment.
Time: About 20 hours
Cost: Around $400
Tests: via a decibel app on an iPhone 4s with: a) no insulation at all, b) just the hatch and bulb seal (on the water and trailer), c) after the project completed.

I don't know if it is going to work but my usual crew and I thought it worked well on the Yamaha SX230 HO I used to have and the engines in my 242 only rev to 8K instead of 10K, so I am expecting at least similar results.

Here are some fresh pics.

@Bruce , I think we are of the same mind on this. That is, try and isolate the engine sound/noise to somewhere other than the cockpit. I've stated this before but I'll never do this again myself. If I could afford to pay someone that I trust doing it I would.

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[Bruce]

Hi Ronnie, I just did the same thing for my engine hatch seal. If anyone else is interested, spraying the inside of the pipe insulation with spray adhesive before applying it is pretty much the only way to get it firmly secured. It only comes with a 1/2" strip of adhesive on the edges, and it's not sufficient. The good news is, this made a significant reduction in noise. Enough that I'm satisfied not doing anything else. However, the engine hatch now sits higher than its supposed to bc of the thicker insulation. It latches securely with just a little more force than previously required. Are you having this same problem? I have a feeling it's because of the insulation that runs across the top, but I don't want to start pulling it off and testing because of the mess it will create due to the spray adhesive I applied. I've included some pics below. Any help is much appreciated.

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I would like to see pictures of the speakers in the seats!

 

[JAUGA82]

Hi Bruce, they're the Fusion 8" speakers that are about $100 on Amazon. The rest of my boat is JL, but I didn't want to drop $500 on speakers for that location. Here's some pics I took when I had the seats off. I had to relocate the port air vent and the drain hose that runs from the top of the engine hatch threshold. As others have said, the sound is a little muffled but is significantly audible when on the swimdeck or in the water behind the boat. If I hadn't already taken the seats off, it probably wouldn't be worth doing. But since I had the seats removed to be re-upholstered, and i wanted to add LEDS, I think it was definitely worth it since I was already going to be running wires.

I would like to see pictures of the speakers in the seats!

I would like to see pictures of the speakers in the seats!

 

[JAUGA82]

Thanks Ronnie. So, yours doesn't sit higher than it did originally, after installed the hatch seal?

Hi Ronnie, I just did the same thing for my engine hatch seal. If anyone else is interested, spraying the inside of the pipe insulation with spray adhesive before applying it is pretty much the only way to get it firmly secured. It only comes with a 1/2" strip of adhesive on the edges, and it's not sufficient. The good news is, this made a significant reduction in noise. Enough that I'm satisfied not doing anything else. However, the engine hatch now sits higher than its supposed to bc of the thicker insulation. It latches securely with just a little more force than previously required. Are you having this same problem? I have a feeling it's because of the insulation that runs across the top, but I don't want to start pulling it off and testing because of the mess it will create due to the spray adhesive I applied. I've included some pics below. Any help is much appreciated.

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[swatski]

Hi Ronnie, I just did the same thing for my engine hatch seal. If anyone else is interested, spraying the inside of the pipe insulation with spray adhesive before applying it is pretty much the only way to get it firmly secured. It only comes with a 1/2" strip of adhesive on the edges, and it's not sufficient. The good news is, this made a significant reduction in noise. Enough that I'm satisfied not doing anything else. However, the engine hatch now sits higher than its supposed to bc of the thicker insulation. It latches securely with just a little more force than previously required. Are you having this same problem? I have a feeling it's because of the insulation that runs across the top, but I don't want to start pulling it off and testing because of the mess it will create due to the spray adhesive I applied. I've included some pics below. Any help is much appreciated.

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If the hatch is closed/locked in the #2 pic, I would worry there is way too much stress on that hinge, it may pop up unless some of the insulating material is removed.

 

[Ronnie]

Hi Ronnie, I just did the same thing for my engine hatch seal. If anyone else is interested, spraying the inside of the pipe insulation with spray adhesive before applying it is pretty much the only way to get it firmly secured. It only comes with a 1/2" strip of adhesive on the edges, and it's not sufficient. The good news is, this made a significant reduction in noise. Enough that I'm satisfied not doing anything else. However, the engine hatch now sits higher than its supposed to bc of the thicker insulation. It latches securely with just a little more force than previously required. Are you having this same problem?

My engine hatch felt a lot tighter / required more force to close after I installed the pipe insulation material but it did not shift up as much as yours has. I suggest that you remove the sections of insulation that are causing it to lift (you should be able to tell by what areas of the insulation are most flattened out) and replace those sections with thinner pipe insulation material. The seal should not have to be as tight as yours is to work. You could also just move the insulation inward onto the underside of the hatch so that it creates a seal between the hatch and the compartment when the hatch is closed. Other than the look of the offset which isn't bad IMHO continued use as is could rip the hinges out of your hatch or hull.

By the way, I hear you in the mess removing the current material will leave behind, I replaced my pipe insulation with bulb seal a season or two ago, removing all the adhesive and foam left behind was a lot easier with the help of goof off and goo gone.

I too like your install of speakers at the back of the engine hatch. It looks clean/stock. On a semi - related note I'm wondering if the hatch from a 2015/2016 242 (with the storage compartment built into it) will fit on my boat? I'd love the extra storage space but chances are the cost would be prohibitive and I'm not skilled or dumb enough to try and modify that hatch I have now.

 

[ptwb]

Some people are going way overboard trying to 'deaden' the sound. At least some of those that have gone way overboard have had the guts to admit, it didn't help as much as they'd thought. Also, people need to realize the sound characteristics of the newer boats is different from the older mr1s so keep that in mind when reading posts.

For my 07 AR230.....

There is an easy cheap way to test what improvements you will get before going through all the trouble. WITHOUT A DOUBT, IMO, the single biggest source of the sound issue is that the engine hatch itself doesn't even close and seal tight against the boat. I could reach under the lip and there were huge gaps along that water drainage channel. The pipe insulation around the border is the best trick and easiest way to see what improvements you will get. And you don't even need to bother adhering it at first. Just pick a few of them up and keep them handy for your next outing. Set it in place carefully and hold it as you close the hatch and you can easily do before/after comparisons and for us, it was amazing the difference we heard doing this test out on the water. If you feel it's made an improvement (which for us was huge), then you can decide to either just adhere that pipe insulation or buy something else. I bought some automotive rubber bulb seal for the bottom and some 3/4" thick foam strips for the vertical sides and top.

For the storage compartment test, I bought some cheap misc cut 3" thick foam from joans and fit it into the sides like a bulkhead, but I didn't feel that made that much of an improvement and on the driver's side I didn't like the idea of loosing access to that space. My drivers side storage is almost always full of towels (my family goes through a ton) so maybe that's why I didn't hear much improvement from that.

If you really want to bother with the floor fuel cover (assuming you can remove all those bolts), then I'd 1st just stuff that space with towels and foam to see if you hear a difference. I didn't bother going this far. Also, that floor hatch is already pretty heavy, I don't think making it heavier is really going to help that much more.


And so, I find this post, having finished scraping away all the foam from my engine hatch as it had become brittle and was coming apart and making a mess. Some of the add'l seal I had placed around the hatch opening had also come apart over the years.

I bought 2" thick eggcrate to replace on the engine cover, and I am hoping that will seal tight enough against the lip on it's own as I don't want to have to put back the other rubber bulb/foam stuff I had put on around the edge (and had become a mess from opening/closing). I'd like it if I could keep all the sealing stuff on the hatch. I went ahead and also got 1" eggcrate, and I may just line the sides of the engine bay on the those plywood sheets with the 1" and get that to seal up tight against the hull as there are gaps between the plywood and hull also. I had tried removing those two large side plywood sheets to make better ones but couldn't actually remove them from the bay. Even the little boards at the front angle coming inward have gaps into the storage area and I will try to seal those too. And also there are big gaps for the fuel lines etc going into the fuel tank area and I will just stuff those with foam. Whatever foam I have left over, I may just go ahead and stick it to the underside of the top hull inside those storage areas although I have no idea how much that will help.

Now I'm off to try and make some templates for the new foam to go on the cover. I was going to just stick some posterboard to it and trace/cut out a template.

 

[fairpilot]

This was recommended by Crankygypsy, I used this and it made a big difference cost was great also, http://www.thefoamfactory.com/acousticfoam/eggcratefoam.html

 

[Ryan Cassidy]

Agree on the eggcrate above... I used it on my 240 while doing some stereo work and it made a good difference. I should have ordered 2 rolls. I'll order a 2nd one when I get back to the boat and on the water again.

 

[MNdrifter]

Hi Bruce, they're the Fusion 8" speakers that are about $100 on Amazon. The rest of my boat is JL, but I didn't want to drop $500 on speakers for that location. Here's some pics I took when I had the seats off. I had to relocate the port air vent and the drain hose that runs from the top of the engine hatch threshold. As others have said, the sound is a little muffled but is significantly audible when on the swimdeck or in the water behind the boat. If I hadn't already taken the seats off, it probably wouldn't be worth doing. But since I had the seats removed to be re-upholstered, and i wanted to add LEDS, I think it was definitely worth it since I was already going to be running wires.

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How does air get into your engine compartment when the blowers are running? Mine has 2 holes for air intake behind the seat.
For that matter where is the air coming from to feed the engines?