bertram31.com

I'd like to insulate my engine boxes and wing panels this winter. It'll take me about 2 4'x8' sheets to do it. I was thinking of the one pound, 1" vinyl/foam. Does this sound OK? Is the best way to get Soundown to order it directly? Any suggestions or ideas appreciated.

John F.

John,

Steve Moyer, (keysdisease), is the Manager of the Ft Lauderdale Soundown Location and will probably kick in a reply...

The main operation & factory is in Salem, MA and the material can be purchaed directly from them. Their website, with product info, is at http://soundown.com/AI.htm .

Br,

Patrick

John,

I ran across this site the other day. I have no experience with their materials but the site has a very cool audio example of a diesel engine be muffled by various products....neat.

http://www.glacierbay.com/insulation_ultradb_sound.asp

Now there's a comparison that you can see (Hear) quite clearly. My question,
Is this the Soundown that UV and others have recommended for years or one of the other, possibly less effective items?
Soundown Barrier Composite Insulation (2.0" thickness, 2.3 Lbs/Ft.2)

Hello Gentlemen,

Captain Patrick, thanks for the welcome aboard!

As mentioned my name is Steve Moyer and I manage the Ft Lauderdale branch of Soundown, main office and manufacturing in Salem, MA.

All our products may be purchased direct and we can ship from whichever branch is closer or more convenient. Most sheet insulation is UPS able.

I would prefer not to discuss competitors products, but upon request i will be happy to discuss Soundown products.

As I mentioned in my initial contact with Captain Patrick I do not want to be perceived as a Spammer and i will limit responses regarding noise insulation to answering questions and to correct misinformation.

I hope to offer more opinion and comment on other products and solutions learned or forgotten from my 30 years in the marine manufacturing industry as I previously held positions at companies like Perko and Bennett. I also lived in the Keys for 16 years and I'm a native of Miami.

Thanks Captian for the welcome aboard :-D

Steve Moyer aka Keysdisease

I used the 2" foam with the heavy vinyl stuff in between. It works great for sound suppression and look great with the reflective covering. Mine came in 4x6 rolls if I am not mistaken. Here is my hint for installation.

Use the mechanical fasteners (stainless and Aluminum) and double the number they reccomend. I had them and also use the spray foam and still had to redo some. I had used 5200 to glue the fasteners to my cowling lid and after a string of really hot days and rough rides, some broke loose. I went back and used thickened epoxy to re-fasten new ones to the lid and am confident they will not be coming loose anytime soon. So...

Use the mechanical fasteners, the spray foam won't do it by itself and actually does very little near heat. Use thickened epoxy and use as many as you can while still making it look professional. Soundown makes a great product.

Chiles

Did my engine box on my 25B with Sound Down, 1-1/2" thick with lead and insulation and quilted face. Got an appreciable amount of noise out, but was a little disappointed hoping for less noise. Then I went back and insulated under the gunnels near the engine box areas and under the cockpit deck forward of the engines. NOW that made a big difference, the noice was transending through the boat and blocking that did more than the engine box insulation.

Keep Smilin

Ron,

That's the way to get rid of excess noise...look for ANYWHERE air, and therefore sound can migrate and find occupants. Sound attention requires the entire boat be examined, not just the engine box. Bulkheads, air induction system, decks, hatches, etc.

As always you kept messin around with it until you got it right.

I concur with what Ron & Chiles said.

I did my engine hatches and used the metal fastners, I was able to screw them in because it was the salon floor. On one hatch I've got to go back and re-glue a corner and maybe add another fastner as it's dropped down.

Like Ron, I found some improvement, but probably need to hit some of the other areas of the engine room to get any real reduction.

The cost for my project was about $250 for the (2) 4x6 sheets with fastners and glue. I bought it from the yard where my boat was, could have saved $20 or so by using Defender but figured I'd rather support the locals... not too many left especially the ones that will work with you.

It does make for a nice looking engine space.

br,
JohnD

I had soundowned both engine boxes including forward bulkhead and outboard of each engine.I used the mechanical post and where appropriate i screwed into bulkhead etc outboard of each engine i used 5 minute epoxy to adhere and it worked fine its been 5 years and no areas have let go as of yet .,.,I made cardboard templates of each area and then cut the foam to match the template and then installed.,.,.,it came out very very nice and it has lasted.,.,and it worked out very good.,.,yes I Reccomend the product without any reservations.,.,i dont know about securing with 5200 .,.,.or anything else except the 5 minute quick set epoxy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,