[C320-list] Engine compartment sound proofing

[Jeff Hare]

You really have to do both covers.  

Of course choose whatever material you like and report back.  

I've seen 3 different installations aside from my own.  One used a 1"
product from Soundown, one used the West Marine brand (like I did) and one
used "silent running" paint on product.   The WM and the Soundown products
looked nearly identical and are all surprisingly heavy and dense.

One installation was really tight and nicely done with no gaps.  The other
wasn't fit it all that well and left some gaps.  With the well-sealed
installation I didn't recall hearing any of the diesel knock/pinging, but
the one with the gaps sounded like it still could use some work to make it
quieter. The painted on stuff was a joke. No difference to my ear but the
owner swore it made a difference.   :)  

1) Seriously don't use ceiling tiles. They're not suitable for an engine
compartment.  They'll be kicking off particles that the intake will suck in.

2) Try not to use duct tape (or any tape not rated for this application) in
the engine compartment.  The glues usually won't hold up long term and will
come off and you'll end up having to "maintain" it, while hoping a piece
doesn't also get sucked into your intake.  

3) Make sure that whatever product you use will stay stuck.  The West Marine
product still cannot be peeled loose after 11 years.

4) Whether you use Tiles or Rolls, make sure you have *no gaps anywhere*,
otherwise it will not be as quiet as it could be.  This includes where the
cover meets the walls.

The decision to use the rolls vs tiles came down to ease of installation
given that both are about identical in the sound department.  With the even
widths and curved surfaces on the engine covers, the rolled material just
went on easy in one continuous piece and just a trim here and there on the
edges to fit with no seams to deal with, no jigsaw puzzle.

Perhaps others who have done the tile installations could post some pictures
on the C320 site (or send them to myself or David Prudden) to post so that
people interested in doing this project can have pictures to refer to.

Again, our installation pics are here on the Catalina 320 website:
Aft cover:  http://tinyurl.com/EngineInsulation1 
Front cover: http://tinyurl.com/EngineInsulation2

Good luck!
-Jeff Hare

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
Of Kaare Wold
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 11:22 AM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Engine compartment sound proofing

I am interested in proceeding with this project to quiet down the rattlecan
Yanmar.  I do have some concerns with using a plain Home Depot ceiling tile
that is not  designed to function in an enclosed engine environment.  Would
appreciate some feedback on the following question.
Have you owners insulated just the front engine cover or did you insulate
both the front and rear?  Thanks for your comments.
Kaare Wold
Sheet Music #945
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Brown" <oceanblues at mac.com>
To: <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Engine compartment sound proofing


> Someone on this forum suggest ceiling tiles, which I did and it worked 
> great and cheap.
>
> Jeff Brown
> 949-350-5123
>
>> On Jun 19, 2014, at 4:14 PM, Jeff Hare <Catalina at thehares.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Bill,
>>
>> Around 2003 I installed sound proofing in our engine compartment and 
>> it made a big difference.  Mostly it cuts down the harshness and does 
>> drop the volume significantly.  But it won't be "quiet".
>>
>> I used the 1" West Marine which is a moderately dense foam with a 
>> lead-like layer in the middle to help hit multiple frequencies.
>>
>> I was able to do it in an hour or so.  Even today the adhesive is 
>> showing no signs of letting go.  You peel the backing off and give it 
>> a certain amount of time before you stick it on, but recall it was 
>> quite easy to dry fit and cut with a razor knife.  I purchased the 
>> "kit" which came with some silver seam tape and some metal plates 
>> with pin supports that they say to use for overhead spans, but 
>> they're  not strictly necessary on our engine covers because there is 
>> so little area to support.  I think I used one on the front cover and 
>> none on the aft cover.  Both are fine today.
>>
>> Incidentally, if you use 1" on the Front (galley side) engine cover, 
>> the lower pulley may just touch the insulation.  The trick here is to 
>> go ahead and install the cover and run the engine.  It's just the 
>> very bottom of that pulley that might rub just a tiny bit.  When you 
>> stop the engine you'll see if and where it rubs and can either leave 
>> it or carve out a tiny bit.  It really won't hurt anything.  You 
>> won't be able to use anything thicker than 1" on the front.
>>
>> Also, if you purchase a roll of the 1/2" version, you can use it to 
>> stick on the fridge side to keep the engine from melting your Ice 
>> Cream.  :)
>>
>> If I were to do it again, I'd still go this route.  I considered the 
>> Tiles, but it was a lot more piecing together and more seams.  With 
>> the rolls of stuff, you can cut and install the overhead piece first, 
>> then butt the sides up tight to it and it helps hold the edges in 
>> place.  I cut mine so that each cover just used one single piece 
>> (including the top), so that's an
>> option too.   The first thing you'll notice is how much heavier the 
>> covers
>> got.  The second thing is that the harshness is down considerably.
>>
>> Avoid the sound deadening paint scam.  It's a joke and doesn't work.
>>
>> Two pictures of the Job using the West Marine kit.
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/EngineInsulation1
>> http://tinyurl.com/EngineInsulation2
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> -Jeff Hare
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On 
>> Behalf Of Bill Hutt
>> Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 5:53 PM
>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>> Subject: [C320-list] Engine compartment sound proofing
>>
>> Ok, new thread.
>> I'm looking at a product from Sailorssolutions.com called SPM. It's 1" 
>> thick
>> self adhesive tiles. Has anyone tried this with good results?
>>
>> Bill Hutt
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPad=
>>