The engine compartment blower is noisy. After adding sound insulation to the engine box the blower is actually louder than the engine now. I like to run the blower when the engine is running because it keeps temps down slightly in hot weather and provides the engine with a good flow of fresh air.
The aft cabin also doesn't smell quite so much of diesel with extensive blower use. I tried insulating the mounts with rubber underneath the blower feet - no real difference. I still have some sound insulation left and figured I might try to build a housing. Of course, it might be easier just to find a quieter blower that has 3" hose fittings.
Any ideas?
—
Bruce
Southern Comfort #1881
Tall rig, Wing Keel
Chesapeake Bay
Mine's loud too, so would sure like to know of a quieter option. Mine quit last season, so I have to replace it in the spring.
As to the heat and diesel odor, I plan to add a small 'cabin fan' to the end of one of the vent hoses. I'll switch that on when anchored, to keep some airflow through the engine compartment until it cools down; couple hours or so. Hopefully, that will pull fumes and heat out of there.
Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay
You have given me an idea. I believe I will change out that noisy blower with one that is much quieter. I am curious about the sound deadening material that you used on your project. Any lessons learned that you could share with the group?
Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B
I also added soundproofing to my engine compartment. I used the 'heavy duty' kit you can get from West Marine/Boat US, etc. So far I've only done the engine 'box' that projects into the main cabin. I plan to do the inside of the aft cabin as well, but haven't gotten to it. Just doing the box made a huge difference.
I also modified the engine box, putting an opening lid in the top and a door in the front. I can change the oil, antifreeze and belt without removing the box; in fact I haven't removed it since. I'll have to take some pics in and post the project in the spring; one of the best mods I've made to the boat.
Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay
I used the 1.5" sound foam - got it from Defender and used the screw tie downs rather than adhesive --- Also did the rear of the engine compartment. Really well worth doing.
Maybe the idea of moving the blower is the trick - in addition to getting a quieter one. It's mounted directly under the cockpit, as you know. There might be an industrial blower/fan that could be adapted to the 3" hose.
Let's explore and report back.
Bruce
Southern Comfort #1881
Tall rig, Wing Keel
Chesapeake Bay
Gary, I will be quite interested in viewing the pictures of the openings that you have made on the engine cover. There are a few more places that I am planning on adding the sound deadening material as well.
Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B
Think about something long enough and a solution presents itself. The engine compartment exhaust blower which is mounted in the port lazarette adjacent to the propane tank used to make lots of noise. I prefer to run the blower whenever the engine is running as it keeps the engine compartment cooler and the air a bit sweeter in the aft cabin.
But it was noisy. The solution was simple --- move the blower from factory position to the port side compartment in the aft cabin below the deck. That's adjacent to the center water tank on MKII. I mounted a small block of wood to hull with adhesive, attached the blower with some rubber mounts - reconnected the hoses and ran the wiring from the old blower position.
It's so quiet on deck and in the salon now I may have to add a "blower-on" light to remind me to shut it down ( I wired mine to run separate from the engine ignition).
Bruce
Southern Comfort #1881
Tall rig, Wing Keel
Chesapeake Bay
Interesting, I did not know where everyone else had their blowers. I just added one to Nimue, and mounted it in the 'machinery space' on port outboard of the aft berth. I mounted it on a sheet of 3/8" foam to at least help not transmit the vibration (noise) to the boat. Not sure it did much. It sounds loud if I fire it up at the dock, but I can't hear it over the engine. This is probably because my engine has zero sound insulation.
One thing I do know, the 3" inline style blower I just installed is much louder than the centrifugal type blower I had in my last boat, so maybe that is the type to get.
Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Jason....
The inline blowers are loud. The centrifugal ones are quieter and quite a bit more expensive. The original mount was a block of wood glued to the hull so not only was there the noise from the blower itself but a wonderful resonance through the entire aft portion of the boat.
After sound insulating the engine compartment (great project, by the way) the blower got to be really obnoxious - it was louder than the diesel. And as I said, running it for 15 minutes or so after shutdown really cools down the engine compartment and keeps it smelling better.
Bruce
Southern Comfort #1881
Tall rig, Wing Keel
Chesapeake Bay