“Sound” advice
Sound damping is a major challenge on our vessel. The auxiliary engines are mounted on anti vibration mount so and enclosed to avoid airborne noise but the main engine is basically bolted on to the engine foundation. Now, it’s a very stiff foundation but still…
So, I’m doing a lot of research on this and at some point we’ll have our plans reviewed by a sound consultants like van Cappellen in The Netherlands. A company apparently associated with them in the USA and providing similar services is NVT (Noise Vibration Techniek (note the mix of English and Dutch language)). Their website YachtAcoustics.com has a great power presentation on noise reduction and the most extensive list of links to thermal-acoustic materials I’ve found so far. Another good site for info and product information is Noisecontrol.nl from a company called Medford Noise Control.
Given the importance of noise reduction and vibration control, I’m going to dedicate a section to it on this blog and I wanted to start it by sharing with you two interesting finds in case you are building or converting a yacht.
Rockwool Marine & Offshore has a great manual an the topic of acoustics on ship. Learn more about sound theory and solutions in this 88-page manual. Totally free. You can download it here. Awesome really.
I also ran into a product by Mascoat products: Delta-db. It’s a sound dampening coating to reduce structural and mechanical noise generated through surfaces like bulkheads. Read more about this product here.
Looks like a great product. Mascoat also sells an insulation coating that offers great thermal insulation and anti condensation protection. More on that in another post soon.
Another company not to be left out in this first post is Soundown in Ft. Lauderdale, on of the leading manufacturers of products to help with noise control engineering. And great staff too!
The walls we plan to use to build our cabins are to be made by Isolamin from Sweden. Great sound reduction, easy to install, meets all regulatory and class society standards. With todays wall covering materials you can make it look nice too.