express or convertable

[tobnpr]

Admiral wanted a bridge boat for the added room and "non-cave" cabin.

I wanted to fish and not play Captain, so the Express was a no brainer. Also, I can single-hand the express at the dock which would be a lot more difficult with a 40' bridge boat.

Downside is the diesels are really loud underfoot- normal conversation ain't an option.

All boats have their trade-offs.

[Capt Lindsay]

TOBNR, if your Express is too loud on the bridge, have you considered installing good double lift mufflers? How well is your engine room insulated?

We had V-8 Cats in our Express before we repowered and the 8 cylinder engines were very smooth and put out a deep roar at cruise. We could easily hold a conversation over them. Our engine room does have 2" lead foam insulation in the overhead but most engine noise comes from the exhaust exiting the transom.

We repowered with straight 6s. What a racket they made. A very raw noise. We installed double water lift mufflers and the noise was reduced to the point that we again can hold a conversation on the bridge.

[tobnpr]

Thanks. She has big water lift mufflers and the exhaust itself isn't too loud. I think your idea of the lead foam insualtion is a good one- I need to look into it. What's there appears to be just lightweight, OEM foil-faced foam. I'm also considering adding some thin rubber strips along the hatch gutters to help seal them as well.

Can you recommend a source?

Someone else told me that Air-Seps helped his engines, but while I can definitely hear the turbo whine, it doesn't seem to be the real source of the noise.

[Capt Lindsay]

This outfit advertises lead foam - http://www.cyber-bridge-marine.com/L...dproofing.html

I found them on Google.