Are Suzuki 50 HP Motors Unusually Loud?

B

Bill Bennett

New member
The Suzuki 50 HP that is on my 16 ft Angler seems to be really loud...I don't remember it being this bad last year, but after three hours of cruising, my head rings from the noise. Any suggestions on how to cut it down? The interior shell of the cabin catches the noise, even with the windows open. The only thing that helps is to boat with the canvas door on, but this won't work when it gets warmer. I don't want to sell her, but it's really getting to me. Thank you.
 
I will be interested if someone has come up with a solution for this because I have the same problem with my 16’ cruiser. I have been thinking of putting some kind of foam shell around the power head because of the noise and will be trying it in the next month. I will let you know how it works. My only concern is possibly causing a heat problem on the engine.
 
Thanks for the response, Dave. I was thinking of doing the same thing, when I have time I'll call Sportcraft Marina where I bought the boat, and Suzuki Support, and post their advice and any concerns about overheating. I've seen fiberglass clamshells on other boats that attach to the transom to hide the engine from view and to muffle the sound, but I think that would be overkill on our sized boat -- the shell would also have to accommodate trimming the motor, it would look horrible. If there was some kind of soft material on the cabin walls to absorb the noise, that would help too instead of having the noise bounce around, but I wouldn't begin to tackle that project unless someone has already done it successfully.
 
The picture on the quietcar web site of the interior of a customer's car door seems to show a flat black product, or did I miss something? Places to apply black inside the pilothouse of a 16 would limited without another coat of white paint over it, and at something like $56 a gallon....
 
The demonstration in the video is quite dramatic, but they've coated the entire underside of the cymbals and the front edges and center of the top to absorb the resonating sound at it's source.

This product might be more useful being used by spraying the inside of the motor cover with it than spraying the walls of the cabin. Better to kill the noice closer to it's source.

Much of the noise you'll hear in the boat cabin is directly from the motor, and there's also the effect of concentrating the reflected noise off the cabin walls because of their cupped shape. This is much more pronounced in the 16 because of the open rear cabin, as opposed to larger boats with rear Alaskan bulkheads. You are also closer to the motor source in the smaller boat.

Has anyone noticed the same effect in the CD-19 which also has an open cabin to the rear? Did adding a canvas bulkhead make any significant difference?

One could paint the entire cabin with this coating,. then repaint over the top of it, but the noise level might not change that much with so much of the noise coming directly from the engine.

Interior curtains and soft upolstery would also help, but with much the same results.

The biggest reduction in sound might come from 1) coating the inside of the motor cover and 2) adding a rear canvas bulkhead to block some of the noise. Neither one is cheap or easy, however.

Perthaps this is one of those problems where no one single solution will cure it, but instead a multiple pronged approach would be necessary.

Maybe a set of ear plugs might be the best investment from the economic point of view.

Joe.
 
I'm surprised that the Suzuki 50 seems loud to you fellas, but then I've probably abused my sense of hearing greater than you over the years.

I had a Honda 50 on my 16' cruiser and now have twin 50 HP Johnsons (Johnson is a Suzuki with a Johnson cover) on the 22' cruiser. In my opinion the Suzuki 50 is no louder than the Honda. (Or better said....the Honda is no quieter than the Johnson (Suzuki).

That being said, if the engine seems loud to you, then regardless of the manufacturer, they are all going to seem loud to you. Therefore, I would agree with what others have said about the "shell amphitheater" effect of the cabin design on the 16' being your "culprit".
 
I have a Honda 50 on my boat not the Suzuki. The Honda has a foam lining in the engine cover and I assume it is suppose to reduce the noise.

The quitecar product sounds like it would be effective in reducing the noise, but before I would ever consider trying it, I am going to build a lightweight foam cover for my engine and try it first. I also question, if you paint over the product will its effectiveness be reduced? I certainly do not want the inside of my boat to be a dark grey.

With the camperback on, it does help but don’t want to run around with it on all the time.

DaveS – my hearing has been permanently damaged also from running large chain saws and operating heavy equipment (logging equipment) without proper ear protection.

Trying to reduce the noise is as much for Terri as me and her hearing has not been damaged yet.
 
I once read an article about an inflatable boat used by navy seals. Fired from a torpedo tube it can lay on the ocean floor for seven days. Inflate it to the surface and pull the rope start and the 50 H.P. starts right up. For whisper quiet stealth operation the engine cowling was sheathed in what looked like a black rubber boot. Maybe some research could find the manufacturer and more information. Maybe wetsuit material?

Here is a link to a guy who built a Glen-L design wood boat similar to the sixteen and added a few feet. He also built the engine cover which looks good and is very effective for noise reduction. Read about the boat and his travels...

http://www.egyptian.net/~raymacke/index.html

I agree with others in trying to stop the noise at the source.
 
oldgrowth":2zetqcbj said:

Trying to reduce the noise is as much for Terri as me and her hearing has not been damaged yet.
Click to expand...

Dave,
Since, I don't hear as well as others, I tend to be unaware of how loud something really is and how it affects others.
Ironically after all the years of abuse of my hearing, I now find myself becoming more protective of it. Initially, my use of hearing protection was due to "work mandated" rules of wearing hearing protection while responding code in F.D. apparatus. The younger guys are now being conditioned to protect their hearing and will "fare" in the long run much better than those of us in our generation. Now I wear hearing protection at home while operating lawn mowers, chain saws, brush cutters etc. (Trying to protect what is left..... kind of like closing the gate after the horses ran out... :crook )

(The worst part of all this is.....my voice is loud and I can be in the "south forty" talking to a neighbor and come back in the house and my wife will tell me every thing that I've said..... :disgust )
 
The engine box built by the guy C-weed mentions seems an elegant solution, especially since just holding a throw cusion in front of the motor cut the noise in half. The 16 Cruiser has a ledge right in front of the motor that would make a good mount for such a box or even just a swing-down board. A little sound-damping material inside the box or board couldn't hurt either.
Also some earlier topic mentioned a paint-on sound-damping coating on the web site mascoat.com/dB , available in white. On the pilot house walls above the liner it would reduce what noise rattles around in there, and below the V-berth would reduce wave noise. Hmm.
 
I have been thinking and designing a cover for my engine and I had a light bulb :idea moment when I had the engine cover off. Why not paint the inside of the engine cover with Quitecar. For maximum noise reduction a gallon will cover 20 sq. ft. I figure there is less than four sq. ft. that needs covering, the dark grey color doesn’t matter and if it works, it stops the noise at the source.

I ordered a gallon, the smallest size the sell for $71.71 with shipping.

I will post the results here.
 
James (SDTX) wrote in the Boat Camping thread:

"We bought one of the first sets of Bose noise-cancelling aviation headsets when they first came out."

I had thought of this earlier, but don't know if it is economically feasible (?)

Dave- I thought of the motor cover coating earlier (above several posts). Then I thought maybe the motors alrready have coatings on them so I checked, and my Yamaha does NOT have a coating on it already!

So good thinking! Maybe we've found something.

Joe.
 
The "quiet" paints have been tried in engine rooms of trawlers and are of little benefit. I would go with a foam/vinly/lead/foam mylar material inside of the engine cowl.

There are a few applications and frequencies where the paints can be of value--but be very aware of how the sound is measured--and what frequencies are involved.
 
Hi all,
This is a fasinating subject for me as I have felt very alone with my quest to stop, or reduce, the outboard noise at source. I have a yamie 2 stroke that got into my head like a dentist drill. The dealer implied that I was too old for high frequentcy noise. So I took off the cowling and lead lined it and then added a cork lining. Yes it was better but not good enough for me. Part of the noise is hull transmission and the cabin amplifies it. I was going to sell the 2 stroke and buy a four stroke yamie--and now I read this thread !!!! wow --what it the answer.
 
I have found the mylar/foam/vinyl/lead/foam/mylar laminate is better than others- If you can add in a layer of 3/4" plywood--it will really quiet it down.....but the plywood is a problem! :D
 
Foam ear plugs ---eh-- what did you say-- form ear lugs. Ok you don’t have to shout just throttle back that damn engine I didn’t hear you.
But we will have a great conversation when we arrive and pull the plugs won't we.
 
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