Ideas On How To Quiet a Drift Boat !

[FM2]

I am on a mission to quiet my aluminum drift boat. After 10 years of banging around I've had enough of listening to things drop and sounding like a cruise missle went off :shocked:

I'm looking for ideas from folks who have tackled this same problem!

Here are pics of what I did to deaden the sound in the bottom. I took 1/2" thick rubber mats (the kind that are found at playgrounds under swings) and cut them to fit along the side gunnels. Looks like it will work but time will tell. That stuff was tough to cut! :shocked: . I then have a pic of a rubber mat type of material from Home Depot which I would like to cover the front deck with. This stuff is light and ridged so there is some grip and things won't slide off. I'm thinking of putting the same material along the sides of the gunnells about half way up. The one thing I'm not sure of doing is whether I should glue this stuff down or leave it loose. I also used pipe insulation to put on all the edges of the trays and seats.

I thought about trying the spray in bed liner material but cost and weight have steered me in this direction.

What methods do others use?

Thanks all! :smile: :smile: :smile:





[ 12-06-2001: Message edited by: FM2 ]</p>

[Hookset]

When ever I got a new drift boat, first thing I would do is glue felt on the front tray, side trays and trays on the oarer seat. Really helps to quiet the noise. No easy solution for the inside floor. I've seen a boat with sprayed in liner that looked real nice and another with carpet that I thought looked messy.

I'd vote for the sprayed in liner. How about applying this yourself with the gallon container? This will either turn out great or look like junk.

good luck,

Gregg

[Scrambler]

http://www.nonslipcoating.com/

[FM2]

Thanks Gregg, what is your experience with the insulation qualitites of felt. I'm not looking for non-skid protection as I already have that, I'm looking to muffle the sounds of items that get dropped and for boxes and other large items that get moved around. The noise is the issue and I don't think a spray on or paint on type of coating will do much to reduce the noise of dropping stuff. What I have seen of the spray on is the thickness needed to help dampen the noise causes a lot of extra weight. This is referenced in other threads regarding this issue.

How about keeping the felt clean from all the bait and other junk that could get spilled? Curious to know!

Thanks :smile: :smile:

[Hookset]

Keith,

The marine grade felt works great, cleans up easily, deaden's the noise and can last a long time. And you can buy felt that coordinates with your boat color. I've seen red, green, blue, grey and black. I've used rubber cement to hold this down on a clean surface with good results. The felt is rather cheap and easy to replace after years of use. What ages felt is sun. If your boat continuly sits outside, you may have to replace the felt every other year. If the boat is stored inside, expect the felt to last for years.

I thought the spary on liner material looked good on the floor and inside sides of a boat I saw. I would never apply this to the trays or front deck. I'm not sure how fuctional it is but should help quiet the boat a little, has to be better then plain aluminum.

Gregg

[FM2]

Still working on the project, anyone with any new ideas?

I found some anti-fatigue mats at Staples that could possibly work to cover the front deck and trays. Has anyone used this material?

Thanks for the suggestions!

:smile: :smile: :smile:

[Hoosier Daddy]

Sell it and go to wood? :grin:

[craigzilla]

My next toy is going to be a drift boat and I can't decide on Aluminum- glass -or wood. It would be interesting to take a survey on which is best and why. For you rubber mats I would pick up some 3M High Strength (90) contact cement in a spray can and glue them in that way.This is a clean way to handle contact cement, be sure to have lots of ventilation! If you want to remove the rubber pads in the future you could with a little effort. Also that stuff will cut with a jig saw and a course blade. Good luck!

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

FM2-

Crutchfield sells a matting material that is made for your automobile to eliminate rattling trunks, etc. from speakers. They sell it bulk. They probably have a website, if not, get the catalog. The stuff works really well in vehicles where I've seen it applied.

You can try a crafts store for your felt if you don't go for the marine stuff. Weather stripping or plumber's putty would be two, other, good choices I'd recommend. In the past when bowhunting, I used felt to quiet the bow and that stuff stayed on pretty well. I picked that felt up in the hunting section of a sporting goods place back home.

This just came to mind as well, what about the spray foam plumber's use around pipes, etc.? They sell it in your hardware section at Wal-Mart or at a Hardware store. I still think plumber's putty will do the trick for your rattling trays, boxes, shelves, etc.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Craigzilla....

http://www.ifish.net/cgi-local/ultim...c&f=1&t=008436

[Eric]

The first thing I did when I bought my 16 ft. Willie was buy some indoor/outdoor carpeting to help with the noise factor. I took the time to measure the front deck and sidetrays carefully so the carpet would fit in neatly. I used a bunch of rubber cement to hold it down. It came out very "professional" looking and has garnered alot of compliments from other fisherman.

It comes in a number of colors

It's lightweight

It's not expensive

It can be easily removed and replaced because rubber cement is used.

It's durable

[Stz ll]

Hi Eric, Would you be willing to come to Hillsboro,Or and do my Willie drift boat?
(just kidding I guess).

Stz ll :tongue:

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

stz-

It probably depends on the number of drinks and how purdee she is. Forget about papercuts.... :shocked:

[hustlerrjim]

get a raft

[CATCH AND EAT]

Put a real nice paint job on it and then just keep it in the garage so it wont get scratched. :shocked: That way the steelhead will be all mine, mine, MINE!!! I tell you, MINE!!!!!! :tongue:

Sounds like a lot of good ideas here that would also work on trays in a sled. thanks guys. :smile:

[Fishen Fool]

You are makeing way too much of a fuss over a noise problem, I think the noise may actually help!

[FM2]

Thanks for the ideas, definately have a little more to work with.

Maybe I could line the boat with all the wading calendars I purchased, not one left in the state, I'm going to trash them all to save the state....LOL!!! :grin: :grin: :grin: j/k

[BUGLEMAN]

Weight is a consideration. I think 1" rubber mats are a bit extreme for me. But the felt in the trays seems like a good place to start. If only for the psycological effect. The bang of a set of pliers on a tray is disturbing when you are in the stealth mode. Good brainstorming session.