Noise

[Blue_skies]

If you are the sort of person who is sensitive to noise, which I can be sometimes, would you say life aboard is a good or bad idea? e.g. Is the noise from neighbours engines ever intrusive? What's the sound insulation like generally? Moving from a double glazed flat to a single glazed boat, would you tend to notice an increase in background noise?

[Ernie]

I am a bit sensitive to noise, especially traffic noise and neighbours playing loud music etc.

I tend to pick my moorings carefully. I check on the map to try and find the most isolated spot in the area that I intend to moor in and go for it. I will happily moor up an hour or so early, or carry on for an extra hour or so in order to find a nice quiet spot.

 

Also, I have 2 Jack Russell’s and they tend to be a bit on the noisy side when people pass the boat so this is another reason why we like to find an isolated spot if at all possible.

 

Occasionally, it is not possible to find what we want so we have to moor up closer to civilisation (if you could call it that!!) and/or other boats. I have absolutely no problem with listening to other boats running generators or engines. That’s life on a boat and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I always aim to run my generator or engine in the late afternoon or early evening as that is when we use most power (hair dryer etc.). I do this so as to try and not bother any neighbours that I may have for the night.

 

On the subject of noise entering the boat – yes, noise will penetrate windows and hull much more than it would in a double glazed house. Again, I don’t find this a problem as I like to be woken up to the sound of the birds, ducks etc.

 

Hope I haven’t waffled on too much…….

[Blue_skies]

On the subject of noise entering the boat – yes, noise will penetrate windows and hull much more than it would in a double glazed house. Again, I don’t find this a problem as I like to be woken up to the sound of the birds, ducks etc.

 

Hope I haven’t waffled on too much…….

 

No, you haven't waffled on at all. Thanks for your reply I think we humans will tend to find some noise acceptable/welcome and some unacceptable/irritating, I guess the dividing line between the two is personal. The acceptable and welcome additional sounds for me will be bird song in the country etc. I'm just concerned that I will find other peoples engines intrusive. I suffer with noisy neighbours where I live. The neighbours above me decided to take the carpets up and install bare wooden floor boards and they drive me mad with the noise. I tried various routes to complain but have been told I must endure it. Perhaps like you, I like the idea of being out away from others (more so now because of my recent neghbour experiences). I guess engine noise from other boats will not be a problem most of the time.

[Typowriter]

At the minute I live right beside a very busy road and a motorway. The noise has been driving me nuts for ages and has been a big factor in finally deciding to make the jump to living afloat.

I'm very much looking forward to some peace and quiet. The generator noise is a small price to pay.

[Chris J W]

Oddly enough I was thinking about posting a similar question later today! I was wondering how much noise gets trasmitted to other boats when you're moored close to each other. TV/Music noise, chatter, etc. I'm planning on putting a 5.1 surround sound system in my boat when I get it, and was wondering about the effect of the sub-woofter on people nearby ...

[Sir Nibble]

wondering about the effect of the sub-woofter on people nearby ...

It does you credit to consider the point. The answer is of course to not use the system unless you are miles from anywhere (or any one).

Most people are considerate and shut engines/generators off at a reasonable time, some aren't. Out of interest, WHY would anyone want to charge batteries on a 24 hour mooring?

One problem I find is that you can be kept awake by boats arriving late at night, and woken by others leaving early in the morning, isolation is the only answer.

The point about a boat of course, is that if you don't like the neighbours, fire up the motor and move!

[Blue_skies]

Oddly enough I was thinking about posting a similar question later today! I was wondering how much noise gets trasmitted to other boats when you're moored close to each other. TV/Music noise, chatter, etc. I'm planning on putting a 5.1 surround sound system in my boat when I get it, and was wondering about the effect of the sub-woofter on people nearby ...

 

Yes, it does you credit to ask the question. My guess is that sub-woofers would be a problem for neighbours on a canal, based on my experience of the science of unwanted noise. Some research is being done into 'infrasound'. A lot of people live with problems of low frequecy noise being transmitted through the fabric of their homes and the source isn't always easy to locate. Water, I believe, is an ideal medium for low frequency transmission so I guess sub-woofer type sound systems may cause problems for others on the canal. It may not just be your close neighbours who experience the problem. Sound waves can act in unexpected ways with interference patterns concetrate noise in places further away than you'd expect.

[Blue_skies]

At the minute I live right beside a very busy road and a motorway. The noise has been driving me nuts for ages and has been a big factor in finally deciding to make the jump to living afloat.

I'm very much looking forward to some peace and quiet. The generator noise is a small price to pay.

I can sympathise with this. I think my neighbours tipped the balance for me choosing a canal boat as my next home.

[Bones]

I don't think it is too much of a problem on linear moorings, but when I was on one I did get quite fed up with the hum of generators and engines.

I am currently moored with my neighbours boat down the length of my boat and I don't hear them except when they are shouting at eachother.

Surely noise is a matter of where you happen to be moored.

 

As snibble says, if you don't like your neighbours at least you can untie them and watch them float away.

[nigel carton]

You can hear a pin drop where I'm moored! bliss

[blackrose]

Oddly enough I was thinking about posting a similar question later today! I was wondering how much noise gets trasmitted to other boats when you're moored close to each other. TV/Music noise, chatter, etc. I'm planning on putting a 5.1 surround sound system in my boat when I get it, and was wondering about the effect of the sub-woofter on people nearby ...

 

I'm not sure about sub-woofters (don't they form some part of certain gay activities?), but I can play my stereo pretty loud through a powerful amp & speakers and it's very muted outside my boat.

 

It's a combination of the insulation which absorbs or attenuates the sound and the steel which reflects it. High frequency/short wavelenth sounds can be attenuated more easily because the short wavelength runs out of energy within the thickness of the wall. However, lower frequency sounds, for example bass from a sub-woofer, have much longer wavelengths which are much more difficult to attenuate within thin wall structures. This is why you always hear the bass from your neighbour's stereo.

 

When people talk about sound proofing they are often under a misconception - what they actually mean is sound attenuation. Depending on the particular sound source, if you really wanted to sound proof a room you might end up with an internal space the size of a matchbox!

[Roger Gunkel]

Oddly enough I was thinking about posting a similar question later today! I was wondering how much noise gets trasmitted to other boats when you're moored close to each other. TV/Music noise, chatter, etc. I'm planning on putting a 5.1 surround sound system in my boat when I get it, and was wondering about the effect of the sub-woofter on people nearby ...

 

Chris,

I spent many years a a sound engineer and stll spend a lot of time recording and playing music on the boat. The bass is always going to be a problem, particularly if you are using a sub-woofer. Bass is non directional, and very difficult to damp down effectively, the length of the wave also sets up sympathic vibrations in other materials and water is a good coducter of bass frequencies. Studios tend to use very thick and dense material for bass frequency insulation, commonly having two thicknesses with a different deadening material between. sand being a good deadener. When I am playing music or recording on the boat, I tend to do this only in the day if I am using heavy bass sounds. An obvious example of bass frequency travel is from the sub-woofers in big car systems. You hear it long before the car appears.

If your sound system is purely for your own personal listening and you like the volume high and the bass loud, the best solution of all is a pair of high quality studio headphones. Headphones 1

or if money is no object Headphones 2

Hope this helps,

Roger

[honey ryder]

on my mooring I cn hear the neighbours phone ring, I hear full conversations sometimes, I hear people walking up and down the pontoon and I imagine my neighbours can hear me having a go at my grumpy other half sometimes.

but I can also hear the boats coming and going and ducks, geese etc chuntering to each other.

 

I kind of like the hum of an engine or generator, Ive moored on a tidal wall at Yarmouth a few times opposite side of the river to a navy vessel and they have massive noisy generators running 24hrs and I found the noise just helped me drift off to sleep.

 

the added bonus of being able to hear everything going on about you is at the same mooring one time some drunken yoofs came past thinking it would be a great idea to untie some boats, I heard the whole conversation ( the smell of their cigarette smoke wafting from 15feet up was what woke me) and me and a friend shot out of bed with all the sweary words you can imagine and really took yoofs by suprise.

 

i definitely dont miss the police sirens I could hear most hours of the day at my flat I just left.

Edited February 14, 2007 by honey ryder

[tomsk]

I'm not sure about sub-woofters (don't they form some part of certain gay activities?), but I can play my stereo pretty loud through a powerful amp & speakers and it's very muted outside my boat.

 

It's a combination of the insulation which absorbs or attenuates the sound and the steel which reflects it. High frequency/short wavelenth sounds can be attenuated more easily because the short wavelength runs out of energy within the thickness of the wall. However, lower frequency sounds, for example bass from a sub-woofer, have much longer wavelengths which are much more difficult to attenuate within thin wall structures. This is why you always hear the bass from your neighbour's stereo.

 

When people talk about sound proofing they are often under a misconception - what they actually mean is sound attenuation. Depending on the particular sound source, if you really wanted to sound proof a room you might end up with an internal space the size of a matchbox!

 

 

With reference to a post on another thread, have you considered an acoustic screed/plaster in lieu of the traditional T+G/ply, or siting your craft t'other side of an attenuation bund? If so I can put you in touch with a reputable contractor.

[DHutch]

I guess it depends if your going to be living in a marina, and online mooring, or contunasly cruising.

- 95% of the time im sleeping on emiyanne we doing the latter, and tend to choose a quiet/remote spot. And rairly have any problems. Even the time we inavertantly moored under the main flightpath of eastmidlands airport...

- However, that said, the odd few times i have spent the night in a marina ive never had a problem. At travelreign (where we have been the last two years) all the livaboard cluster at the root end of the long fingerboards in a sort of group, and emilyanne is usally as the far end (apprently the slight of our bows scares off the punters and is the most affect thing hes ever seen at preventing people hiting the jettys)

 

There all very friendly tho.

- Together they have about 4/5 garden tables, some patio lights, pot plants, and unbrellers. They can often be seen out and about in the warmer seasons!

 

 

Daniel

[Chris J W]

Seems the answer then is to just respect others when near by! Something I wish, currently, fellow flat dwellers would think of! Though I intend to have my saloon something like a "floating farm house" style (if you see what I mean!) and live a far quieter life, I do like my DVDs. So, it'll be find somewhere quite, drop the tele down from the cieling (I've been watching Pimp My Ride too much ...), get the Guinness from the fridge, and crank up the Home Theatre.

 

Thanks for all the comments and help above.

[Typowriter]

I'm not sure about sub-woofters (don't they form some part of certain gay activities?)

Ha ha! Brilliant!

[Purple Fairie]

It's pretty quiet where we are, the only noise we get from the neighbours is their engine, but I like that!

We do have one noisy neighbour - the local RAF camp, and we're at the end of their runway so not too chuffed when they're out in the Eurojet thingies!

But, generally happy with where we are so I think we'll put up with it!