Here's some projects from the last few weeks... After our last weekend trip, it was apparent that we still have some improvements to make on our sound isolation from the engine room. The basic insulation set-up that we installed works pretty well, but noise underway is still not where we want it. We still have a lot of "noise leaks" in the form of unsealed bulkhead penetrations and little gaps where engine room noise is still getting through. We are chasing these down and this is making a difference, slowly but surely with each sound leak that we patch. The most obvious transit of engine noise into the wheelhouse was via the Morse cables for the throttle and shifting controls. These were acting just like the old "string connecting two tin cans" and transmitting medium and high frequency sound from the engine directly to the helm where it was amplified by the engine control housing. Fortunately, Morse just updated their engine control cable "isolation kit" and it did the trick. It isolates the cables in a big rubber grommet where they attach to the engine and are very effective.
I did a little work in the engine room screwing down all the tool chests and storage cabinets, and fabricating mechanisms so they can be secured at sea. Tools and spare parts flying around the engine room is definitely a bad thing.
Also completed a little more trim work in the wheelhouse. A nice bonus was the unexpected good fit of our off-the-shelf home depot patio cushions for the wheelhouse settee/watch berth. These will certainly hold us over until we can spring for real custom cushions.
