advise on options

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bjones

advise on options

Post by bjones »

Beth and I will take delivery of our new MV 34 in May of 05. We are presently finalizing the WO with John in Whitby. We are undecided about a couple of things and thought perhaps some of you would have some advise.

- Did any of you purchase the engine "Quiet Package" and if so, how effective is it
- Does anyone have satellite phone? Do you use it for email?

Thanks - Bob Jones[/list]
Lead Free Too

options

Post by Lead Free Too »

I don't know about the "Quiet Package" and do not have a satillite phone. We travel from Michigan down the Intercoastal Waterway to the Bahamas. I use a Verizon cell phone with my laptop and get quite good rception all the way to FL. There is no USA cell phone that works in the Bahamas. A friend has a sat. phone and seems to have intermitten success with it.
Sharon of Lead Free Too
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Re: advise on options

Post by MV Dana Louise »

bjones wrote:Beth and I will take delivery of our new MV 34 in May of 05. We are presently finalizing the WO with John in Whitby. We are undecided about a couple of things and thought perhaps some of you would have some advise.

- Did any of you purchase the engine "Quiet Package" and if so, how effective is it
- Does anyone have satellite phone? Do you use it for email?

Thanks - Bob Jones[/list]
Bob, I have a Globalstar sat phone which I will not be using so will sell at 1/2 price if you decide to go that route. I cannot advise on email usage as have not used that way but think it is a choice.
Brian and Nancy Strong
MV34 Dana Louise [#32]
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advise on options

Post by jim »

Bob, I have not experienced the quiet package, but I'd encourage you to get it. Most everyone would prefer a quieter boat to a noisier one and would pay more for it. Does the quiet package include Aquadrive, water separator, engine sound shield, circumferential sound insulation in the engine compartment, gaskets and seals around every engine compartment joint and opening,and underwater exhaust? leviathanmarine.com claims 90% reduction in vibration and structure born noise and 75% overall noise level reduction by Aquadrive [10 dB reduction = 50% noise reduction]. evolution.com claims reduction of 75 dB to 62dB on a Benson Cruiser with a 50 hp diesel @ 2000 rpm by adding a Halyard water separator. At ~60 dB you can talk in a normal voice, hear the water lapping on the jull and don't need electronic head gear to communicate with deckhands. The boat is much safer when you can hear another boat's engines in the fog and the calling of a person who fell overboard from the stern while the helmsman intently stared ahead. Also, the vibration that permeates the boat tires you out after a long day cruising making you more irritable, less fun and more prone to making errors. Go for it Bob. Jim
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Aquadrive

Post by Gadzooks! »

Bob: You may be interested in the below from John at PDQ. He has been very helpful in providing info necessary for me to consider retrofitting the Aquadrive on Gadzooks! I have just about decided not to do that, tho the Soundown tiles sound easy and perhaps helpful. Also see http://www.leviathanmarine.com - they sell the Aquadrive and are enthusiastic about it, as one might expect.

-- WG


Good morning Wally and Mebs.

After some discussion with our design team who did some decibel readings on various boats, with and without the Aqua drives, they determined that at the low speeds and rpm's that the ambient noise had a far greater impact on their readings than that produced by the engines. The vibrations were perceived to be less and the boat did not vibrate like one with out the Aqua drives. At the higher speeds and rpm's the data showed little noise reduction inside the boat and the weather and exterior conditions affected the data more than the engines did. (apparent wind, wild life, weather...) From the point of view of our head designer he feels that the added expense of installing the Aqua drives is unwarranted. (to install these units after the boat has been built would incur greater expense than having them installed during production.)

FYI, here are the part numbers of the Aqua drive components:
6039038 X 2
6040405 X 2
6050220 X 4
6050221 X 4
6070025 X 2

You can have your existing shaft cut down but you will need a short shaft to go from the engine to the thrust coupling. We get this from H & H Propeller and the part number is 434A114 X 2 and SAE2 X 2.

The sound down tiles we install are based on a recommendation from the manufacturer. We install 9 X 12" X 12" tiles per hull, over the propeller. These are 3/8" thick and are stuck down with a very thick epoxy. The tile sell for about $12.50 each and the adhesive sells for about $100.00.

One comment that was made by our designer was that by changing your propellers to four or five blades would have a more noticeable effect and at a lower cost than installing the Aqua drives. You would be giving up some performance with this option.

In the pictures I sent you, you can see the extra bulkhead we had to install to accept the thrust coupling. There is a 1/2" aluminum plate attached to a 3/4" - 1" fibreglass bulkhead just behind the engine. It is actually located right where the sound box meets the bilge and the sound box will need to be modified to accept the thrust coupling.

It is definitely a lot of work, especially as an after production install, and the results will not be drastically different from your current arrangements. One comment that I have over heard Rob telling people who ask about the noise in the boat, he tells people that customers who used to own Sailboats think the boat is noisy; those that come from other power boats think it is quiet.

I hope that I have given you all the information that you are looking for. I suggest asking this question on the PDQ forum and see what owners who have installed the quiet package or just the Aqua drives think. I have yet to hear someone say that it was not worth the extra cost, but I have had owners talk themselves out of installing them because of the cost.

As always I am here to answer your questions or point you in the right direction. Please do not hesitate to call or email me and I will do my best to help you. Have a safe and happy holiday season (Merry Christmas) and a prosperous new year.


John Mitchele
Customer Support
PDQ Yachts
Mebs and Wally Gilliam
Gadzooks! MV34 #33
ELIXIR
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quiet package

Post by ELIXIR »

I bought the package on hull 63 just being finished. I test drove a boat with it in the fall and was aboard one without. Rob had mentioned a difference not only in sound but vibration. The boat without had a noticable vibration in idle and the one with did not. This is consistent with the my sail experience as I had an aqua drive on my old boat.
As a sailor converting over Rob is right it is louder especially in the aft compartments than a large sailboat but quieter than many power boats.
MR BUSY

Options

Post by MR BUSY »

I wish I had known about and had added the Tank Watch system to monitor the levels in the fresh water and holding tanks.I took delivery of hull 59 in November and am thoroughly pleased, but still learning.
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Post by Kama Kat »

Bob,
We have hull #42 fitted with four bladed propellers and are very pleased with the reduction in noise and hull vibrations.
Due to an original "singing" (blades had self induced harmonic vibration in a fixed rpm range)four bladed prop., we had the good luck of driving our boat with a set of three bladed ones, while the original set was adjusted.........so, I could compare the same boat, same loading conditions and similar sea and weather conditions with two different prop. sets. The reduction in vibration is significant.........none felt in the steering wheel,nor the deck on the fly bridge, contrary to the three bladed operation.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to quantify the total impact of sound and vibration reduction efforts, hence the cost/benefit arguments are somewhat subjective. However, I would suggest that the propeller induced vibrations on the hull above(behaves like hollow drum) are much more bearable from a four than three bladed prop. Theoretically, we are all told of a loss of "efficiency" when going from three to four blades........theoretically I understand and agree...BUT, based on my last summers' experiences, where we ran with other MV-34s in the Rideau Flottilla, our speed (GPS measured) was the same as two other boats with three bladed props at the same engine rpm! Our top rpm is 3650 and 3675 for the 75hp engines rated max. 3800rpm........this is with a "heavily loaded" boat, and three people on board.......PDQ tells me that this is good performance.
With respect to the engine induced vibrations, they drop off as engine rpm is increased........so, an isolated engine (Aquadrive or similar), well cushioned, gives an impressive performance at idle....BUT, that's not where we operate. Bottom line....in my judgement, the dominant vibration on the hull, during normal running conditions, is more from the props than the engines.
I am at times obsessed with noise reduction, (having lost some of my hearing during my working career) and had a second muffler installed in series with the original......this I believe helped also. These two basic modifications (four bladed prop. plus muffler) were relatively in-expensive but did make a significant improvement......I would recommend these for all boats........AND, retrofits are easy.
Almost forgot.......I requested increased clearance between hull and prop. tip by lowering the shaft angle to the maximum.....this gave an extra 1inch clearance....reducing vibrations on the hull.
If you are interested in specifics, suggest you contact PDQ.
One word of caution, when going to four bladed props., insist that they get the "anti-singing" treatment first, as such problems are common with "off-the-shelf" props that have four,five,six blades. :D
Frank Farago
Kama Kat
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