Things that go bump in the night

[hschumac]

Just returned from my first overnighter aboard my . For you PNWers, went up to Poulsbo. Good time all in all, great wind on the way back. But, one of the worst nights of sleep ever. I must have been on deck 5 times throughout the night attending to one sound or another that drove us crazy. When we pulled in to the berth, I bungeed the halyards to the shrouds and thought I was a pro. But then we started to notice all sorts of sounds when we went down for the night.

Here is my NEW list of to-dos for the future before turning in:
- Raise the rudders. Some faint occasional clunking
- Raise the centerboard. More clunking. Although I left it down purposefully expecting it to reduce any sway from wind or trips to the head
- Bungee the safety shrouds (short ones that keep the mast from falling forward). Slight rubbing sound
- Put towel under the stern line which was rubbing on the rub rail, which under the cockpit sounds like a loud groan
- Removed all bumpers, which tended to "clunk" against the hull. Ended up changing the cleat that my bow was secured to so the boat was "suspended away from the dock

Each one was bearable for a short time, but quickly wore out its welcome.

Other suggestions? Or corrections to above, things that work better?

[seahouse]

Hey hschumac!

When my M was new, before hitting the water and getting the surfaces wet for the first time, I placed 4 vertical pieces of adhesive-backed ¼” X 1” X 10” neoprene inside the daggerboard trunk (is that the correct term?) as far up as my arm would allow, spaced about 10” apart. Other than when we were sitting in the boat on dry land at the dealer’s the day we picked it up, I have not heard the daggerboard knocking.

We slept soundly on two occasions. I would expect it would work equally well in silencing a centerboard configuration like is in your X. At the end of the season all four pieces were still in place.

Regards – Brian.

[Russ]

Here is my NEW list of to-dos for the future before turning in:
- Raise the rudders. Some faint occasional clunking

Good idea.

- Raise the centerboard. More clunking. Although I left it down purposefully expecting it to reduce any sway from wind or trips to the head

It won't reduce sway to a noticeable amount, so best keep it up.

- Bungee the safety shrouds (short ones that keep the mast from falling forward). Slight rubbing sound

I'm not sure what "safety shrouds" are, but keeping lines aloft tied off help you and your neighbors.

- Removed all bumpers, which tended to "clunk" against the hull. Ended up changing the cleat that my bow was secured to so the boat was "suspended away from the dock

I tie my bumpers to the dock. I have not desire to hang them off the boat. I have another set down below for use at other docks (fuel dock).

You will find lots of sounds at night. Anchor on roller. Wind in rigging. A line flapping in the wind. Fish swimming.

My admiral awakes at the slightest sound. She uses a noisemaker to produce white noise to drown out boat sounds. I enjoy the sound of water on the hull, but she does not.

[yukonbob]

Ya I don't get the 'safety shrouds' either?? I had the same noise issues, but rather than deal with most of them I find identifying what they are then realizing that it's really nothing to worry about (except smacking haylards) our minds will subconsciously ignore it. That way if you forget to strap every line, fender, board, fish wave and seagull down you won't be up all night The same works in tents in the woods. Newbies tend to think every breeze, twig squirrel and blowing leaf is a bear getting ready to eat them. You get to know that if they want to eat you they come through the tent and dont tip toe around in the dark

[metronome]

Hello hschumac. I reduce the clunking of the raised rudders on my by attaching bungee's from them to the swim ladder and the backstay. Earplugs help alot as well at the dock, marinas are fairly noisey.

[Mac26Mpaul]

Funny, in my M I'v never noticed any noises from the daggerboard trunk and I havn't dont anything to it.

However there are certainly noises to annoy ya, ya fix one, climb back in your rack and another one starts clanging bumping or flapping

Two things are certain, the best anchorage is one with no wind and not a ripple which gives you a perfect night. Better yet, dry out on a nice sandy flat beach if the tides are right. Secondly, the more nights you are out, the less you will notice the noises and movement, and the better your sleep will get.

Even though we humans dont generally like change, we are infact very adaptable critters. I generally find that by the 3rd or 4th night, I'm just as happy as sleeping at home,,,, well except that its a lot more hassle getting out the rack for a pee during the night

[David Mellon]

I also raise the rudders and daggerboard. I sleep in the dinette bunk with my head next to the daggerboard trunk so it is necessary. To deal with rocking I use Rockerstoppers:



I use ten pound mushroom anchors at the bottom. They really make a difference and are silent. I also lock the wheel in place so it doesn't let the engine swing with the swells. For a nightlight I use solar powered lawn lights. I stick one in each winch to light the cockpit and drop one in the sink upside down which gives off a nice glow against the overhead. They make nocturnal drainage missions a bit easier and do not drain the house battery. During my trip to White's Cove, Catalina Island over the weekend I started thinking about moisture in the cabin at night. Perhaps there is a product which does not require power and can absorb the condensation buildup.

[roril]

Sleep Overs can be challenging. We spent several nights at the Santa Barbara Yacht D dock with the winds blowing like crazy. Bumpers squeeking, lines banging, flags flapping and waves slapping. Lucky for us, the rudder and DB are quiet. After I tie everything down, I use my Ipod and head phones with music and this way I can't hear the bears.

Now about the pee thing.....

[robbarnes1965]

Slowly getting rid of the obvious and easy to solve noises suggested above is perfect. For the rest, I just got used to it with time. The little symphony of splashes and dings even helps me now. On a bareboat charter earlier this month though it was the dinghy banging into the boat that drove me crazy. I never tow one with the Mac so I never had to deal with it. If I ever do I'm getting davits!

[Russ]

Better yet, dry out on a nice sandy flat beach if the tides are right.

You see, I would be afraid of bears (or other critters) climbing up on my boat and eating me.

Also, staying in a marina often comes with lots of sounds you have no control over. Other people, other boats making noise. Bears climbing on your boat trying to eat you.

[Wind Chime]

I think the “Safety Shrouds” hschumac is referring to are the “Baby Stays”. The noise may be coming from the shroud adjusters (ladders). I installed white covers on all shrouds and ladders to stop them from moving. This also helps them from binding when raising the mast, and makes the shrouds easier to see when raised and on deck when the mast is down.

The model ’s (swing keel) dagger-board noise is well documented on this site. I clunks and bangs all night at anchor or at the dock if left down. We always raise it up. I sleep very well with aquatic sounds, but the clunking just won't do.

When at anchor I tie off all mast lines to the shrouds accept the main halyard. This I just tighten snug. I use it as a wind alarm. If the wind picks up, the halyard starts banging the mast, and I come on deck to check the conditions. I will then tie off the halyard to the shroud, and set an hourly anchor watch if required.

[Don T]

Hello,
When we got our boat there were several things I ended up doing to quiet stuff down.
1. Make sure the ballast tank is completely full so it doesn't "glop" all night as you rock. The boat is way more stable with the ballast in. On our boat that required installing a second vent up forward.

2. I too put spacers in the bunk to quiet the center board. Just make sure that the board still raises and drops properly. I used slippery furniture glides and nylon spacers. I wouldn't recommend doing anything to the centerboard / bunk if you keep your boat on a mooring or in a slip, critters & growth will bind it if it has zero tolerance. I find the rocking just as disturbing as the knocking.

3. Raise rudders unless they are needed to slow the swing on the hook or to control the position to wind when using a staysail.

4. Tie off lines aloft as others have suggested, it's the neighborly thing to do.

5. Use lanyards to tie flags to their clips. I find the brass grommets rattling on the clips a great indicator of the wind building up but once aloft nothing can be done to quiet them.

6. For me the best indicator of weather building is the howl through the standing rigging. Nothing to do about that except get up and stand watch, it takes 25 ~ 30 kt wind for that to happen.

Now..............about the snoring...............

[Chinook]

In the past, I've been bothered by the gurgling noise coming out of the sink drains from the galley and head sinks, when the boat rocks. I solved that by sticking corks into the two sink drain holes.

[Mac26Mpaul]

Better yet, dry out on a nice sandy flat beach if the tides are right.

You see, I would be afraid of bears (or other critters) climbing up on my boat and eating me.

Also, staying in a marina often comes with lots of sounds you have no control over. Other people, other boats making noise. Bears climbing on your boat trying to eat you.

Bears ha! If a bear climbs up here we see it as a bonus and just grab the little b$#stard - they make great teddy bears! (Mind you, Koala bears may be a different size than yours )

But seriously, At least one place I'm aware of here, Dingoes have been known to jump up onto drying out boats. This is one huge benifit of the high freeboard on our powersailers

[mastreb]

I solve all my boat's nighttime noise problems with a pair of foam earplugs. Works like a charm, and they're very easy.