acoustic & thermal hull insulation

[KarlH]

I'm curious what materials and sup[pliers other people here have worked with... Any favorites?

 

[Barry]

Need a little more information
Is the boat aluminum or fibreglass
Are you trying to deal with an engine inboard for noise suppression, this is a different situation
Are you trying to insulate the hull at the waterline

 

[KarlH]

It's a production fiberglass hull with foam-cored stringers and a marine ply bulkhead and ribbing. Access is good. The plan is to insulate as much of the hull as possible because it might be used as a livveaboard on a cradle in the winter.

Engine noise is something I haven't thought much about yet, but definitely should.

 

[PAR]

Look up Lizard Skin products and use both, the thermal and acoustic spray on insulations, for best protection.

 

[KarlH]

Thanks PAR, that's exactly what I needed

 

[Yellowjacket]

I wasn't aware of the Lizard Skin products and that seems to be good stuff, but if you're trying to insulate a hull and live inside it, you're going to need a good bit more insulation to keep the temperatures comfortable. Twenty mills of insulation, even if it's pretty good stuff isn't going to do much to make a boat livable when it fairly cold outside. I'd be looking for a material that is fireproof foam for obvious reasons and has a thickness of half to 3/4 of an inch. That would substantially reduce the heat loss and keep you a lot more comfortable when the water is cool. I like Airex, but it's pretty expensive. The thing about it is that it can be heated with heater or heat box and formed to shape, then after it is shaped you can glue it down and you have an effective insulation.. If you don't keep the hull insulated, you're going to get condensation inside and it will make a mess of things. Given that you're in Minnesota you're going to need some pretty good insulation or you're going to need a lot of heat..

 

[TANSL]

There are several companies with extensive experience in ships and marine installations. Surely you will also need passive fire protection. Take a look at the attached file, as an example of the many you can find on the internet.

 

[KarlH]

I wasn't aware of the Lizard Skin products and that seems to be good stuff, but if you're trying to insulate a hull and live inside it, you're going to need a good bit more insulation to keep the temperatures comfortable. Twenty mills of insulation, even if it's pretty good stuff isn't going to do much to make a boat livable when it fairly cold outside. I'd be looking for a material that is fireproof foam for obvious reasons and has a thickness of half to 3/4 of an inch. That would substantially reduce the heat loss and keep you a lot more comfortable when the water is cool. I like Airex, but it's pretty expensive. The thing about it is that it can be heated with heater or heat box and formed to shape, then after it is shaped you can glue it down and you have an effective insulation.. If you don't keep the hull insulated, you're going to get condensation inside and it will make a mess of things. Given that you're in Minnesota you're going to need some pretty good insulation or you're going to need a lot of heat..

I'm familiar with Airex as a maker of structural foam, but I see now that they make other stuff. Is that what you're referring to?

Before I posted on here I was planning to experiment with heat-forming polystyrene foam panels. As long as it doesn't collapse the cells, I was thinking it would probably be OK.

 

[hein]

3M Thinsulate(TM) SM600L or SM400L is great acoustic/thermal insulation that is also hydrophobic.