Bow noise

[arcadia]

Hi, as ex-sailers we just bought a Swift Trawler 50 but we are surprised about the noise the waves makes against the bow when we are on anker (tok-tok/bonk-bonk/clotch-clotch...:lol

Any solutions??

We have the 47 and after one week welcome the sound. I think the only way to totally eliminate the sound is to dry dock the boat.

 

[Lecomte38]

It is the chines. Spaghetti floats

My Mainship 34 slaps also. I rigged a couple kids swimming pool spaghetti floats on ropes to hold them in the chine at water/wave level.

 

[Clemson101]

We have a Swift Trawler 34 and we've gotten use to the slap. I purchased a Mantus bridle system recently which works well for it's purpose but it didn't improve the slapping noise any (not that I thought it would drastically). Mainly when at anchor, we attempt to find an anchorage that is protected well enough to limit the wave slap if possible. Welcome!

 

[Nepidae]

It was pointed out that to get a big boat 50, to plane you need 2 things. Big engines, light hull.

It also doesn't help to have the master in the bow which those boats have.

Someone mentioned earplugs, or, I'll mention a different boat.

You could do some monkey work as suggested but if it is really annoying you might only have 1 choice.

Good luck.

 

[dirtdoc1]

I don't notice the wave noise because the anchor chain make so much grinding noise. I thought the bridle would take care of it but nope. I'm not sure where the grinding noise is coming from. Maybe the smooth roller that I have rather than the type that is notched for the chain? I finally moved in to the other stateroom.

 

[Frosty]

Keep in mind, if you expect the hull to plane, filling the chines will hurt performance. If you don't actually plan to run much above hull speed, then go for it.

I was reading about this on a Nordic Tug discussion. Some of the NT models have the chine slap/clunk when at anchor. Several people have had them filled in (permanently) in the area that causes the problem, and they reported that when getting up above hull speed, the filled in part ends up above the waterline anyway, so no performance detriment that they could discern. That may be different on different hulls though (perhaps if you use trim tabs to run dead level then that area would be in the water?)

There was also discussion about whether it made the boat wetter due to changed dynamics of bow spray, but IIRC it was not felt to be measurable.

 

[Brian B]

It's an easy fix. On my trawler , we sleep in the aft cabin and put the quest in the v berth. Their so happy to be on a boat , they don't complain.

 

[caltexflanc]

I don't notice the wave noise because the anchor chain make so much grinding noise. I thought the bridle would take care of it but nope. I'm not sure where the grinding noise is coming from. Maybe the smooth roller that I have rather than the type that is notched for the chain? I finally moved in to the other stateroom.

When you deploy your snubber bridle, are you letting out a big lazy loop of chain behind it, say down to the waterline? That eliminates the chain grinding on any boat I've been on. Also, out of curiosity what is the configuration of your bridle?

 

[AnnapolisJoy]

Slap noise

We were fortunate enough to spend a week on a friends boat when we started looking at trawlers. After a week on the guest stateroom we knew that whatever we bought it would be quiet at anchor. Having sailed for many years we enjoyed a good nights sleep with a silent hull. We decided that a semi displacement hull was the best. Not as fast as a full displacement hull but nice and quiet. When we raft up or on a mooring we can hear the slap of other boats and know we made the right decision.

 

[Comodave]

I don't notice the wave noise because the anchor chain make so much grinding noise. I thought the bridle would take care of it but nope. I'm not sure where the grinding noise is coming from. Maybe the smooth roller that I have rather than the type that is notched for the chain? I finally moved in to the other stateroom.

We don’t have any chain noise with an all chain rode. We do put a big loop in the chain on the boat side of the snubber.

 

[Phil23]

"chine chatter" got used to it

 

[rider1964]

Performance Impact?

I filled mine in. Problem mostly solved.

Ted

How did that impact performance / spray?

 

[PocketAces]

You can also try a white noise generator. About $30 on Amazon. Will help muffle the sounds.

 

[Todd R]

My parents had a hundred year-old school clock in our house when I was growing up. We didn’t hear it ticking. Friends would visit us and ask how we could stand listening to that noise maker all the time! Drove them crazy. We didn’t hear it! My wife and I currently have that clock in our house...along with six others. We don’t hear them. Should one of our clocks stop, I’ll hear it! I believe after a while we become desensitized to sound in our environment. Live with the wave slap. It’ll probably disappear from your senses.

Yep. Boat is much quieter than the house. Actually this is my shop. House has more clocks.

 

[EricH]

Ed Monk called a 'wave knocker' intended to keep the boat drier underway. At anchor it makes little wavelets sound like a hammer against the hull. To me its letting me know what's happening outside, but I frequently get up in the morning and the Admiral has moved to hide-a-bed in the salon.

 

[Slowmo]

We also have encountered the chine slap when we moved from a wood soft chine to a FG hard chine. On windy nights it's annoying as it can be heard even in the aft cabin. While some talk about filling the chine, I wouldn't go that route. The step is there for a reason, in our boat it's the primary spray deflector even at displacement speeds. I've seen the 'bras' advertised but they seem clumsy. I'm looking at some ideas on how to fill the chine area at anchor and remove it when running.

 

[Frosty]

... this is my shop. House has more clocks.

That gives insight into your boat name

 

[IntoTheBlue]

Some love it, some don't. I personally love the light sound of the bow splash. Puts me to sleep. I know some who will anchor their boat from the rear to avoid the sound at night.

 

[Cartouche]

Hi, as ex-sailers we just bought a Swift Trawler 50 but we are surprised about the noise the waves makes against the bow when we are on anker (tok-tok/bonk-bonk/clotch-clotch...:lol

Any solutions??

You are sleeping above the waterline when on a sailboat you are sleeping in the basement, we are ex sailors to

 

[RoostersReward]

Chine Slap question

Hey everyone,

I am considering buying a Swift Trawler 30 or 35 and live aboard her. Does anyone have insight into how good (or bad) the Chine Slap is on these two models? Thanks, and stay safe.

Ross

 

[Codger2]

Ed Monk called a 'wave knocker' intended to keep the boat drier underway..

I honestly have never paid any attention to "chine slap" and can't even remember hearing it! Next anchoring or mooring I'll pay attention to water at hull noises on my Monk designed boat.

 

[ScottC]

Wow - all the complex, uncertain and expensive options in this discussion thus far make my earplug "workaround", @ 25 cents a pair, pretty attractive, I think!
https://www.amazon.com/Flents-Quiet...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl


https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Earplug...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=


I've used the purple ones for years (33db rating).
I see the blue/green ones in the link above have a 38db rating. May try those next.

 

[Mr. Blu]

Only sounds that I do not understand keep me awake.

 

[OldDan1943]

My parents had a hundred year-old school clock in our house when I was growing up. We didn’t hear it ticking. Friends would visit us and ask how we could stand listening to that noise maker all the time! Drove them crazy. We didn’t hear it! My wife and I currently have that clock in our house...along with six others. We don’t hear them. Should one of our clocks stop, I’ll hear it! I believe after a while we become desensitized to sound in our environment. Live with the wave slap. It’ll probably disappear from your senses.

What did you say?

 

[Codger2]

Only sounds that I do not understand keep me awake.

Ditto! (Oh, and my prostate too!)

 

[NCheaven]

Camano 31 at anchor is delightfully quiet, slight sound of waves is very pleasant, boat rocks me like a baby in his mother’s arms. Long, wide berth, 5” firm cushions help....Ritz Carlton should try to duplicate the overall experience for their guests.....

Camano 31 has a D/L of almost 400, typical of displacement hulls, so it rides well at anchor. The hull design brings only 75% of weight up on plane, “keel form” deeper portion of hull stays below surface, so hard chime planing sections of hull may be slightly smaller and further aft than in faster trawlers. (14.8kt is my best WOT run, but most owners report better). Compromises....but we’re pleased.

Hard decision to get up in the mornings, but Pamlico River/Sound sunrises make the sacrifice worthwhile....

“If you’re lucky enough to be on the Pamlico, you’re lucky enough.....”

 

[koliver]

As I read this thread through, I realized that I am listening to the dreaded "Chine Slap"! A very pleasant noise that is quite audible in the saloon, that allows me the peace and quiet to read TF.
We sleep aft, but have occasionally tried sleeping fwd, where that noise can be louder. It only takes a short while to acclimatize your brain to the noise, when it quietly goes into the background and is not a source of complaint, but rather a source of joy.
When we get home and don't hear it, we recall how nice being on the boat was. Chine slap is part of that joy.

 

[caltexflanc]

It only takes a short while to acclimatize your brain to the noise, when it quietly goes into the background and is not a source of complaint, but rather a source of joy.

Speak for yourself. I have never been able to get used to it. Depends on the boat too. For one instance, to name one, we used to regularly charter a Mainship 350/390 and soon learned it was much nicer to use the fold out sofa bed in the salon. The midship cubby of a guest SR was just as bad. We knew other people who either owned or chartered that same boat model who it didn't seem to bother much, and some for whom it did.

 

[Frosty]

Depends on the boat too.

I think that's a good point. Back in the day, I had a boat with fiberglass "lapstrakes." That boat made lots of wave noise at anchor, but it was a consistent "happy" sound of light rippling. OTOH, recently I was reading an article about filling in the single forward chine on (I think it was a) Nordic Tug but might have been a similar boat with one single "chine" (if that's the right word in the bow) just above the waterline in the bow.

They had an audio recording of the "before" and I found it nowhere near as pleasant as my old fake lapstrake boat. Instead of a consistent light rippling it was silence, then "SHLONK, SHLONK," then silence then "CHONK" etc. I guess because with the one big chine only some waves hit it, and they can hit hard and almost kind of suction under there. I could see myself lying awake waiting for the next one.

With that type of sound - and considering that at least from what I've read the part you'd fill in would be above the waterline when going faster, I might consider filling them.

 

[stonejd]

My Mainship 34 slaps also. I rigged a couple kids swimming pool spaghetti floats on ropes to hold them in the chine at water/wave level.

Many years I had a 1981 Mainship 34. The previous owner had been driven crazy by the chine slap. Filled it in with an epoxy/micro balloons mixture. Did a really nice job with it and noise was gone.