Ultra-quiet hire boats

[IanD]

Does anyone know of any hire boat companies which have gone to the same pains that some owners have to reduce engine noise? (hospital silencer, soft engine mounts, flexible drive, multilayer soundproofing in engine bay etc.)

 

I've had hire boats from many of the recommended "high-quality" companies over the years (Napton, Shire Cruisers, Wyvern, many others) but have always been disappointed at the engine noise levels, especially compared to some private boats which I've passed which were almost silent.

 

I realise nothing's going to compare with the steamer "Firefly" that I hired in the 80's, but I'm sure it's possible to get a lot closer than any hire boat I've found so far...

 

Ian

 

P.S. I know about the electric boats on the Mon&Brec but not enough to do for me and they only sleep 4, I need 6 berths (3 doubles)

Edited December 29, 2014 by IanD

[Bobbybass]

What..?...!!

 

This is narrowboating for goodness sake...

 

If you're going narrowboating...you need to get deaf...oiley...muddy....wet and smutty...

 

Darn you 'city dweilling types'...with your hoity toity cleaner than thou...'look how quiet and shiney I am'....approach to the canals !

 

 

[IanD]

Horses for courses -- the most *fun* I ever had boating was with a Bolinder (or Firefly, which was equally a hoot but even less practical), but that's not what I'm looking for when I'm on a family holiday. In this case I'd like a boat where if you're inside or in the bows you can't really hear or feel the engine, because that's what the other people on the boat want, to glide along peacefully.

 

I guess the best thing would be a horse-drawn boat then, which is of course more traditional than any of your nasty engines. But I somehow doubt I could hire one...

[Slim]

Could it have anything to do with speed?

[steven wilkinson]

I am with you IanD. if only there was a commercial demand for a small, smooth, quiet, clean and efficient engine! Pity the market is likely to only be in the 100's and not 100,000s!

 

I am sure our Japanese friends could come up with something in a flash! I would have one straight away!

[IanD]

Could it have anything to do with speed?

Eh? If you mean "if you're making a lot of noise you're going too fast", I take the view that if you're throwing up a significant wake you're going too fast by wasting energy making big waves instead of moving the boat. Firefly was by far the slowest boat I've ever been on (Keith Jones reckoned it developed about 3shp flat-out) and also two of the most enjoyable weeks I've had on the canals, and was incapable of raising a wake of any size whatsoever, but with long swims at both ends just slipped through the water like a fish.

I am with you IanD. if only there was a commercial demand for a small, smooth, quiet, clean and efficient engine! Pity the market is likely to only be in the 100's and not 100,000s!

 

I am sure our Japanese friends could come up with something in a flash! I would have one straight away!

I'm sure there would be a demand if only such an option existed, and it wouldn't need any new technology because people have already done it on private boats using engines like the Beta 43.

 

But despite all the claims on hire websites about "quiet water-cooled diesel" none of them are, at least not what I'd call quiet which means a hospital silencer (exhaust noise), proper heavy-duty sound insulation in the engine bays (radiated noise), and flexible engine/shaft mounts (conducted noise).

 

Doing all this would add far less to the cost of fitting out a hire boat than cosmetic things like granite worktops, but nobody seems to do it :-(

[Athy]

if only there was a commercial demand for a small, smooth, quiet, clean and efficient engine! Pity the market is likely to only be in the 100's and not 100,000s!

 

I am sure our Japanese friends could come up with something in a flash! I would have one straight away!

Eh? Nearly all modern narrowboats have engines which meet at least three of your five criteria.

I am sure that if our Japanese friends could come up with an engine which made plenty of noise at very few rpm, satisfied the newest emissions rules and cost under ten grand, many boaters would have one straight away.

[IanD]

Eh? Nearly all modern narrowboats have engines which meet at least three of your five criteria.

I am sure that if our Japanese friends could come up with an engine which made plenty of noise at very few rpm, satisfied the newest emissions rules and cost under ten grand, many boaters would have one straight away.

The problem isn't the engine itself, as you say there are several possibilities as well as Beta Marine, the problem is the installation. Given that all the hire companies talk about things like "gliding through the countryside" it's disappointing that none of them (that I've found) properly do the simple things needed to make this a reality as far as noise and vibration are concerned...

Edited December 29, 2014 by IanD

[Bobbybass]

 

 

I guess the best thing would be a horse-drawn boat then, which is of course more traditional than any of your nasty engines. But I somehow doubt I could hire one...

 

Wasn't there a declaration by BW a few years back..that you could only use horse drawn with special permission...because the tow paths aren't suitable for horses...?

[IanD]

So, back to the original question...

 

Does anyone know of any narrowboat hire boat companies which have gone to the same pains that some owners have to reduce engine noise? (hospital silencer, soft engine mounts, flexible drive, multilayer soundproofing in engine bay etc.)

 

It's easy to find builders who will build me a boat like this, or brokers who will sell me one, but I can't find anybody who will hire me one... :-(

[Paul C]

There's none, as far as I know. HOWEVER some boats and engines are quieter than others, and if you're booking a holiday I'd always recommend to view the actual boat you'll be on, not just another in the same fleet etc. Hire boats, indeed all boats, seem to vary a lot in their quality of engine installation, exhaust installation, and noise produced.

 

One way to reduce noise is to add insulation and box the engine in - I can't see any hire firms doing this becuase 1) it would cost money and 2) it would impede easy maintenance.

[Guest]

Our boat is as quiet as any boat we have hired.

 

Including from Napton and Ashby Boat company.

 

Boats we pass seem quieter because we aren't stood over the engines on them.

[OldGoat]

 

Wasn't there a declaration by BW a few years back..that you could only use horse drawn with special permission...because the tow paths aren't suitable for horses...?

 

Yes, that's the response I got when I contacted BW many years ago - their answer omitted the word 'suitable'.

In retrospect I'm very glad - dragging a 16 2 HH Irish draught up to the midlands in a trailer would not have been a good idea...

[OldGoat]

There's none, as far as I know. HOWEVER some boats and engines are quieter than others, and if you're booking a holiday I'd always recommend to view the actual boat you'll be on, not just another in the same fleet etc. Hire boats, indeed all boats, seem to vary a lot in their quality of engine installation, exhaust installation, and noise produced.

 

One way to reduce noise is to add insulation and box the engine in - I can't see any hire firms doing this becuase 1) it would cost money and 2) it would impede easy maintenance.

 

There is one firm whose entire fleet was based on quietness - achieved by fresh water cooling, further enhanced by a heavy steel hatch over the engine bay (semi-trad). No other special attention was made to extra sound deadening.

They've since wound down their fleet - but not due to their quietness.

 

I was so impressed that I adopted their practice.

[steven wilkinson]

Eh? Nearly all modern narrowboats have engines which meet at least three of your five criteria.

I am sure that if our Japanese friends could come up with an engine which made plenty of noise (I don't want plenty of noise. I want quiet) at very few rpm, satisfied the newest emissions rules and cost under ten grand, many boaters would have one straight away.

 

Someone mentioned a Beta. For 40/50hp it is physically massive, and still a noisy, rattly thing! I am thinking more 'shoe box / filing cabinet' sized, and BMW smooth and quiet please.

Nissan have developed a 400 bhp race engine that is that compact (hand luggage size! ) (the technology will eventually filter down to real world applications over time! (And no. I don't want a 400 bhp narrowboat engine. That would just be silly!) ) and there is a radical rotary engine available that is tiny and very efficient too!

 

A customer base of one? Me! That will be a million pounds please! More on the plus side, extra space for the dishwasher and tumble drier!

 

Hey ho Back to the real world!

[Jus73]

Hi Ian

 

Our hire boats have hospital silencers and sound deadening to the deck boards, as well as centaflex couplings - we get lots of comments about how quiet the boats are.

 

Hope that's of help

 

Kind regards

 

Justin

[steven wilkinson]

Hi Ian

 

Our hire boats have hospital silencers and sound deadening to the deck boards, as well as centaflex couplings - we get lots of comments about how quiet the boats are.

 

Hope that's of help

 

Kind regards

 

Justin

AND - they are very well built and superbly finished too!

[IanD]

Hi Ian

 

Our hire boats have hospital silencers and sound deadening to the deck boards, as well as centaflex couplings - we get lots of comments about how quiet the boats are.

 

Hope that's of help

 

Kind regards

 

Justin

Thanks Justin, that's the kind or response I was hoping for :-)

 

Any others? I can't believe there are only 5 hire boats on the system with attention paid to this...

[NickF]

I agree with the OP I have hired some boats where the engine noise can be really intrusive, to the point of not being able to chat with the steerer of a boat sharing a lock with you.

Oxfordshire Narrow Boats seem to be pretty quiet (I have hired from them twice) they have Isuzu engines, not amazingly sound insulated just quiet engines.

 

Heritage Boats at Scholar Green have a few of boats at least made by the same company as Oxfordshire Narrow Boats (NB Wedgewood and NB Mow Cop and others I think) and we certainly found NB Wedgewood very quiet when we hired it.

 

I took a shire cruiser in 2007 and it was one of their older ones with a lister diesel and that was loud but their newer boats are much much quieter and for all I know the old ones may have been upgraded or replaced by now. I do however think they are a great company and have booked with them again this year.

Edited December 30, 2014 by NickF

[IanD]

Even the relatively quiet boats I've hired (mostly with Beta Marine engines, a new boat from Alvechurch at Anderton was probably the best, Shire Cruisers not as good) were still a lot noisier than one private boat I had a ride on which had all the noise reduction methods I mentioned -- you really could barely tell whether the engine was running or not, and it was almost vibration-free.

 

It seems strange that hire fleets don't make more of this, the cost of doing everything properly is only a couple of grand or so (coupling is the most expensive thing if you use Aquadrive, others are cheaper but maybe less effective) and it makes a huge difference -- I'd certainly pay a bit more for silence.

 

Or maybe they think that leaving them noisy discourages hirers from thrashing them, the same way that it's been found that introducing low-noise surfaces on motorways increases average speed...

 

Happy new year in advance!

Edited December 31, 2014 by IanD

[Big Bob W]

By far, the quietest, and best, boat we ever hired was Hector from Armada Boat Hire near Rugby. It's a 2 berth tug style, with the engine up front. Almost silent whilst running. In fact, when you drop it in to neutral, you have to check the rev counter to make sure it's still running! By far the best hire boat we ever rented. Maybe not to everyone's tastes - quite compact. And a great little company to deal with.

[Athy]

By far, the quietest, and best, boat we ever hired was Hector from Armada Boat Hire near Rugby. It's a 2 berth tug style, with the engine up front. Almost silent whilst running. In fact, when you drop it in to neutral, you have to check the rev counter to make sure it's still running! By far the best hire boat we ever rented. Maybe not to everyone's tastes - quite compact. And a great little company to deal with.

Just had a look at their web site. Odd little boats, though not without charm. I recognise the mooring place - a big pub which we have never stopped at! I think they have a day boat as well.

[Big Bob W]

I think the website pictures are from when they were based at Hillmorton. They are now based at bit further along at Newbold. Well kept boats with character.

[IanD]

By far, the quietest, and best, boat we ever hired was Hector from Armada Boat Hire near Rugby. It's a 2 berth tug style, with the engine up front. Almost silent whilst running. In fact, when you drop it in to neutral, you have to check the rev counter to make sure it's still running! By far the best hire boat we ever rented. Maybe not to everyone's tastes - quite compact. And a great little company to deal with.

Fascinating little boats (hydraulic drive for both I assume?) but much too small for us :-(

[Kwacker]

Someone mentioned a Beta. For 40/50hp it is physically massive, and still a noisy, rattly thing! I am thinking more 'shoe box / filing cabinet' sized, and BMW smooth and quiet please.

Nissan have developed a 400 bhp race engine that is that compact (hand luggage size! ) (the technology will eventually filter down to real world applications over time! (And no. I don't want a 400 bhp narrowboat engine. That would just be silly!) ) and there is a radical rotary engine available that is tiny and very efficient too!

 

A customer base of one? Me! That will be a million pounds please! More on the plus side, extra space for the dishwasher and tumble drier!

 

Hey ho Back to the real world!

You can count me in for one. I wish I could power my boat with a 4 cylinder Japanese motorbike engine.