hull "slapping" noise

Some boats are worst than others

Last night I was anchored behind rudder cay in the southern exumas with 25kts from the NW... As much as I am used to and enjoy boat noises incl chine slap it was so loud that i went up to sleep on the couch the skylounge. The wide low chines and the mostly empty bilge at the bow just amplify the noise.

It was not even chine slap, it was chine bang!

I suppose there are other places to sleep as well. For instance, on my Bertram 54, there is a good amount of slapping noise at the V-Births, least in the master stateroom, some in the crew bunks and none in the salon which is above the waterline.

OK got it, but isn't Leno a West Coaster now?

Anyways, the mooring areas off Catalina would be considered fairly unprotected and open to a lot of traffic/commotion, including the back-wash of swells from the beach. I can honestly say that I sleep much better on a boat than on land, but even though I have had my best night's sleep onboard, I probably have experienced my worst nights sleep onboard as well

I would still paint the below deck areas with a sound deadening product prior to putting some sound absorbing material in the void spaces. You can even set sound absorbing tiles in place. Another option would be to get a large roll of 3M Thinsulate and wad it in place, I recall the 3M reps pushing this solution quite a few years ago.

I've toyed with the idea of floating some type of a battan in the area of the chine where it meets the wavelets. Never put it into any kind of an action plan, though

Sailboats have the same issue, especially in the aft staterooms. I drapped a towel that was tied to the lifeline on one side then under the aft section of the hull at the waterline then tied up the the opposite lifeline. worked like a charm.
Ray

Try sticking dynamat to the inside area where the hull slap is. Car audio guys use it quite a bit to stop noise and rattles and it works great.

I have heard of people using swim noodles and lines and making a bridle out of them to slip the noodle/bridle over the bow and then slide the noodles in place under the chines to fill the gap and stop the slap.

The last boat I ran was aluminum with sme of the most pronounce bow chines I had ever seen. The only way to sleep in the bow cabin on many nights was with ear plugs. At times it was like two guys were at the water line hitting the boat with baseball bats.

Leno is very much a West Coaster. Can't get much more than LA. Letterman hails from the Ed Sullivan theater in NY.

I like your idea using the swim noodles, however if you can't handle the noise of water slapping the side of a boat I would do what my wife does: ear plugs. They work well, I know cause my snoring never bothers her on the boat as it does at home.
IMHO, it is the noise of water and being on the boat that makes the whole trip worthwhile. Puts me to sleep.
I would say it is just a matter of getting used to it, which will happen after a time.

I owned a Viking that suffered from this problem on the east coast.

Fuel / water / supplies / chains & axes transfered. In a pinch, wife.

Baseball bats! That's how it felt the other night!

Ear plugs are a not option! I want to hear things like anchor alarm, bilge pumps, air con stopping etc...

I agree with the ear plugs. But until you have experienced a boat with the kind of chines and hull slap I'm talking about you have no idea how unbelievably loud it can be. And since everybody has different levels of tolerance to noise types and levels I sure some people will never get used to it.

Try a wooden boat. No slapping sound like there is in cheap fiberglass boats.

Wooden (Cold-molded) construction has great insulating properties. A lot of older wooden boats have round bilges, hence no chine to slap. I also think a common thread for boats with this issue is the Double Chine design, I am not so sure if Single Chine designs have the same issue?

Regarding hull slap,

I recommend considering this when purchasing the boat.

If you plan on spending a lot of time on the hook and the master stateroom is forward you need to be aware of how even gentile ripples will transmit sound.

A lot of people never sleep aboard, even if they do, the boat is tied to a dock somewhere. So hull slap really isn't an issue.

I currently have a 46 Post and the master is forward. The boat is very quiet on the hook. No issues with sound on this boat.

I like the idea of the dynamat. Not wild about the ear plugs. Better to wake up to the bilge alarm than water on your back.

Awww ... you beat me to it.

I still own a wood boat--1967-30 ft Chris Craft as well as my 455 Carver, they both have a wave slap at the bow when anchored. For the boaters that anchor to the dock it may be hard to understand, having the freedom to swing on the anchor. As I have said before i will test my wave slapper solution on both boats in the spring.