Engine noise and diesel fumes?

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trawlerguyNY

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Oct 28, 2023
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I'm thinking of moving from a boat with an outboard to a diesel trawler. Should I be concerned with engine noise and diesel fumes?

I really like the Grand Banks 32 sedan but I've never had a boat with a diesel engine before. Considering the engine is below the salon I'm wondering if engine noise and diesel fumes are an issue. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
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Greetings,
Welcome aboard if I've missed you. Fumes should not be any issue if you don't have fuel or exhaust leaks. Sometimes a tail wind will push exhaust fumes into the cabin areas but generally not an issue.
"Excessive" engine noise can probably be mitigated with application of extra soundproofing if necessary.
 
Fumes should never be evident inside the vessel. Noise level is really dependent on throttle position, conversation at normal cruising is comfortable. Suggest you take a cruise on one to establish your comfort level.
 
Turtle Blues said:
Fumes should never be evident inside the vessel. Noise level is really dependent on throttle position, conversation at normal cruising is comfortable. Suggest you take a cruise on one to establish your comfort level.
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Thanks. I guess my only opportunity would be if I got serious about the purchase and ended up going on a sea trial or two.
 
Different people have different levels of sensitivity. You will never know the true answer until you sea trial the boat. I would proceed as if there was no issue but during a sea trial I would pay attention to this exact issue. It is perfectly acceptable to refuse a boat because you feel it’s too noisy or smelly.
 
Some people are sensitive to diesel "smell" which on any diesel boat can linger. Most (I would say the vast majority) never find it strong enough for it to bother them unless downwind and the outside exhaust gets stronger.

If the average person notices it then you have a leak, or an uncleaned up diesel spill or an exhaust leak...all can be remedied.

Noise also is a personal thing...the average outboard boat is way noisier if run hard and an inboard diesel is way less if at usual cruising speed....but can be loud at the upper range of throttle.

The noise issue can also be lessened some if the previous owned has not plugged the holes to the engine room from all kinds of after build equipment installs or added maximum, good insulation to the saloon floor.
 
psneeld said:
Some people are sensitive to diesel "smell" which on any diesel boat can linger. Most (I would say the vast majority) never find it strong enough for it to bother them unless downwind and the outside exhaust gets stronger.
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My wife has that sensitivity. Our last boat had twin 892 Detroits (smelly, leaky engines), and the smell was unavoidable. My current boat has twin Cummins QSM11s. No smell anywhere in the boat, including the engine room. No smoke in the exhaust and the only time there is exhaust smell is when backing down or wind from behind faster than our speed over ground. And even then, very faint (it helps that this boat has underwater exhaust).
 
MYTraveler said:
My wife has that sensitivity. Our last boat had twin 892 Detroits (smelly, leaky engines), and the smell was unavoidable. My current boat has twin Cummins QSM11s. No smell anywhere in the boat, including the engine room. No smoke in the exhaust and the only time there is exhaust smell is when backing down or wind from behind faster than our speed over ground. And even then, very faint (it helps that this boat has underwater exhaust).
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Interesting. I wonder if the late 70's 32 sedan has underwater exhaust.
 
trawlerguyNY said:
Interesting. I wonder if the late 70's 32 sedan has underwater exhaust.
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I'm pretty sure none of the older Grand Banks did. But even without it, it's likely not a big concern. Most boats will get some exhaust fumes blown onto some part of the boat under the right conditions, but it's usually not a major issue. If you don't hear a lot of complaining from owners then I wouldn't be too worried about that specific model having major issues with station wagon effect.

In general I don't see many older Grand Banks with sooty transoms, so I expect they don't have major issues with pulling exhaust fumes forward while underway.
 
Inboard diesels are generally noisier than inboard gassers and noisier than newer outboards. Their advantages are longevity and fuel economy.

Thirty feet is the generally accepted breakpoint: shorter for gassers and particularly outboard gassers, longer for diesels.

At 32’ the GB 32 should be fine for diesel. I doubt if you will find a similar boat with an inboard gasser.

David
 
trawlerguyNY said:
Thanks. I guess my only opportunity would be if I got serious about the purchase and ended up going on a sea trial or two.
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Owners would probably be happy to take you for a ride. Don't be too bashful to walk the dock and ask!
 
Turtle Blues said:
Owners would probably be happy to take you for a ride. Don't be too bashful to walk the dock and ask!
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Re: requesting a ride... Id say a lot depends on the situation and preliminary discussion. If possible I'd suggest scanning through the GB section to see if you could identify an owner somewhere near you / your travels. Start with a TG conversation about their experience... maybe inquire about a first hand visit to talk more about your concerns. Best approach obviously is if you could steer a discussion and have an owner make the offer of a ride.

I've had strangers walk by and offer to pay for a ride and it's rather rude IMO. Fortunately the offer to pay provides a perfect excuse as it would be illegal to accept payment w/o proper licensing. An offer to buy lunch for the discussion might open some doors?

On the other hand I've had many conversations. & boat tours from interested people asking intelligent questions about our boat and how we like it.

Goid luck
 
If you smell diesel fuel inside the boat, you have a fuel leak somewhere. If you smell diesel exhaust inside the boat, you have an exhaust leak or it's blowing back in through a window or opening somewhere.

Diesels are noisier than gas engines. That's the nature of the beast. Different types and designs are noisier than others though. 2-stroke diesels are noisier than 4-strokes, for one thing. If the boat you are looking at has older MTU/Detroit Diesels, they might be 2-stroke (mine are). There are advantages and disadvantages to each. To mitigate the noise, you need sound insulation and/or to run at lower RPM.
 
Having fished aboard a GB32, I think you will find that when not pushed hard is a fairly quiet vessel as compared to an outboard which is up in the air behind you.
 
Choices, choices. Little noise at cruise, or possible explosion. Everything has a downside.
 
Bacchus said it more eloquently than I.
A query on the forum is the perfect place to seek someone in your area and start a conversation.
I'm getting old enough that an extra hand on an outing is usually appreciated. Enjoy being questioned, sometimes makes me rethink why I did something or what alternatives are possible. But then I like to yak.
 
rgano said:
Having fished aboard a GB32, I think you will find that when not pushed hard is a fairly quiet vessel as compared to an outboard which is up in the air behind you.
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One of the reasons I like the 32 sedan is the ability to fish in the cockpit while those not fishing can be on the flybridge or in the salon. How was your experience fishing on a GB32? Enough room in the cockpit for fishing?
 
trawlerguyNY said:
One of the reasons I like the 32 sedan is the ability to fish in the cockpit while those not fishing can be on the flybridge or in the salon. How was your experience fishing on a GB32? Enough room in the cockpit for fishing?
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Sounds like a sportfisherman would be a much better choice at possible a lower price, more versatile, only slightly more operating cost if run at slower speeds.

Even explore vessels like the Albin 32+2 command bridge...... 1997 Albin 32 + 2 Command Bridge
 
Also consider that the rubber in hoses has a limited lifespan. A general rule of thumb is 10-15 years. If you smell fuel fumes and can't spot leaks at connections then it's possible the hoses themselves are old enough that the fuel has begun permeating them. Same thing applies for the toilet hoses. If the hoses feel 'squishy' and a rag wiped tightly along them comes away with smells then it might be time to replace them. If there have been spills there are cleaning products available that can be used to eliminate them (which is a WHOLE OTHER topic of conversation).

A properly tuned diesel should really not have an excessive of smell from the fumes. Though some may be more sensitive to this than others. Signs of soot or smoke are an indicator that the engines may need service attention.
 
Cruising exclusively from the flybridge, I only smell exhaust from my Perkins when we have a tailwind going any faster than our 8-10 knots forward speed.
 
Sometimes we get exhaust fumes in the saloon (during the summer) when we have a decent tailwind, but normally we don't smell anything. We steer from the fly bridge 99,9999 % of the time and smell nothing. Obviously on the fly bridge we don't hear the engines except for a soft humming.
In the salon the engine noise was more noticeable, but we installed a carpet plus a sound deafening carpet below that in the salon and pilot house. In the engine room we added about 8 cm of sound proofing material and that cancelled out almost all the engine noise.
 
I get slight diesel fumes if the wind is at my back and just slightly faster than the speed I'm travelling. You learn to tune out the noise.
 
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