Sound dampening for engine

[oxlacey]

Here's a newbie question:  Is it ok to add sound dampening foam to the inside of the engine cover?

So I think the engine noise is too loud for conversation on a running 246.  As much as I enjoy the lack of conversation at times, in fairness, I should at least explore the possibility of reducing the engine noise for the 2nd mate.

When we ran with the top down but not wrapped up, it separated us from the motor cover and the sound was reduced significantly.

Can I add foam to the inside of the engine cover without hurting engine performance?  Has anyone tried this?

[Capt. Bob]

Older outboard cowlings (Jonnyrudes anyway) did indeed have foam dampening material. Don't know that it did that much. Do you have a little room under the cover? The motor is water cooled so a little additional trapped heat should not effect performance. You just don't want to get stuff caught up in the moving parts.

[dbiscayne]

the foam insulation that came from the factory can be replaced with much better material, look for mass loaded vinyl. Be sure to remove the old foam/don't try to attach the new material to the old as it'll probably fall apart and end up in the flywheel.

[boatnamesue]

What model/year motor we talking about?