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Does Your State Have a Sound Law for Boats?
If so, what is the dB level for your state? Kansas has passed 86 decibels at 50 feet and no boats can be grandfathered in. This seems to be unattainable for the powerboaters. It also seems that at our lake, Lake Perry, Kansas, only the powerboats have been tested and asked to leave the lake. I know that B-Nauti will not pass and are there even mufflers out that that can guarantee us to get to the 86 dB that our state law requires? I know there are house boats, ski boats, cruisers and jet skis that will not pass but none of them have been tested. Do the lawyers on this site think there could be a class action law suit we could put together for discrimination? What else could we do except write letters to our Representatives? Any help would be great. It seems our boating season has been cut short because of this and if we ever get to boat on Kansas lakes again. As of Dec 2006 our boats were legal. As of Jan 2007, the state has made them illegal. What to do?
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Our state law is 90db , but our local Lake George law is 86db. So far the local law enforsement has been holding to the 90 rule. Not many of our performance boats are passing even at 90 with mufflers on. I am working with CMI to get our boats with CMI's on them to get below the 90 mark.
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I'm sure Florida has one, but up by me (Tallahassee) no one checks.
Can someone give me a quickie explanation about the difference between 86 and 90 db? it doesn't seem like it would be much different. Does anyone have any numbers for boats? (Something like Stock Scarab w. twin 454's at idle = X db) I am guessing I'm legal with my boat (20' Donzi Minx, 350/350, wet exhaust with no flappers) but I can see twins or even a single BB as being over the legal limit. |
Originally Posted by VetteLT193
(Post 2259940)
Can someone give me a quickie explanation about the difference between 86 and 90 db? it doesn't seem like it would be much different.
The decibel (abbreviated dB) is the unit used to measure the intensity of a sound. The decibel scale is a little odd because the human ear is incredibly sensitive. Your ears can hear everything from your fingertip brushing lightly over your skin to a loud jet engine. In terms of power, the sound of the jet engine is about 1,000,000,000,000 times more powerful than the smallest audible sound. That's a big difference! On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence) is 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. Here are some common sounds and their decibel ratings: Near total silence - 0 dB A whisper - 15 dB Normal conversation - 60 dB A lawnmower - 90 dB A car horn - 110 dB A rock concert or a jet engine - 120 dB A gunshot or firecracker - 140 dB You know from your own experience that distance affects the intensity of sound -- if you are far away, the power is greatly diminished. All of the ratings above are taken while standing near the sound. Any sound above 85 dB can cause hearing loss, and the loss is related both to the power of the sound as well as the length of exposure. You know that you are listening to an 85-dB sound if you have to raise your voice to be heard by somebody else. Eight hours of 90-dB sound can cause damage to your ears; any exposure to 140-dB sound causes immediate damage (and causes actual pain). |
Maryland uses the SAE spec of 90 dB at 1 meter behind and 1 meter above the exhaust. When we checked our club boats only boats with thru prop exhaust passed, sometimes. Another thing about the test is that ambient noise must be 60dB or below, this is like a library. So in most boating conditions, there is no way they can legally test you. I would think 86 at 50 feet would be more attainable.
At 1 meter a stock 502 efi is 105 dB, 2 are 108 dB and 3 496HO's are 113 dB at idle. |
the main thing to remember is that a decibel isn't a measurement like feet or pounds, it just can't be added and subtracted, it is a relationship between two levels of power....
every increase of 3 db's doubles the sounds "strength" and every increase 10 decibels is ten times louder.... |
Originally Posted by fabricator
(Post 2259949)
I pulled this off a search real quick, hope it helps...........
The decibel (abbreviated dB) is the unit used to measure the intensity of a sound. The decibel scale is a little odd because the human ear is incredibly sensitive. Your ears can hear everything from your fingertip brushing lightly over your skin to a loud jet engine. In terms of power, the sound of the jet engine is about 1,000,000,000,000 times more powerful than the smallest audible sound. That's a big difference! On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence) is 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. Here are some common sounds and their decibel ratings: Near total silence - 0 dB A whisper - 15 dB Normal conversation - 60 dB A lawnmower - 90 dB A car horn - 110 dB A rock concert or a jet engine - 120 dB A gunshot or firecracker - 140 dB You know from your own experience that distance affects the intensity of sound -- if you are far away, the power is greatly diminished. All of the ratings above are taken while standing near the sound. Any sound above 85 dB can cause hearing loss, and the loss is related both to the power of the sound as well as the length of exposure. You know that you are listening to an 85-dB sound if you have to raise your voice to be heard by somebody else. Eight hours of 90-dB sound can cause damage to your ears; any exposure to 140-dB sound causes immediate damage (and causes actual pain). Every doubling of energy (watts is the common measurement) is a 3db gain. Sound behaves logrithmically, meaning that the louder you get, the harder it is to get louder. All things being equal, an omni-directional sound source will lose 6db for every doubling of distance. But with the sound waves coming through pipes and being tightly focused, they will not lose 6db in this case. Also the environment will affect wavelengths due to the differences in the speed of sound from one environment to another. Higher frequencies (smaller wavelengths) will lose more volume over distance than lower frequencies. Also a lot of those waves are reflecting off the water (smooth water especially). Some are getting transmitted through though. If there is a law in Florida, they must not care. But if you get measured, watch out that the officers don't set the db meter to 'C' weighting. That makes it more sensitive. Most laws call for the measurement to be 'A' weighting. This is a more accurate representation of how are ears hear. |
Originally Posted by insptech
(Post 2259957)
Maryland uses the SAE spec of 90 dB at 1 meter behind and 1 meter above the exhaust. When we checked our club boats only boats with thru prop exhaust passed, sometimes. Another thing about the test is that ambient noise must be 60dB or below, this is like a library. So in most boating conditions, there is no way they can legally test you. I would think 86 at 50 feet would be more attainable.
At 1 meter a stock 502 efi is 105 dB, 2 are 108 dB and 3 496HO's are 113 dB at idle. |
Thanks Fabricator and Sean H. Great explanations.
I did some googling, it looks like FL is 90 db @ 50 feet. Anyone know any different? |
In Florida, it's 90db at 50 feet. Easy to pass.
But I don't think it's much of an issue down here. I can't ever think of a time when anyone's actually been hassled for noise around here. Florida Statute 327.65 Muffling devices.-- (1) The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any vessel operated on the waters of this state shall be effectively muffled by equipment so constructed and used as to muffle the noise of the exhaust in a reasonable manner. The use of cutouts is prohibited, except for vessels competing in a regatta or official boat race, and for such vessels while on trial runs. (2)(a) Any county wishing to impose additional noise pollution and exhaust regulations on vessels may, pursuant to s. 327.60(1), adopt by county ordinance the following regulations: 1. No person shall operate or give permission for the operation of any vessel on the waters of any county or on a specified portion of the waters of any county, including the Florida Intracoastal Waterway, which has adopted the provisions of this section in such a manner as to exceed the following sound levels at a distance of 50 feet from the vessel: for all vessels, a maximum sound level of 90 dB A. 2. Any person who refuses to submit to a sound level test when requested to do so by a law enforcement officer is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (b) The following words and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in this subsection. 1. "dB A" means the composite abbreviation for the A-weighted sound level and the unit of sound level, the decibel. 2. "Sound level" means the A-weighted sound pressure level measured with fast response using an instrument complying with the specification for sound level meters of the American National Standards Institute, Inc., or its successor bodies, except that only a weighting and fast dynamic response need be provided. |
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