Ratickle

Wisconsin's is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in the nation currently. I watch all closely because we will all be facing this sooner or later. If you search some of myu ramblings on noise, mufflers, Michigan, Noise Gun, etc you will see what is coming.

Here is the current Wisconsin law. I edited it some because it is very long with a bunch of training and education requirements.

NR 5 .125(1)(b) ,An officer requesting a boat operator to submit to a noise test shall test the
boat using testing methods J34a, J1970 or J2005 .

SECTION 5. NR 5 .125(3)(b) is created to read :
NR 5 .125(4) CUTOUT MECHANISMS . No person may operate a boat t hat is equipped with a
muffler cut out, by-pass sw itch or similar device unless the operator of the boat can demonstrate at
the time of inspection that the boat cannot operate contrary to s . 30.62(2)(b),

NR 5.125,(3)(b) Operation standard. Noise level testing procedures J34a, J1970 or J2005
of the Society of Automotive Engineers shall be adhered to by boat operators when requested to
submit to one or more of them by officers conducting noise tests on boats operating in the state of
Wisconsin .

Here is most of SAE J2005 testing procedures.

Excerpt from SAE J2005
(copied and pasted from pdf)

4. Procedure

4.1 Measurement Site—A suitable site is a body of water free of large obstructions or reflective surfaces such as
buildings, boats other than those involved in this procedure, large embankments or breakwaters, etc. for a
minimum distance of 8 m (25 ft) from the boat being measured. The boat being tested shall either be moored
to a dock or lashed to another boat. If moored to a dock, the dock shall be of open construction so that it
presents a minimum of reflecting surfaces. If the measurement is made in open water, the boat being
evaluated shall be lashed to the measurement boat to prevent relative motion and to allow positioning of the
microphone in the prescribed location. The measurement boat shall be positioned to minimize reflected
sound.

4.2 Boat Operation—The engine shall be operated at low idle speed within the engine manufacturer's
recommended operating range, in neutral gear if so equipped. For motorboats without a neutral gear, the
engine shall be operated at its lowest operational speed. The engine shall be operated for a sufficient amount
of time to allow water to flow through the exhaust system before taking measurements.

4.3 Measurements

4.3.1 The microphone shall be placed at a distance of 1.2 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 ft) above the water and no closer than
1m (3.3 ft) from the vertical projection of any part of the boat in the area adjacent to the exhaust outlet(s).

4.3.2 The meter shall be set for slow response and the A-weighting network.

4.3.3 The observer reading the meter shall not be closer than arm's length from the microphone to minimize sound
reflections.

4.3.4 The applicable reading shall be the average sound level measured during a period when the background
sound level is at least 10 dB lower than the measured sound level. Background sound level includes wind effects, noise from boats other than the one being measured, wave action, boat wakes, and other extraneous
noises.
Peak readings of intermittent sound levels created by wave slaps or changes in sound level due to
wave action and/or engine speed variation shall not be included in the applicable reading.

4.3.5 The observer shall record the applicable reading and the background sound levels taken immediately before
and immediately after the applicable reading.

5. General Requirements

5.1 The measurements shall be conducted only by persons qualified by training to perform these measurements.

5.2 Proper use of all test instrumentation is essential to obtain valid measurements. Operating manuals or other
literature furnished by the instrument manufacturer should be consulted for both recommended operation of
the instrument, and precautions to be observed.

5.3 Proper acoustical calibration shall comprise the complete measurement system including extension cables,
etc. Field calibration shall be performed immediately before and after each test sequence.

5.4 A measurement shall be invalid if changes in the background sound level affect the applicable reading.

5.5 The use of the word "shall" in the procedure is to be understood to be mandatory, while the word "should" is to
be understood as advisory.

PREPARED BY THE SAE MARINE SOUND LEVEL SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SAE MARINE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND THE SAE SPECIALIZED VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT SOUND LEVEL COMMITTEE

OldSchool

I just removed my Gibson "donkey Dong" mufflers about 2 weeks ago from my boat. They made the boat quiet at idle (off-plane) but it just wasn't worth having water soak the back half of the engine hatch. My wife was sick of getting soaked every time she went back there to attach lines. The cops around where we boat don't enforce it. We passed by DNR two different times yesterday within 25 feet in no wake zones and they didn't mess with us. I had it tested before installing the donkey dongs and it registered 110+ on the the meter.


Take it to court and ask the cops what the ambient noise registered before you started your boat. Gets 'em every time because they never check it!!!!

RMPRam

iTrader: (1)

Here is what I did to my 38 Cigarette w/PSI blower motors to quiet it down. The 2 things that I believe helped the most for this instillation are 1) the exhaust points down and is under water @ idle and 2) all 4 of the pipes are between the drives which helps greatly for "noise" going to the sides.
I tried air activated mufflers with "down pipes" with limited success. The trouble with that type of muffler is that the butterfly cannot completely close off the exhaust from around it's circumference, otherwise it will "stick" in the bore when you shut it. Puting "caps" on the ends to eliminate the "leakage" worked great to pass the test, but you didn't want to run the boat at more than part throttle with that resistance to the flow of the exhaust.
If I can be of any further help, either e-mail me or give me a call. I'm in Minneapolis, Mn.

Gary
Ph: 763-473-8963

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

And silent choice is illegal in most states. If that ain't a crock, I don't know what is. Also someone explain this to me. Why is it that most of the noise laws pertain to testing at idle, at rest?
You can have the loudest MO FO boat as soon as it gets up on plain, and it be whisper quiet while idleingand be legal.
One would think they want you to have the restriction while running. Granted there are some states that do have this ruling.
I have silent choice and use it 99.5% of the time when off plain to keep the noise down. Yet I'm illegal. Good thing the CO's everywhere I boat don't even blink an eye at noise levels. Yet.

Indiana has no Db ruling. Just no cut out, silent choice, modified exhaust. Noise level is up to 'officers descrection' <---WTF?

STUCK

The CO that was on lake Wawasee here in Indiana stoped a friend of ours who has twin 350 with the exhaust out the back and didn't really do anything and then was gheading thru the sandbar I as he went by me I asked if there was a sound level and the co said no and then looked at my boat a Baja 275 and asked if I had captains choice and I said yes and he said I was illegl and better take it to the marina and have it disconnected and I also had Fl. number's and was waiting for my new ones to come in that I ordered so he asked to see my registator and saw it was registered in Indiana and said where are your numbers so i told him there are on order and hadn't came in yet. He said go to Wal-Mart and buy a set of number and get them on. I asked why do I need to buy another set of number to put on since I have a set ordered. His response was if you can afford the boat then you can go out and get another pair of numbers and if he cought me out the next day he would right me up. He did give me a warning and said we are keeping our eyes on Baja so he would be seeing me around. Needless to say next day went to the marina and bought a set of number and was able to cancel my order for the other numbers. As for the exhaust I disconnected the switch like i was told and now it's in the open position. So now when I go thru the channels I can't be quiet. I think the no captains choise is a sill law also.

GO4BROKE

iTrader: (1)

Cops in NY also say silent choice is illegal. It is actually a misinterpretation of the law, which is actually a law made for autos that they copied for boats. Essentially cut outs are illegal. Silent choice is not cut outs, it's an additional muffling system. The water injection and internal flappers also count as muffling devices. When you get pulled over tell them you want to know which SAE procedure they are going to use, if a ticket is written you will want a supporting deposition, and you are going to photograph the procedure to bring to court. They won't want the hassle of writing you the ticket.

Buddy OO

Turn down's put too much back pressure on blower motors and can hydraullic the motors very easily. mufflers will drop you around 10 dcb's. however if you have big hp motors or dry exhaust anything you put on will hurt performance, have tried several options, there is no perfect solution.

Revd Up

Was putting in a Ben Watts Marina on Saturday on the Chain O Lakes. Water Cops were hasseling a big cat for being too loud. I hated to even start mine up . I have the CMI Sound Elimination Mufflers. They didn't even look at me when I started up. Guess I must be pretty quiet, or maybe it was because they already had one on the hook. I did back up a long way before I turned the transom toward them.

AO31

That was me; public enemy numero uno this week. I was wondering if he was going to try and follow you out!

Revd Up

The way they were all over your boat I couldn't get the hell out of there fast enough. I'm sure that 38 Special Baja on the other side of me had to be just as nervous. Did they give you a ticket? If so hopefully you can prove they did it wrong and get out of it. Many obstacles to echo off of in that marina. NIce Boat!