"Can you hear me now?" isn't just a famous commercial catchphrase – it refers to most powerboats, too.

Sound levels on boats from center consoles to trawlers can be downright uncomfortable, ending casual conversation and making cooperation between crewmembers difficult.

Just how loud is too loud? And is there really anything you can do about it? Listen up, because there may well be.

Companies have introduced a bevy of new products in recent years to combat noise, including high-tech insulation, add-ons for your engine and exhaust system – even special sound-reducing paint.

LENNY RUDOWNoise from the hull slapping the water will travel throughout the boat, but even this can be mitigated.The result is that, while every boat's needs may be different, there is an increasing number of options for owners to explore at all price levels.

FEEL THE NOISE

Sound levels are commonly measured in decibels, expressed as dB-A. Most boats produce 55 to 65 dB-A at idle, and somewhere between 80 and 100 dB-A while running. On boats with open, exposed helm stations, wind alone accounts for much of the elevated sound level, sometimes as much as 30 or 40 dB-A.

But these numbers can be deceiving because decibels are measures in a logarithmic scale. Scientifically speaking, the decibel scale actually measures ratios between power, sound pressure, voltage and intensity, and they relate to fancy terms like phon and sone. In plain English, on the decibel scale, a mere three-decibel increase is approximately a doubling of sound levels.

How loud is loud? A quiet conversation produces around 50 dB-A. Chainsaws usually come in around 110. Sitting 50 feet in front of the speakers at a rock concert exposes your ears to around 130 dB-A. At a distance of one foot, 150 dB-A is potent enough to shatter your eardrum. And at 194, particles in the air start to compress, and you get a sonic boom.

OSHAThe sound levels on some boats often exceed OSHA's maximum standards.Ten years ago, some of the worst offenders of ears in the marine world were large, two-stroke outboards. A pair of 250-horsepower carbureted motors could produce up to 110 dB-A – as much as a chainsaw grinding its way through oak. Cruising could be unpleasant at best and damaging to your ears at worst. Consider that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards require that no worker be exposed to 90 dB-A for eight hours at a time without ear protection. Workers exposed to 115 can be exposed for only 15 minutes.

Where does all this sound come from? As you'd expect, much of it is airborne, simply traveling through the air from your engine, transmission, gears and exhaust. But another major source is structural transmission, coming from vibration transferred throughout the boat via the hull, deck and other major structures.

The sound of water pounding against the hull, for example, eventually reaches the ears of someone sitting 20 feet above in an enclosed flying bridge and of someone lying in a berth inside the cabin. The same goes for engine sound, because engines are affixed to the main structural component of the boat. Remember your high school physics class? Sound travels through solids even better than it does air, so while closing the cabin door may cut off airborne noise, it won't eliminate the structural variety.

3MThinsulate, from 3M, is easily added to most engine rooms. But it is not cheap.BAD VIBES

Fortunately, both of these can be combated. Retrofitting is possible in most cases, although the boat's original design and construction play a huge role in sound reduction. Cored bottoms and fiberglass-foam sandwich construction, for example, damp both airborne and structural sounds, because they provide a natural insulation barrier. Boats that are built more solidly also tend to have lower sound levels, simply because fewer parts creak and vibrate when traveling through seas.

Despite these facts, the largest contributor to sound on a boat – and probably the largest area you can impact – is the engine. Stern drive and inboard owners have several options to consider. But the most obvious solution is also the best one: Add acoustic insulation to the engine room or engine box.

Warning: You can't use any old insulation for a boat. First, it must be fire retardant (remember, this is an engine room we're talking about). Second, it needs to be hydrophobic, which is a fancy way of saying it won't absorb water. If it does hold moisture, a mildew explosion will be just over the horizon. Third, marine insulation has to be non-linting. Essentially, this means tiny bits and pieces won't fall off of it as the boat pounds through waves. Those are the "musts." Ideally, marine insulation will also be thin and light, so it can be used to line a compartment without taking up much space or adding much weight.

ROOLS, PANELS AND PAINT

Since marine insulation must do a lot more work within much tighter parameters than standard home insulation, the stuff isn't cheap. Take 3M's Thinsulate marine acoustic insulation, for example. It is hydrophobic, lightweight, non-linting and offers excellent sound absorption. It is sold in rolls and is just one or two inches thick (both sizes are offered). Yet all that costs about $2 per square foot for the inch-thick version and about $3 per square foot for the two-inch version.

If your engine room is 10 feet wide, 15 feet long and five feet tall, that means you'll spend about $800 for inch-thick insulation or about $1,200 for two-inch insulation. Installation is fairly easy, because Thinsulate can be easily cut, stapled onto bulkheads or stringers when wood is present, or glued in place with 3M adhesive if you need to affix it to fiberglass surfaces. But if you ask your yard to do the job, you can expect cost to go up by about 50 percent, for a final tally between $1,200 and $1,800.