Got an aluminum jonboat that makes a lot of noise with hull slap? The Silencer eliminates this hull slap noise and allows you to get closer to the fish.
By Tim Barefoot
With a few basic hand tools and materials, you can have a jonboat that is as quiet as a V-hull fiberglass boat. Internal insulation reduces the noise of hull slap, but The Silencer eliminates the chop that causes this hull-slap noise all together. Sure, you will have to drill a few holes in your bow, but this simple homemade gadget allows you to get closer to wary fish.
Fish hear your noise way beyond casting distance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been frustrated by watching trophy fish swim right past the boat in shallow water. These fish have lockjaw. They’ve heard the boat, and they’re trying to get away instead of smashing that topwater lure.
Noise absolutely matters! Fish are not stupid to the sounds of trolling motors and hull slap. There is nothing I can do about trolling motor noise, but when you need to get closer to fish upwind, the Silencer allows you to get within casting range without the noise from hull slap. I created this method due to my own frustration at watching fish spook before they were in casting range.
From ponds to the Intracoastal Waterway and the sounds, aluminum boats offer advantages for fishermen. But their built-in disadvantage is they are noisy.
The materials for The Silencer are simple. Everything you’ll need for this project can be purchased at the local hardware store or flooring supply store. All you need is .125-inch (1/8 inch) x ¾ wide aluminum (or stainless) bar stock cut to the width of your bow or a few inches wider, a few #10 self-tapping stainless screws, some indoor/outdoor carpet and a pool noodle.
STEP 1: Sew a loop of the carpet around the pool noodle (as shown in photo). The carpet should be as wide as your bow and slightly longer than the height of your bow off the surface of the water.
STEP 2: Screw the aluminum bar stock and the non-pool-noodle end of the carpet to the bow rail. Drill (.187) 3/16-inch (clearance) holes in the aluminum bar stock, and match the self-tapping holes in the bow of your boat to match. Use an impact driver or drill to “seat” the self-tapping screws into the bow rail, through the clearance holes in the bar stock and the indoor/outdoor carpet.
STEP 3: You’re done. Toss the pool noodle end of The Silencer off the bow. Chop is absorbed by the carpet and pool noodle, leaving an eddy of still water between The Silencer and your hull.
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