Going below - protect your ears

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Tom

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Whenever I go below decks with the engines running I wear ear protection. You should too.

I speak as someone who didn't wear ear protection while working at a steel plant many years ago and lost the ability to separate sounds or to stand loud music.
 

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Glad to see you are also wearing the dark glasses down there, cause it's dark down there.  LOL
 
Shayne said:
Glad to see you are also wearing the dark glasses down there

LOL Shayne. I've been wearing photochromatic (photo-grey/photo-brown) lenses for many years. Since I had just gotten out of the CA sun, my lenses were still in the process of lightening up.
 
I knew that    It's the reason I stated it.  I wear the yellow tinted shooters lens myself and carry dark glasses for sunlite.  Had a Nail penetrate my right eye years ago and am susceptible to sunlite.  In fact  it almost cost me my life.  So I definitely know the value of protection.
 
Wow Shayne! I had some close calls at the steel plant, but not quite that close.

My nephew had a dart in his eye when he was a teen. Left him with a cataract, but now he's blind in that eye.
 
I'm getting a cataract, but it's small.  I still have problems occasionally with the shooting stars, but have learned to live  with it, even when sound asleep and they occur I'm then wide awake for a few moments and then when they've disappeared I can go back to sleep  If I look to the right and someone looks at my eye closely  you can see the scares in it.  It looks like a hard boiled egg (only with red ) LOL that has been boiled and when you've peeled tghe shell off and scratch the white as the yellow will be visible at times.  You just learn to live with pain at least I do  Back included. But that's another story lol
 
I got my first set of photo lenses yesterday. They are great! I do wear earplugs when running my outboard. I have lost a lot of HF sound, according to the doctor. Worked for Huntco for a few years till we went to Texas.

So you diesel boat guys: The common rail injection on the 3rd Gen Cummins is much quieter than my truck. Are they using this on newer marine diesels and does it make a difference?

Oh yeah, if you go below on my boat, you're wet! ;D
 
I don't know what the current crop of photo gray lenses do, but years ago I found them useless.  I wanted the glasses to change when I was driving.  They wouldn't.  They changed based on the UV.  The slightly tinted glass in the car stopped most UV.  They only changed when out in direct sunlight.  Also, I like polarized lenses when driving to reduce glare.
Art
 
Others have complained that they don't change behind a windshield. I wore glass lenses for a lot of years because, for the longest time, photochromatic lenses were not available in plastic. Even when they became available, I was reluctant to change to plastic because the state of the art at that time was such that plastic lenses didn't change as much as glass. They still don't, but they change much more than the earlier plastic lenses.

I have prescription polaroids that I wear while driving and when I'm on the water. My optometrist recommended them some years ago when she learned we spend a lot of time on the water. I'm glad I took her advice.
 
dsharp said:
Are they using this on newer marine diesels and does it make a difference?

I don't really know. The engines in our boat are CATs and the generator is Westerbeke.
 
I should have phrased that question differently. What I meant was are marine diesel manufacturers using the common rail injection? And if so, does it help with noise like it does on land based motors?  I am very interested in this stuff, I have a new boat build coming up in a couple three years, depending on whether or not we stay here. I've got a interview coming up next week that should settle the issue finally. Basicly, I get the job, we're here forever. I don't get the job, we'll see what happens. If I am good enough to land it then that boat may be a year out instead of two or three! Then you guys will see the stupid new guy question post to end them all! I'll call it: Help me oufit my new boat.

Sorry bout that. ;D

 
Tom said:
Others have complained that they don't change behind a windshield. I wore glass lenses for a lot of years because, for the longest time, photochromatic lenses were not available in plastic. Even when they became available, I was reluctant to change to plastic because the state of the art at that time was such that plastic lenses didn't change as much as glass. They still don't, but they change much more than the earlier plastic lenses.

I have prescription polaroids that I wear while driving and when I'm on the water. My optometrist recommended them some years ago when she learned we spend a lot of time on the water. I'm glad I took her advice.

Since I shoot, my prescription lenses are all polycarbonate -- shooting and daily wear.  Needless to say, shooters always wear ear protection, at least nowadays.  Myself, since I have only one good ear, I wear earmuffs AND an expanding earplug in the good ear.    The polycarbonate lenses are clear, no photo greys.  Instead, I use the plastic polaroid flip-up clip-ons.  They are nice for sudden changes in light as going thru a tunnel.
 
It's been a couple of years since I looked at new diesel engines. Last time was at the Miami boat show.
 
The ones I use were made for me. There's a guy that travels the gun shows, don't recall his name, and he injects some stuff in your ear, makes a good fit. They are connected together by a thin peice of plastic line. I hook mine around the strap of my ball cap so I don't lose them when I pull them out. If you compete, I recommend the Peltor 6S. They let you hear the range commands pretty well, even if firing is going on next door. They are light and thin, don't interfere with mounting the gun. Bad thing about them is if you have a bad run you can hear your buddies making fun of you. :-[
 
Pierat said:
What model of ear muffs do you like for sound protection?

Not sure who the question was meant for, or which application you have in mind. The ones I wear in the engine room are generic ones. I'm usually not down there very long while the engines are running - just long enough to check for oil or fuel leaks, so long-term comfort isn't an issue for me. I have them hanging on a hook at the entrance to the engine room, so they're convenient to just grab and put on. I wore them today since I was changing oil and fuel filters.

Edit: Just checked and my ear muffs are made by Peltor, their Bullseye Shotgunner. IIRC I picked them up at a fishing/hunting/boating show, or maybe I got them at a local sporting goods store  ???
 

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