How far away can another boat hear your hooter/horn?

T

tcm

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I must say that i haven't gotta clue. It wakes people up if they're on board on sunpadhaving a snooze but dunno bout another boat over there.

I spose i could get another boat driving along in same direction prasps to start off some distance away and come closer till he can hear it and lemme know on vhf.
Has anyone else tried to claibrate the horn/hooter/whistle? I wd simply like to know if ours is either "totally utterly useless" or not, so did/didn't bother to use it in fog frinstance....
 
I always keep an air-horn handy for the deaf, or distant but approaching dangers.....works a treat..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Maybe I'd better buy one and then I can tell you how effective it is. For now my OI! works for about 100 yards /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'd love to know the mental workings of my boats previous owner...Question - The horn stops working, so what do you do? So what did the previous owner do with the horn? The same answer (if you get it right) aplies to the anchor windlass.
 
Presumably he applied similar principles to the fuel tanks as well? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

The horn fitted on my boat emits a feeble croaking noise that attracts amorous male frogs from miles around /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I've therefore also got an Ecoblast air horn. I dunno if other people can hear it, but by Christ it deafens me!
 
I am confused by this post - is TCM being serious or merely trying to prove that his is bigger than ours. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

For those that dont know, TCMs sound signal is ginormous and needs a 3hp air compressor to run. If he blasts it at Antibes, you can hear it at Gibraltar

To be serious for a moment, the range will be dependent on how it is installed and what decibel level it can achieve. The average electric is abt 100 decibels and is good for a couple of miles to a reasonably quiet ship that has somebody outside their enclosed bridge!
 
nope, not a showoff, being serious- otherwise i'd have said can anyone hear on xx feet long powerboat, ahem anyway

i wd like to know if making a (what sounds like) big noise on my boat (with air horn or £6quid disposable airhorn or whatever) can be heard on say powerboat cracking along 200yards away. Cos i have rarely heard anything cept massive ships make hooting, and not with me on a boat AND a fair bit of hooting on our boat produced not much effect on nearby frenchies recently...
 
Find a nice big cliff somewhere

Point hooter at cliff and blow.

Move further away from cliff until you can't hear echo.

Distance from hooter to cliff is half audible range of hooter

QED
 
Interesting point. I know that yer average air horn can be heard about a mile away in the open air and reasonably still conditions. However, I guess the only way you are going to be able to do a real world test is to get an accomplice to take his boat out, and find out at what range he can hear you, when he's running at cruising speed.

Of course, it will also depend on the background noise in the test boat so, for the most realistic conditions, you need to get someone with an old heap and engines that go bang crash rumble judder. I guess this rules out jfm.

The French boats no doubt heard you; they were just practising a bit of Gallic sang-froid
 
I\'ve got a horn , how big is yours?

It might be heard by a raggie or a mobo cruising at tickover but would be heard by a mobo at planing speeds or in a wheelhouse? No chnce on the bridge of a ship I would have thought.
 
Re: I\'ve got a horn , how big is yours?

How about wind direction? Must travel further downwind than up?
Sound seems to travel over water further at dusk, or is that imagination.
What about pitch? does a deep sound travel further, is that why foghorns are deep. Who am I? What am I doing here? Is TCM bored today?
 
Well i reckon it sounds a bit like the QE2 's . Every time you came in the lock and gave 3 shorts before you backed down the fuel bay we could all hear you.


Shame the peeps in the lock behind you did not understand what signal you were making :-)


It was a bit like the call to prayer
 
Unfortunately it is a question that has too many unknowns to be able to provide a meaningful answer. The following factors will affect the range of hearing:

decibel level of horn,
angle of horn trumpet to recipient,
background noise level - i.e. own ship's noise, wind, weather, recipient ship's noise,
Recipient's sensitivity of hearing at the frequency of the horn,
Recipients position in own ship and its effect on the sound (i.e. inside with door shut),
Recipients alertness state 9i.e. is he expecting a sound signal or is he deep in the latest Clancy best sellar),
Oh yes, nearly forgot, the distance from horn to recipient!

The only part of this that anyone measures is the decibel level of the horn!, but even within a enclosed wheelhouse, I would expect yours to be audible from 2-3 miles.
 
definition of audible

ah but, if object yot/boat is tum te tum driving along not thinking about hooters - how audible then? I mean, there must be quite load of difference in distance between "yes - i can STILL just about hear it..." and "jeez wot the heck was that hooter noise?!"
 
Re: definition of audible

[ QUOTE ]
object yot/boat is tum te tum driving along not thinking about hooters - how audible then?

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree, which is why one of my points was :
Recipients alertness state (i.e. is he expecting a sound signal or is he deep in the latest Clancy best sellar),
 
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