Music in the Boat

[Mozart]

So lets say i want to purchase a new steroe for my boat. i would need 4 speakers and a cd player. this is just a lund 1900 pro-v too. what kind of stereo would I need for this? i like a little music when i'm out there. not enough so that anyone else can hear it, but enough that i can listen to my favorites for more than an hour or two. is there a 12v that will last or do i have to run my motor to charge the battery every hour?

thanks guys

[Finaddict]

I bought a weather proof box and then went to circuit city and got a higher quality car stereo, you can get a better stereo for less money this way. Then I bought weather proof speakers from a marine store I went with the box speakers rather then cutting holes in the boat. Total cost was about 300.00. And it sounds great....

[Crappie Kid]

Look on eBay (search on "Marine CD".

Don't waste your time on anything other than a Marine CD stereo. A minimum on 40W/ch.

The Kid

[REW]

Make sure that any speakers that you put in your boat; have plastic cones. No paper cones please. The inevitable moisture will quickly ruin any speaker that has a paper cone.

You should be able to spray water directly into the speakers with no damage. If you can't, better find a different speaker.

I hear your words when you speak of cds and or tapes. However, a note of caution; moisture - kills any thing mechanical that is not fully waterproofed. If you can live with an am/fm stereo - with no cd or tape player - you will have better long term results. Eventually the moisture will get to either or both the cd and tape player. Don't ask me how I know!!

If you have a glass boat - putting the speakers in the consoles will give you really great sound. The fiberglass really becomes an excellent speaker box, particularly if the area is backed with flotation foam.

Take care


REW

[Daren]

Forget the CD and Tape players. Get yourself an AM/FM MP3 player, preferabley one with hard drive for storage of songs or one that will read MP3 CD's. Place it in a waterproof box that you can take out of the boat. Setup a wiring harness that you can unplug and plug in easily and get yourself a better set of marine speakers. You will get excellent sound quallity, the ability to cary a couple hundred songs easily with you, and price wise it really is no more expensive than a good AM/FM CD player. Plus, if you are in a remote location with lousy reception the MP3's will keep you happy for hours without hearing the same song or alot of commercials over and over again. The water proof box makes it easy to remove the player from the boat when you have it stored someplace that you do not feel comfortable leaving it in and you have a system that you will enjoy for a very long time. If you really want to make it versatile, purchase an extra stereo bay and wiring harness from the manufacturer, and mount the extra bay in your truck, keep the stereo in your truck moving it to the boat when you take the boat out. This way you get a new stereo for the boat and truck.

[Sunshine]

Am I missing something? What's wrong with the stereo that comes with the boat?

[Babamel]

Music is great. However, when I am in the great outdoors, I like to take a break from the phone, coworkers, traffic, and everything else that creates noise. At that time I try to tune in on the natural sounds, (the splash of a beaver tail, the lonely call of a loon, the fiesty call of a seagull, and the soft whish of the wind) that can't be hear on CD or Tape. I figure, those sound I can hear on the way up and back from Canada.

[Daren]

Not all boats come with radios and over time most radios will have to be replaced. Might as well get a good one when that time comes.

[Crappie Kid]

When I am fishing in Madison a CD is nice to drown out the jet skis.

The Kid

[Peanut]

Or, have the Wagner cranked as you bear down on them, a la Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall) in Apocalypse Now...

derrek.

"I'll teach these eyes to see,
beyond these walls in front of me"
- Bruce Springsteen, "Trapped"

[Craig]

Peanut, Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries"??? I love it! Never thought of that before. Don't have a stereo in my boat but the thought of blasting that as I'm tearing across the lake... I gotta get me some of that.

Just got my boat winterized last week and I can't wait till opening day. Blast you guys...I'm hurrting already.

[David Anderson]

I installed a Clarion stereo/cd along with the matching waterproof speakers. Absolutely fantastic unit. No special housing and the sound is great. Cabelas has the stereo for $400 however you can find it on the internet for less than $300. Speakers were $130/pair. I run a tiller and it sits right out in the open. Not one problem, other than AM reception. I highly recommend.

[iamwalleye1]

Hey Dave
I have the same set up as you and it works great and my wife likes it.
My questions is does your drain your battery down when your boat is just sitting with nothing else on?
I have found my battery to be dead after sitting in the garage. It only takes a week. If I unplug the radio the bettery is fine. The dealer said it uses alot of juice for the memory.

[bigfish1965]

Why not just drown the jet-skier entirely?

[Crappie Kid]

A little "Voodoo Child" from Stevie Ray Vaughn or Hendrix cranked up seems to bring in the Walleyes.

Any country music and fishing shuts down completely. Except Shania.

The Kid

[Sundance]

We've found that walleyes hit extremely well when Jethro Tull's Aqua Lung comes on. No joke either!

[Gumbo]

Has anyone tried a satellite radio in their boat yet? Most lakes I fish have no reception. I rarely turn mine on, except during long, slow spells.

[Bert]

Yep, "Ride of the Valkyries" is the first song that plays every Spring at the first launch of my season. (Also a nice blastoff track for running out the Leech River at Federal Dam.)


Be sure to look at the new Clarion marine CD player...completely gasketed and waterproof; very little skipping. And, of course, good quality marine speakers.

[David Anderson]

Interesting you should say this, as I have noticed a few times when the boat has sat for some time the battery was dead. I have a built in charger in my Ranger and have just kept it plugged in, figuring I'd check the battery drain later. Keep thinking I left a light on somewhere and when the battery went dead, my control panel died. Charged it up and reset the contropl panel, and everything looked good again. Thanks for the heads up and I will check it out.

[eyewitness]

Now THERE'S a thought! That actually sounds like the thing to do. You can pick and choose the music you want to hear, sport events you want to catch, and NO commercials. Thanks for the idea. I'm suprised it hasn't been mentioned till now.