How many of you enjoy a decent stereo in a boat?

[LaqueRatt]

It's a bit ******* IMO. Sound carries too well over the water. On a still night I can hear people talking 3/4 of mile away on the other shore. I would pay zero extra for a boat with a stereo. I already got sounds. The sweet sounds a well tuned 2 stroke makes. I can't hear that in my car or my house, so I want to savor it in the boat. If I bought a boat with a stereo though, I wouldn't remove it. Might be nice to listen to while working on it out in my yard.

 

[LDUBS]

I think the audience here is primarily folks with smaller boats predominately used for fishing. Might get a different answer from people having larger boats used for water sports/partying, IDK.

What complicates things is it sounds like you need to replace the existing out of date stereo with something. Do you go least cost to basically fill the holes with something or go with the better $400 system? From this thread, it doesn't sound like you will recoup the $400 for the better system, if that is, you sell the boat.

 

[wmk0002]

I like a small quality bluetooth speaker on occassion. I usually only listen to ballgames and podcasts though and thats only if if crappie fishing or something a little more laid back than bass fishing.

 

[gillhunter]

Over the years I bought 2 new side consoles for fishing that came with stereos installed. Never even turned them on.

 

[LDUBS]

Is there a way to connect a boom box to my down riggers? I want to hear the theme from Jaws when I get a hit.

 

[thill]

More interesting replies.

BT speakers can sound really good, and they are portable.

It seems that most people who are strongly against stereos only fish in their boats. Which makes sense on a forum called "Tinboats.net." Typically, these are smaller boats made just for fishing.

We fish most of the time, but we also tube, wakeboard and cruise with friends and family. That's when the music is nice. My little 16' Princecraft puts out a nice wake, if I have 3-4 people on board, by the way!

I wonder if there isn't an age factor in there, too? Some sound like grumpy old men, not that there is anything wrong with that, as I am getting close to 60 myself. Still, I enjoy cranking up some music, mostly classic rock, plus some new stuff mixed in. I'm enjoying music that is new to me, yet still rocks.

I say "new to me" because I'll play a new song, and the kids roll their eyes and tell me that was from like TEN years ago! Hey, good music is good music. It eventually becomes classic for a reason.

Back to the age thing, when I go to boat shows, virtually every NEW boat comes with an impressive sound system, from little bowriders to 40' center consoles. Even a Tracker Grizzly from BPS had a big sub system in it. The bigger the boat, the more impressive the sound system is. Maybe this is a boat-show thing? I don't remember seeing that last time I was in Outdoor world.

On lake Anna, virtually every young family plays music on their boat. Most play it at reasonable volumes. While crappie fishing the bridge near the ramp, we see all sorts. Then, of course, there is always the guy who blasts his 10,000 watt stereo, but strangely, it's often guys my age, 50's and 60's. Trying to feel young again? Or maybe they just like to feel their music?

Personally, I am okay with everyone having their personal tastes. No music, soft music, loud music, whatever. As long as they are driving by, and not just sitting next to me rattling my windshield... Unless I like the song, in which case, crank it up, dude!

The more I think about it, the more I think I'm going to do the stereo system. I'll either keep and enjoy it, or someone will buy it and feel like they are getting a more modern boat.

But before that, I need to install the 7" Lowrance I got on clearance for $99. Can't believe Walmart online sometimes! Everywhere else, they are $349-$399. I got three of them, and should have bought more, but they sold out really fast.

 

[sonny1]

I enjoy rock and roll very much. Have a nice little music system in my garage and crank it up when working. Matter of fact can crank it up and hear it well all around about an acre front yard. I have no neighbors. My one neighbor lives about five miles down the road so he is good with that. The idea of listen to music while I ride or boat is not in the cards. For me I enjoy the sound of the 2300 cc Rocket X and enjoy the peace of fishing. Music is great but everything has its place. Plus sound travels very well over water kind of figured that out after 12 years of straight sea time in the Navy. Respect other people and would not dream of screwing up their day because I was playing my music loud. My mommy raised me right.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

At least we agree on music genre.

My favorite youth time concert: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Holloween 1976.

 

[LDUBS]

The Beatles. That I can listen to all day long. Through a mistake of my own doing, I lost the playlist on my iPhone. Re-downloading stuff now.

 

[LaqueRatt]

One thing that hasn't really been mentioned is unless the motor is off or you're idling you're going to have to crank the livin' hell out of a stereo just to hear it! Or is everybody's motor but mine quiet? Hell I can't even talk to somebody in my boat when I'm at cruising speed. Reminds me of the dopes on Harleys who punch the baffles out of their pipes and then have to have the stereo at 10 to hear it. I'd be afraid of entering the realm of ignorant self-aborbed shipdits trying to listen to music while pulling a tube or a skier.

The age thing is a factor, but more so maturity. When young I thought everyone enjoyed hearing my car stereo a block away. Not I appreciate the quiet. I'm getting up there, but have felt this way since I was in my 30s. Once I had a home of my own I pretty much lost interest with music while anywhere else. I also have a good garage stereo, but even so, out of respect for my neighbors I keep it down to a dull roar when the door is up.

 

[thill]

Interesting about liking quiet as we get older. I used to like my fast car with that V8 rumble. Now, I enjoy hearing other's cars on occasion. (Some of these new cars are IMPRESSIVE!)

But for my own vehicle? An F150 with the EcoBoost engine. 400+ horsepower, but you can't hear it. It's super silent in the cabin, and I LOVE it!

That being said, sometimes I play music in my truck, in my shop and in my boat, when the mood hits.

 

[thill]

One thing that hasn't really been mentioned is unless the motor is off or you're idling you're going to have to crank the livin' hell out of a stereo just to hear it!

And THAT is where having a decent sound system comes in. It sounds good when played quietly and also as you raise the volume during faster runs. Cheap ones sound terrible at high volumes.

A lot depends on the boat and configuration. The boat I'm going to put this system has a full windshield, and it's definitely going to have quality sound.

My soon to be former boat was wide open. Would have to add some directional speakers to make that one sound good. Not worth it. I had a Bluetooth speaker.

There it is, I said it. I think I'm going to keep this boat and sell my other. I really like this layout:



I'm planning to keep two speakers in the side panels, where they were before. (The panel where the control box is mounted and on the opposite side.) And I've decided to mount two forward-facing 8" speakers in a panel under the center of the rear platform. This configuration isn't best for projecting sound to a wakeboarder behind the boat, but it should fill the cockpit nicely with sound.

 

[monzster]

I just carry a cheap bluetooth speaker that I take on my jon and plastic boat. We mainly listen to old southern rock while fishing. If I had a recreation boat it would be a different.

 

[Axhammer]

This is an interesting topic, ever since I picked up a used console for the steering parts. It had a head unit in it, and that got me thinking about a sound system for my boat.

If I had music in my boat, I’m sure a little Lynyrd Skynyrd would be played…taking me back to the seventies when I was a teenager kid growing up.

 

[thill]

I like a variety of music, both new and old. But rock feels like "home" to me.

Was listening to classic rock channel on Pandora on my way home. CCR, Kansas, Skynyrd, Sabbath, Zeppelin and many more.

Music soothes the savage beast, they say. It certainly does for me.

 

[Crazyboat]

Music is always nice, however you need a good set up to hear it over a roaring engine. Quality often lacks as the sound unlike a house or even car goes out into the atmosphere. The last boat I had came with a basic radio and 2 6.5" speakers, it worked for all of one season. The boat I am looking to buy this spring comes with a nicer set up, I hope it lasts longer then a few seasons, if not, a blue tooth speaker with a port to plug it in will do the trick. A little backround music while you boat is nice.

 

[Billy H]

I’m a music lover. That said my boats are for fishing so a radio is low on the list of things I want on board. I did have a couple boats with radios in the past. I only ever used them to listen to the ballgame while I fished.

 

[roameroftheearth]

We installed 4 6x9s and 4 6.5s with a 3,000 watt amp on my buddy's scout and let's say it made for some great times on the sand bar. It was for sure worth it.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

This is an interesting topic, ever since I picked up a used console for the steering parts. It had a head unit in it, and that got me thinking about a sound system for my boat.

If I had music in my boat, I’m sure a little Lynyrd Skynyrd would be played…taking me back to the seventies when I was a teenager kid growing up.

My favorite band in High School. I saw them in concert in my senior year. Halloween 1976.

 

[thill]

Music is always nice, however you need a good set up to hear it over a roaring engine. Quality often lacks as the sound unlike a house or even car goes out into the atmosphere. The last boat I had came with a basic radio and 2 6.5" speakers, it worked for all of one season. The boat I am looking to buy this spring comes with a nicer set up, I hope it lasts longer then a few seasons, if not, a blue tooth speaker with a port to plug it in will do the trick. A little background music while you boat is nice.

Agreed. The cheap stereos that come with boats are usually terrible, but you can cobble together a decent-sounding system for not too much money.

I had forgotten about this thread, but as an update, I did install the stereo system in the boat I had been thinking of selling but ended up keeping.

It consisted of a 300 watt Pyle BT head unit bridged to the front 6.5" 150W speakers.



For the real sound, I installed a Kicker 300.4 amp bridged (600W max) to a pair of 8" front-facing 320W Kenwood Marine speakers. Not huge wattage, but the Kicker puts out clean, quality sound.



You can see the 8" Kenwoods in the back of the boat in this pic, although the bubble-lens makes everything look kind of small:



I use one of my LiFeP04 batteries to power the stereo system, separate from the engine.

I designed the system to fill the inside the boat with sound, and it works well. While running wide open, with the windshield closed, you can play music at surprisingly low volumes and it still sounds good, not tinny or blown out.

Of course, it has the power to really turn it up at the sandbar or at a party, if desired, but I typically just like to be able to hear and enjoy it over the boat noise.

I don't typically play any kind of music while fishing. I really enjoy fishing, but on occasion, I like to jump in my boat and just take a long ride, engine running smoothly in the background. Playing good tunes on those trips is nice.