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

[Douglasdzaster]

I’ve thought about it and talked myself out of it several times. Lately I’ve been thinking about a waterproof Bluetooth speaker I have since mine is just a Jon boat. I don’t know if it effects the fish I’ve seen a lot of arguments.
But Saturday we were fishing and a center console boat cruising by I could here Credence clear water revival. I smiled and gave the guy a thumbs up.
I decided then you know on this lake it can be a good distance between fishing spots. I’m going to try that speaker out and depending on how it does I may put in a small system. I already know where to install everything from contemplating it so much.
How ever we where running wot in my I still call it my beater boat since I haven’t painted it yet. I had the throttle open and I yelled out IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!
My grandson sitting next to me almost fell out laughing.
When it comes to music what I saw Saturday was cool as heck.
It’s the jet flees that get under my crawl
There’s a couple that are out every now and then that have massive systems on them and I can here that two miles away. Then they come right past people fishing and it’s loud!

 

[thill]

Hey... For what it's worth, you may be a candidate to make a bluetooth stereo cooler.

I had one in my Princecraft. It's maroon and sitting in front of the side console:


The 1st trick is to use a shallow-front, mech-less stereo and shallow speakers.

The 2nd trick is to make the cutouts through the outside skin of the cooler, but do NOT cut the inner liner. When installing, you warm up the inner liner of the cooler with a hair dryer or heat gun. Then you press the speakers and stereo into place, and the inner skin flexes in to fit.

The end result is a decent stereo that still functions well as a cooler. I'll take better pictures of mine and post them in a bit.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

We in our way to the lake early about 2 weeks ago. And we stopped to get ice that I’d throw in an old cooler I had so we’d have it for the little baits cooler and throw our fish into. The hinges were gone I used a bungee to keep the lid on.
I walked up to the boat and looked at my partner and said you see something missing. The old cooler was gone. It was tied in too.
We don’t know what happened. It was dark so I couldn’t have seen it blow out.
There was a Walmart nearby so I went in real quick and bought a cheap 34qt. I think that’s the size.
That thing would be a good candidate for a diy project. Such as playing music. I have a port I can plug it right into already installed.
Then I’ll have to get me about a 3 gallon water cooler for a woofer.

 

[thill]

Here is my stereo-cooler that was in my Jon boat for many years. Front view:


You may notice the waterproof switch and the LED light strip right under the stereo. That light comes in really handy when unloading the boat as it gets dark.

Here is the stereo- a cheap, ($9.99 from Walmart) Bluetooth stereo, with cheap Pyle speakers ($13.99 on Amazon) I didn't know if it would work, so I spent very little. Even so, it sounds good, especially since you can place or aim it anywhere you want.



And here is the inside, so you can see that it's still a fully-functional cooler. You may notice that the liner is flexed in a little to accommodate the speaker magnets:



I have this one set up to plug into a cigarette lighter socket, because I had one in the console, but many put a battery inside the cooler to make it self-contained.

Either way, it's a GREAT little cooler to have for the boat or to carry on a picnic. I've had it full of crappie before, but mostly I keep drinks in it.

 

[MrGiggles]

Like others, my boat's primary use is fishing and I haven't felt the need for a stereo. Plus I can't stand listening to the radio and cell service is pretty poor in the areas I'm usually fishing. I can jam out on the way to and from the lake.

If I had a pleasure boat, that would be a different matter. I love a good sound system, it was one of my obsessions when I was a teen, the neighbors hated me. I learned a ton about DC electrical in that time though.

These new bluetooth speakers are pretty impressive but I still don't think they're comparable to a high quality marine stereo. I have a JBL Flip that will crank out the tunes pretty well for it's size, very handy for listening to podcasts or whatever out on the job but I have never brought it to the lake.

 

[thill]

For those interested in making a cooler stereo, here is a link to a build:


My build was similar, but I went with a BT stereo, because it's nice to be able to play local radio, especially if you want to tune into a game.

 

[airshot]

I enjoy some background music, especially if fishing is slow or just out on a very casual laid back ride. The ptoblem I have us when I am forced to listen to other peoples crappy music, so loud you can't think !! Noise polution at its best !!

 

[Sinkingfast]

Wife and I use a radio I made using a car am/fm and BT speakers. We use the am band as we can hear lightning that might be on its way. We can't see too far away when boating locally as the bank is close with tall trees. Storms creep up on ya fast so the am band works great.

 

[Sinkingfast]

Wife and I use a radio I made using a car am/fm and BT speakers. We use the am band as we can hear lightning that might be on its way. We can't see too far away when boating locally as the bank is close with tall trees. Storms creep up on ya fast so the am band works great.

 

[Sinkingfast]

Wife and I use a radio I made using a car am/fm and BT speakers. We use the am band as we can hear lightning that might be on its way. We can't see too far away when boating locally as the bank is close with tall trees. Storms creep up on ya fast so the am band works great.

 

[thill]

We in our way to the lake early about 2 weeks ago. And we stopped to get ice that I’d throw in an old cooler I had so we’d have it for the little baits cooler and throw our fish into. The hinges were gone I used a bungee to keep the lid on.
I walked up to the boat and looked at my partner and said you see something missing. The old cooler was gone. It was tied in too.
We don’t know what happened. It was dark so I couldn’t have seen it blow out.
There was a Walmart nearby so I went in real quick and bought a cheap 34qt. I think that’s the size.
That thing would be a good candidate for a diy project. Such as playing music. I have a port I can plug it right into already installed.
Then I’ll have to get me about a 3 gallon water cooler for a woofer.

Actually, you can get an almost flat sub that will fit right in there, too. Just need a decent mini-amp to power it. Williston Audio on YouTube reviews a BUNCH of great little amps that would work great for this purpose.

I would also recommend a TimeUSB battery to push it, as it's worked great for me as seen in the pic above.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

I enjoy some background music, especially if fishing is slow or just out on a very casual laid back ride. The ptoblem I have us when I am forced to listen to other peoples crappy music, so loud you can't think !! Noise polution at its best !!

Yep mostly jet fleas.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Actually, you can get an almost flat sub that will fit right in there, too. Just need a decent mini-amp to power it. Williston Audio on YouTube reviews a BUNCH of great little amps that would work great for this purpose.

I would also recommend a TimeUSB battery to push it, as it's worked great for me as seen in the pic above.

Man this is great. I have a cigarette outlet in the switch panel I installed.
I ran a string of blue leds the length of the boat adhered underneath the round gunnel top so they’re out of the way. I flip the switch on the panel and you can see the whole inside of the boat. Great for loading and unloading like you said. I finished my planer boards. So I’m starting to collect the materials a little at the time for rod holder rack. This will be in there as well.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

Here is my stereo-cooler that was in my Jon boat for many years. Front view:

View attachment 119337
You may notice the waterproof switch and the LED light strip right under the stereo. That light comes in really handy when unloading the boat as it gets dark.

Here is the stereo- a cheap, ($9.99 from Walmart) Bluetooth stereo, with cheap Pyle speakers ($13.99 on Amazon) I didn't know if it would work, so I spent very little. Even so, it sounds good, especially since you can place or aim it anywhere you want.

View attachment 119338

And here is the inside, so you can see that it's still a fully-functional cooler. You may notice that the liner is flexed in a little to accommodate the speaker magnets:

View attachment 119339

I have this one set up to plug into a cigarette lighter socket, because I had one in the console, but many put a battery inside the cooler to make it self-contained.

Either way, it's a GREAT little cooler to have for the boat or to carry on a picnic. I've had it full of crappie before, but mostly I keep drinks in it.

I like it!

It would be easy to add a cell phone holder, charger, and audio splitter cable, to have option to keep the phone charged, and a little better than BT quality. Hmm.

I haven’t done much with auto/marine stereo in years. I do have an old Alpine head unit, amp, boxed coaxials and a sub on the shelf, I have contiplated using them in the garage but the amp might make it to the pontoon with some better quality speakers.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

While not marine related, I have been re-bitten by the Audio DIY bug, completing 1 of 3 audio projects this winter. A Raspberry Pie music server that contains my modest 400 CD collection in FLAC format, a pair of tower speakers, and an Adcom 555II refurb/mod project..

 

[thill]

I like it!

It would be easy to add a cell phone holder, charger, and audio splitter cable, to have option to keep the phone charged, and a little better than BT quality. Hmm.

I haven’t done much with auto/marine stereo in years. I do have an old Alpine head unit, amp, boxed coaxials and a sub on the shelf, I have contiplated using them in the garage but the amp might make it to the pontoon with some better quality speakers.

For what it's worth, if you have or buy a knock-off brand Yeti, (Walmart, BPS, Amazon, etc.) because of the thicker walls, it gives you a lot more space for better speakers and components. And the thicker walls flex less for better sound. That is what I would use if I wanted to make a better one.

I couldn't find the video showing how to warm up and stretch the inner liner, but that is definitely a good way to go if you want to still use the cooler. If you want a dedicated sound box, you could put a 50AH or even a 100AH lithium battery inside and power lots of stuff besides the music.

My cooler stereo only puts out 12W per channel, but it sounds good, just not very loud. Perfect for sitting under a bridge catching crappie. You could just as easily make a similar unit that puts out enough sound to fill a pontoon boat with music when running at speed. Just use different components.

 

[thill]

While not marine related, I have been re-bitten by the Audio DIY bug, completing 1 of 3 audio projects this winter. A Raspberry Pie music server that contains my modest 400 CD collection in FLAC format, a pair of tower speakers, and an Adcom 555II refurb/mod project..

That looks like some nice stuff for less than half the price of store-bought, I'm guessing. Plus the satisfaction of making it yourself. Nice!

I would go down that road, but my wife hates loud music, so my 30 year old amp, tower speakers, and other components now live out in my workshop. I added a pair of 12" subs in a box, and now if I turn it up, it had better be Def Leppard, Ozzy or someone else she likes, or she will march out and say she can't think because the house is vibrating, ha ha.

 

[thill]

Wife and I use a radio I made using a car am/fm and BT speakers. We use the am band as we can hear lightning that might be on its way. We can't see too far away when boating locally as the bank is close with tall trees. Storms creep up on ya fast so the am band works great.

That is an interesting idea.

What does it sound like when lightning gets close? I may use that one!

 

[FuzzyGrub]

That looks like some nice stuff for less than half the price of store-bought, I'm guessing. Plus the satisfaction of making it yourself. Nice!

I would go down that road, but my wife hates loud music, so my 30 year old amp, tower speakers, and other components now live out in my workshop. I added a pair of 12" subs in a box, and now if I turn it up, it had better be Def Leppard, Ozzy or someone else she likes, or she will march out and say she can't think because the house is vibrating, ha ha.

I have been building/designing speakers, on and off, since my teenage years. My last build sits on a pair of 12" subs.

Yes, I only get to enjoy them, the way I'd like, when the wife is away.

 

[flatheadsteve]

Just spent the last 2 hrs un winterizing and organizing the boat and prepping to install battery switches and new lifepo4 battery for trolling motor. Was nice to have a little music to listen to while I worked. Mines just a simple wet sounds head unit with 4 6" 50w speakers but it's plenty for my needs.