Boat Stereo System

I'm looking into putting in a new stereo. Are those marine stereos really necessary? None of them have all the features that I'd like to have. I'm in dry Southern California, but it can get rainy in the winter. Also, Does anyone have any recommendations for cockpit speakers?

Thanks.

Bose 151's

I have Bose 151s in my cabin, and will be (hopefully) getting a pair in white for the cockpit.

A friend of mine gave me the idea when he had a pair of custom made speaker mounts created from stainless. They hang over the back rail, and straddle a downleg (so they don't move). He also ran speaker wire back on each side, and has weather proof plugs mounted on the back quarters (where you cannot really see them).

When they want music, all they do is take the 151s out of the bag they made for them, hang them on the rail, and plug them in - pretty simple - and no cutting holes in your cockpit!

//sse

But is it a MARINE stereo?!

I seem to remember a comparison some years ago in PS that showed that there was some real difference in the marinized versions in the form of silicone sprayed on the circuit boards. Their "real world conclusion" was, as I recall, that for the price of the marinized (marinated?) version you could throw away a typical on-sale car stereo every couple years and come out ahead.
It get damp here in the NW, and I know of sailors who take the stereo home in the winters. One friend of mine bought on of the last of the "pull out" chassis versions several years ago just so he could do this easily.
When we got the Olson it had "marine" (!) cockpit speakers and a stereo in the cabin. The cockpit speakers were mounted in 6 inch cutouts in the combings and in 5 years had totally rusted their innerds into magnetic lumps. The radio sort of worked... but when I took it out and looked inside it was corrosion everywhere. I threw it all away. Silence is a good thing...

My intuition is that protecting the circuit is only part of the problem. The moving parts in the cassett player or cd player will go away if left in a marine environment. I kinda like the idea of a low price throw-away unit that you use until it gets cranky and then toss it.


As I am not a total Luddite, we will likely have a new stereo system someday. The Admiral sez refrigeration would make her happier than rock n roll, for the near-future project list...


Fair winds to you, and cd's by Jimmy Buffet,

Loren
Olson 34 , Portland, OR

I agree with Loren.
The only reason I think it would be advisable to purchase a marine design is if you were going to mount it in the cockpit where the waterproof controls would be needed. In the Southern Ca. area the car audio craze has left a ton of discount houses out there with plenty of name brand units for around $99. Cost per pound I think you would come out ahead.

WE PUT IN A JENSEN SYSTEM WITH CD & CASSETTE THEN JUST ADDED THE WEST MARINE SPEAKERS FOR THE COCKPIT THIS HAS WORKED WELL FOR US FOR OVER THREE YEARS NOW... STILL SOUNDS GREAT....

Agree with the consensus as I too have installed an auto receiver/CD in the cabin. We have the Bose 151s on display at the West where I work and we also have some Pioneer round waterproof sets. It is very difficult to tell the difference except at the checkout. But that's with my ears that have spent several years working on the flight line with a wing of F-4Cs and other forms of intense noise makers. If you are looking for a permanent mount and would like to save a little change I would suggest you check out the Pioneers.

Ray

I went with the minimalist approach and use a small boom box running off a pocket inverter. The box fits nicely under the the companion way stairs on top of the engine cover, can be moved around and draws only .9 amps.

Here's some food for thought. If a cockpit speaker has say a
5 inch diameter hole and a wave blows out the cone, an
incredible amount of water can be admitted below-upwards
of 450 gpm. The best work around for this I have seen is
mounting the speakers behind a deck plate that can be
covered up during bad weather. ABI, Beckson, Perko, and
Mariner's Hardware all make deck plates.

speakers

Another "food for thought" : speakers contain these incredible magnets that can affect the ships compass.

Dear friend, I don't think you need to get an expensice marine radio for your boat. I have a Sony stereo/CD player in my E31 here in MDR too. I bought it at Good Guys over in the Marina Shopping Center (under Tower Records) a number of years ago. As a matter of fact, it's the second one I got from there. The first one (and now this one) failed by the display fading away but I think it would have done so even if it were in my car. Go pick the stereo of your choosing and put it in. Sorry, no recommendations on cockpit speakers, I only have a pair down below which crank up more that necessary to be heard outside. Contact me if you wish to see the installation, it's pretty simple. 310.804.9198, slip G820 at the Santa Monica YC. Glyn Judson

I just purchased a Sony CZ400 CD player for $129 at Fry's. I compared it at Best Buy and Circuit City Both at over $169. The unit has all of the the features that anyone would want. We will see how long it makes it.

I went the in-dash cassette/Radio with the 10 disc changer. I love my music. What I am very irked about is the fact that in one season, those white Jensen "Marine" speakers turned an interesting shade of yellow with green tints. Makes my old faded gelcoat look positivly arctic white! I told them about it at the Annapolis show and they sent me new ones. One season later --- yup same thing. Sometimes it's cheaper to take care of the few squeaking wheels than to solve the problem. Maybe Bose does better. They'd better for the extra$ theyu charge.

I've recently replaced the old AM/FM Cassette in my '84 E-28 with a Horizon unit with AM/FM/CD MST660. Poking around found it for only about $200. Not much more than an automotive type unit. However, the main advantage of this unit is that it is has an housing and a bracket to allow it to be mounted on a shelf. Most other units (and all automotive types) are in dash mount types and would require purchasing a separate housing to set it up in my cabin.

If you're looking for a dash mount type, even in the cabin, I would probably suggest a marine unit. Look around for sales or specials and you don't end up paying that much more for the marine unit. Yes, you can probably find "throwaway" auto units for $79 but these are probably trash from the start and aren't worth installing even in a Yugo.

Séan,

Sounds like a great setup for those 151's. Any pictures or diagrams you could share?

I purchased a Sony car stereo (AM/FM/CD) with remote control last summer. I paid about $150.00 at Circuit City. It is mounted in a West Marine underdash housing (about $25). The remote is worth the extra $$. Also I built a CD rack to hold CDs.
If the stereo is inside and the humidity can be controlled, a car stereo should suffice.
See picture attached.

151's in the Cockpit

Yeah, I put them in. I ran speaker wire back to the lazarette and then mounted the waterproof plugs. Made speaker mounts (ok looking - could have been better) to hang on the rails - and now we have sound!

We really only use them when on anchor anyhow - and the idea of cutting big holes in the boat made me queezy!

I'll take some pictures in the next day or so and post them.

//sse