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Cruising/sailing with musical instruments... ?

11K views 41 replies 30 participants last post by  travlin-easy 
#1 · (Edited)
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#34 ·
Wow! The way it reads, most everyone tends to go pretty light with their selection of musical instruments. Here's the rig I'll be hauling. And, it only takes up half of the quarter-berth on my Morgan 33-O.I..



Here it is loaded on my cart for transportation up the dock to a Tiki Bar in Southern Maryland.



I can play the keyboard without using the main amp using the DC/AC inverter on the boat because the keyboard only draws about 50 watts. The amp, a Bose L1 Compact, draws 150-watts, and the other equipment draws about another 100 watts. That's a lot of battery drain if you're anchored out and having a raft-up party. Lots of fun in the Tiki Bars, through.

Cheers,

Gary :cool:
 
#35 ·
Gary, amazing.

Proportionally, I carried a lot last summer. In a tiny Victoria 18, which is narrow and low, we carried a weeks worth of water (and drinks), food, camping gear for Maine, tools and supplies, two inflatables (fixed keel boat), 8 ft. oars (hate using a motor), several anchors and rode (like to sleep at night), and spare sails and backups for important stuff.

Plus, a full sized dreadnought guitar. It was a bit of a pain, but worth it. I'd asked my wife to look for a travel guitar, but the sound was so crappy she couldn't resist the full size.
 
#36 ·
I second the vote for a ukulele, I have had my Fluke, Flea onboard for over 6 years with no issues. If you play guitar, you can string it with a low G string and use guitar cords, just drop the two top strings. They are great for meeting people and everyone seems to love the funky sound. Best of all they are small, tough and only $200.00

 
#38 ·
I play the electric bass, guitar (electric, acoustic and electric-acoustic), some drums and keyboards. Electric instruments, for obvious reasons, are not a good idea on a sailboat. My acoustic guitars are worth too much to subject them to high moisture content. Drums? Well.... bongo drums maybe. I love jazz and blues and love the sound of a Hammond B3, but those are a bit on the heavy side, and about as large as my boat! But I do have a blues harp on board.
 
#40 ·
Used to play guitar when I was younger with the missus singing & playing basic stuff on the keyboard. We recently (at Christmas actually) decided to learn new instruments to take with us when we head out on our own blue water . She's started playing the tin whistle and has been entranced by the sound of the irish pipes (from a youtube of Seamus Ennis - small world :) ).

As we both like Irish music, I thought I'd pick up the fiddle. I currently sound REALLY bad playing it and wouldn't know how well it stands up to storage in the marine environment. Worst comes to worst, I'll have had fun torturing my family listening to me practice
 
#42 ·
As we both like Irish music, I thought I'd pick up the fiddle. I currently sound REALLY bad playing it and wouldn't know how well it stands up to storage in the marine environment. Worst comes to worst, I'll have had fun torturing my family listening to me practice
Irish music is popular this time of year, mainly because of Saint Patrick's Day coming up this weekend. The Saint Paddy's parties start early, and in my case, the first one I performed was this past Saturday. The demand is extremely high for performers that can play Irish music, but the demand only last about a week, then it's back to the more traditional styles of music. This year I only have 5 Saint Paddy's parties to play, which is more than enough. By the end of the week I'll be Irished out, the green beer and corn beef & cabbage will be gone, and the tears won't be flowin' while I'm singin' Danny Boy. ;)

I'm fairly confident that my gear, all of which is stored in zippered, lined and insulated cases, will hold up to the salt air environment. I got to thinking hard about this a few day ago, called some of the manufacturers and they agreed. One keyboard manufacturer said that there is no reason why it shouldn't hold up. They sell keyboards all over the world, and many are sold to folks who reside and perform in extremely hot, humid locations and suffer no ill effects. I know a couple entertainers who live in Malaysia and they perform every day in open air bars--their equipment has been working just fine for years.

Now, I suspect that some hardwoods, especially things like a slap bass, most acoustic guitars, fiddles, mandolins, etc..., would be highly susceptible to a hot, moist environment. However, most of the places I sail don't fall into that category, and all of my equipment is encased in plastic housings and the printed circuit boards are all covered with a protective coating. I guess I'll find out--one way or another, come October. :) :) :)

Cheers,

Gary :cool:
 
#41 ·
I've taken this with me before. Plays almost as well as my "real" horns:

 
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