What music instruments do you carry on board?

I am curious about what instruments folks take with them when they are out cruising. I seldom see people playing but also don't spend hours looking for that either. I do enjoy having the opportunity to play while we are out cruising and would love to get together sometime to make some on the water music with others should the opportunity arise. Most of the time I carry my guitar and mandolin. Rarely do I carry the big bass, but what fun playing on the docks with others when I do.

iPod, with 6532 songs on it. And a small set of speakers which do an amazingly good job.

Great question! I only have one guitar - an electric hollow-body. No great place to have the amp etc., on the boat. I'm going to let a friend store it for me, because I do not have a controlled climate storage area. I'm searching for a 3/4 folk (Mexican) for the boat. I was thinking about this very subject yesterday.

I had a sax on board. The case molded. A lot of moisture aboard. Need to deal with that plus salt air.

I won't take my bass on board for that reason.

Moisture levels are a concern and I monitor them with each instrument. My Bass has only been aboard a couple of short trips. Most of our trips are accompanied by my guitar and mandolin. One memorable moment was a Pricness Louisa's Chatterbox Falls playing Somewhere over the Rainbow on the mandolin and a rainbow from the falls in the background.

kolive said:

I am curious about what instruments folks take with them when they are out cruising. I seldom see people playing but also don't spend hours looking for that either. I do enjoy having the opportunity to play while we are out cruising and would love to get together sometime to make some on the water music with others should the opportunity arise. Most of the time I carry my guitar and mandolin. Rarely do I carry the big bass, but what fun playing on the docks with others when I do.

Click to expand...

Check out this old thread http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/split-music-water-mix-well-9499.html

Mahal thanks for the thread link. I remember that thread but did not remember its title. Lots of talented folks out there. No rock star here, played and toured when younger, just keep on playing.

Keyboard.

Plus tablet with thousands of karaoke tracks on it that we can sing with.

I carry a Bedell acoustic on board. I do miss my electric, though!

I am considering one of these, to combat the moisture/humidity problems onboard:


RainSong : Graphite Guitars : Concert Series : WS1000N2
https://www.blackbirdguitar.com/lucky13.html

For a wood guitar unusually low humidity would likely be more harmful than high humidity. I kept wood guitars on boats year around for many years with no ill effects. Don't really see much problem from salt air either, for anything.

That said I seem to only use graphite guitars on board these days. They handle temperature changes better but that's only important for the guitar I leave on board. I also prefer to travel with a guitar that doesn't need to be set up when you go somewhere with a different climate.

I use a Rainsong parlor when I play out. Sounds pretty good acoustically too. I take it on the boat for longer trips. I've had several Rainsongs and they are quite durable.

I keep an Emerald X7 on board all the time. It's smaller and easier to store in an unused stateroom or even in the engine room if we have a lot of guests. Would never do that with a wood guitar.

I used to travel with a Voyage Air guitar which is a great idea and they sound really good. It has spent a lot of time on the boat too. Now-a-days if I travel to play I find it easier to check the Rainsong in a good case so the Voyage Air doesn't get much use.

For any serious recording I still like a wood guitar. I'm working on a new CD and doing most of the recording on the boat. For that I've been keeping my Martin OM28v on board.

I am a beginner Mandolin player. When I travel I have a Breedlove Mandolin.

Nice to hear what people are using out there. The Rainsong graphite guitar sounds interesting, I will look for them to see what they sound like. My standard carry on is a 1975 Gibson Gospel guitar or a 2012 Martin PA 4 Rosewood and a 1986 Kentucky Mandolin.

Not musically adept. But a highlight of last summer's cruise was a violin quietly playing one evening in our favourite cove in Von Donop Inlet. Just the two boats, unknown to each other, and the lady played for about 45 minutes. Magical.

I can only manage a half stack or so between the center console and the bait well of our skiff. If we ever get a trawler, I might try for a full stack.

In reality, I'll probably take my Martin MMV acoustic. My playing will probably make people we anchor near yearn for louder wind generators.

Sirius XM radio. My accordion hated me and refused to come aboard. Can't say I blame it.

My wife has her violin on board most of the time. I think that we cruise the same waters that you do keith, so we may meet at one of the docks.

Fred P............

Martin LX-1 acoustic lefty. 3/4 size but great sound.

jwnall said:

iPod, with 6532 songs on it. And a small set of speakers which do an amazingly good job.

Click to expand...

Same here.

But every once and a while I'll invite a Newfie friend aboard and he'll eventually start singing something...

My didgeridoo!
It creates a lot of looks in the anchorage at dusk.

Sent from my iPad using Trawler

Old out of tune piano accordion with some inoperative buttons. I get lots of swing space when anchored. No idea why.

Growing up in the early 1950's, we lived on our boat in the summer time, cruising the San Juan Islands and British Columbia. My mother taught accordion,so of course my sister and myself played also. I never cared to much for it, so as soon as I could talk my mother into it, I switched to the drums. So we had on board 2 accordions and a snare drum. In the evenings we would sit out in the cockpit and play all the old time favorites. Everyone on the dock would wander down our way and soon everyone was singing along.
Along those same lines, several years ago we were anchored in Reid Harbor and a gentleman came out on the deck of his sailboat at dusk and played his bag pipes for about thirty minutes. That kind of stuff brings tears to your eyes.

I play organ, flugel horn, cornet, and trumpet, none of which are feasible or welcomed out on the water I imagine. So I've never tried. Getting the organ on would be a back-lifting challenge anyway. And it needs 240vAC, so that's out on my boat. I doubt brass would go down at all well across water.

Tablet with karaoke and 2 guitars

None. For me, boating is for peace and quiet or the sounds of nature.

We do have a karaoke machine with 2000 songs and growing. It isn't an instrument but it really is fun. I enjoy seeing a first timer get hooked on singing karaoke. It happens a lot on moorings.

I keep the ole Sousaphone on the lounge, the only genuine "full displacement" musical instrument.

My sons & I made a trip from Cape Cod to Trinadad and back years ago (I was aboard some of the trip) They took their guitars and found they were able to sing for food and drinks at many islands & rum shacks. One night in the pitch dark at Union Island, we looked up and our little boat was surrounded by dinghys with people listening and singing along.

Peter B said:

I play organ, flugel horn, cornet, and trumpet, none of which are feasible or welcomed out on the water I imagine. So I've never tried. Getting the organ on would be a back-lifting challenge anyway. And it needs 240vAC, so that's out on my boat. I doubt brass would go down at all well across water.

Click to expand...

You wouldn't enjoy a small keyboard of some sort? You could get an organ focused one if that was your preference. We love our portable. Not as fancy or large as we have at home but it's fun and allows us to carry our music with us.

Bagpipes, but I kept getting my ass kicked by strangers, so I switched to an accordion. Then I got beat up by bagpipe players. Now I play the fish, but I'll be damned if I can figg'r out how to tune the thing!

(Like Wes, boating is quiet time for me.)

Kolive,

That looks like a Taylor x14CE or x16CE front-left in the pic you posted. Just a little curious what the actual model (and make if I'm worng).

I have a Taylor 314CE that I am afraid to take on the boat. I take my old Yamaha EF-15 on the boat with me. Since we're only weekend warriors I don't leave the guitar on the boat.

I've been very concerned about moisture levels and salt air. However, one of the biggest reason I don't leave the guitar on the boat is the creamtorium-esque heat inside of the boat while it's closed up all week while we're gone.

When the time comes to move aboard full-time and cast the lines off long term, I planned on getting a carbon fiber, lke the rainsong mentioned earlier.

I have recently been looking a Taylor and Martin 7/8th and 3/4 sizes. The sound on the 3/4 just seems to bright, almost tinny. (And that is coming from a guy who plays a Taylor 14 series) LOL.