Making Music Onboard

On our old powerboat I kept a Martin Backpacker hanging in the passageway to the v-berth. It hung there (and got played) for 15 years or so and is none the worse for wear. Strings got changed in the spring, like just another fitting-out task.

I kept a Baby Taylor in an SKB case on the catboat for a couple of years and have moved that guitar to the C&C. The guitar stayed in its case on the catboat and I was doing that on the C&C too. The C&C has some nice shelves outboard of the settees and the case fit there. It was handy and could be opened in-place.

Yesterday, I tied a peice of small-stuff to the tuning keys and hung the guitar on the coat hook on the main bulkhead. That allows me to grab the guitar for a quick flail much easier. That kind of playing is probably the most beneficial for developing new ideas. Much better than formal, sit down practice sessions. I'll have to deal with stowing the case, maybe even take it off the boat.

I also have two battery-powered amps that I have considered taking on board - a Crate Taxi and a Roland Micro-Cube. With the availablity of low-cost and efficient, small inverters it's probably not necessary to look for a battery powered amp, though I doubt if you could power your Twin very long from a battery bank!

I just saw the JamPlug FM and would consider that for electric guitar but an acoustic guitar seems to fit much better on the boat. I could also get a little mixer, run that through one of those FM transmitters into the boat's radio/CD player and let everyone plug into that.

I've thought about having a bass, harmonica, and conga player out to the boat for a acoustic jam. If the bassist brought his bass guitar, not the standup, I think we could all fit. That would be a pretty great summer evening activity. Keep the marina entertained or anchor off a local waterfront restaurant.