WaterProof Speakers for Canoe

I’m sorry, but …
But you’ve just run into the P-Net thought police.



You ask for technical advice and they blast your character.



No harm done, just remember they do it all the time to those that they deem uncool,

and thus unworthy of full P-net membership.



Sometimes I think if they spent as much time paddling as they do posting P-Net would be a kinder and gentler place.



Besides, they all claim to have really cool and fast boats so if you should meet one of them on the water, they’d pass you by so quickly you’d barely notice them.







On the advice front, being an old luddite, I can’t help much.



When paddling, I use a basic – and cheap – AM-FM radio to listen to ball games.



No one has ever complained, but then again, one seldom meets other paddlers in my corner of paradise.



Have fun!

I seem to remember
an image of a lady in a white dress with a parasol, and a gentleman with a tie sporting a Panama hat strumming a ukelele, floating down the river…

is that what you have in mind?

Kaps

I despise people who put…
…$2,000 speaker systems in their cars so that the whole town has to listen to their taste in music(?).

Rational thoughts

– Last Updated: Jul-28-06 11:48 AM EST –

Ok, so I've cooled down from last night and was giving this all a bit more thought. I still think "speakers" are an extremely rude idea. Not everyone wants a soundtrack to paddle to, and chances are if someone else on the water does want a soundtrack- it's a different genre than the one you're playing.

Now headphones sound like a great win/win idea. You get your music, and no one else is *forced* to listen to it (ala noise pollution). But after some deeper thought, I'm wondering how great an idea this really is. While you have limited your audio intrusion into other people's liesure time, you might also be limiting your ability to hear cries of help from distressed paddlers.

With headphones on and music cranked to 10, chances are you aren't going to hear anyone yelling help. for that matter, you might not even hear the pleading call of a safety whistle. Now other peoples' safety isn't technically your responsibility, but I'd like to think most folks would respond appropriately if they heard a fellow paddler in trouble. Or maybe I'm expecting to much from modern society...

I'll keep an ear open, here's hoping you'll do the same.

-Sojo

Let me know where you paddle so
I can share the music I like with you.

No one complains because
they fear you might be a psycho and not take even the politest request kindly. Just because no one ever says anything to you doesn’t mean you aren’t impinging on other people’s experiences. If someone ever does complain, know that they probably represent the views of dozens of others who suffered silently.

Headphones
on bikes, in watercraft or while running (unless you’re on a treadmill or track) are dangerous. Birds and wind make great music, you don’t have to pay for it, or download it.

Just make your own music
Try singing or humming a tune. Gets the paddle in a rythym and boat in a zone. Trust me the ancients form Asia did this as the paddled to North America.



I made a crossing from an island on the Pacific Coast down in Baja in large following seas a few summers ago, one of the folks in the group was a really good singer and she was singing parts from operas as we fought the following seas all the way. Sounds dorky but I enjoyed it at the time. She told me later she was terrified and it helped her to relax.

Hmmm…
On the ethical side, I’d agree with most of the folks here that broadcasting music in a quiet setting is rude.



On the technical side, I’d say that unless you’re planning on whitewater or rescue drills, any small speakers with a simple splash/drip guard would probably work just fine.

Ah yes
the usual “How can I” turns into the “Why would you”. Guess I just have a little more faith that someone asking the question knows the difference between using the speakers in the Boundary Waters or Adirondacks versus Baltimore Harbor or the Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh. And of course if they don’t they aren’t going to care one bit that you don’t approve.



With that said, I’d agree that headphones are more appropriate. And would agree that if played at max volume they can mask sounds of oncoming hazards, but I regularly run with my IPod and played at a reasonable level I hear cars coming from behind at least 5 seconds away.



As Frank would say…

Paddle on

Randy

geeze, you people are harsh…

– Last Updated: Jul-28-06 1:04 PM EST –

don't mind them, they like to pretend they are outdoorsmen and are one with nature. and folks say B+B are full of rude people.



Any small speakers should work ok. Topher had a good idea with his that had batteries otherwise you will drain your iPods power quickly. As far as the iPod, I would invest in a good waterproof carrier.



But do keep in mind we have to share the outdoors, and sound travels well over water.

Personal experience
is that folks in other boats move waaaaaay far away when I start riffing on my accordion.



Jim

Hey Jim!
Let me sing ya Minnie Ripperton’s cover of:



“I’ve gotta brand new pair of roller skates,

you’ve gotta brand new key.”



Or how about Three Tenuous Tenors, a.k.a. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan’s cover of:



“When the whole world gets me down,

and there’s no love to be found,

I close my eyes, and soon I find,

I’m in a PLAYGROUND IN MY MIND.”



That’ll teach ya to come paddlin’ yer Burly Gimme Cracked Corn on over here!



Aw geez! What have I done?!



“Said the bluebird to the crow,…”

Oh Man
This is a B&B topic, you folks are Harsh, I bet if it was Billy Joe Bob and is Banjo, guitar or harmonica on the water it would be fine. I remember one evening I was camping in Pisga National forest. I had backpacked in. I thought I had the place to myself, but noooo of in the distance Billy Joe bob starts to sing Dust in the wind, then switches the some AC/DC cords. It was pretty pathetic, just as bad as if somebody had packed in a Radio. What I don’t get is why folks don’t get their tighty whities in a wod when somebody packs in a guitar.

Riding the fence
I have the perfect canoe sound system. I-River H-10 with waterproof bag and JBL On Tour speakers that can be stuffed in a baggie to make them more or less water resistant.



But then again I’ve never used them in the canoe preferring silence and the tunes on my H-Pod.



The waters I paddle are far from crowded and it would be a rare day that I would bother anyone. If I were to use them common courtesy would go a long way. Keep the volume way down and off if the public makes an appearance. Keep the speakers off the bottom of the canoe, sound travels a very long ways in water and can spook the fish that some poor unseen soul is trying to catch.



If you’re the kind of guy that doesn’t want to impose on others this will come naturally. If not you’re not going to listen to me or anyone else that’s not carrying a weapon.

Well put
There’s always a middle ground.

But there’s…
…nothing like “Scotland the Brave” played

on me pipes to gain REAL seculsion.



Brings a tear to the eye just thinking about it.

Only in the real world
We – however – are on Paddling.net which only deals in absolutes.

genius