Acoustic guitar and boats.

[dmax]

Speaking of instruments on boats, one of life's most memorable moments happened the first time I visited Sag Harbor, NY (a gorgeous place). We drove up and parked on the shore to look over the vast harbor - it was a beautiful summer night with no wind and the sun setting. Within moments of arriving, a 40'ish monohull entered the harbor (over a mile away), as we watched it, the beautiful, haunting sounds of bagpipes filled the harbor (the warm air carried it well) - with binoculars we could see there was a man leaning against the mast playing. As the boat slowly made its way across the harbor, crowds gathered all along the shore (big harbor including some bars with decks over the water) - everyone was captured by the site and sound, it was magical. I don't know what song he was playing but it was the prettiest song I've ever heard on bagpipes. This went on for about 15 minutes, he ended the song just as the boat pulled up to its mooring just in from of us and everyone on the shore burst into cheers (hundreds of people). That was my first 15 minutes in Sag Harbor.

 

[LaDonaMina]

While sailing in Greece an acoustic guitar player inspired me to make a you tube video of my charter.

Thanks for sharing your nice memories. My son inlaw is Greek and they are duel residents of the US and Greece. Although my daughter has visited Greece many times we have not yet. Would be nice to hear those Greek guitarist playing those wonderful tunes by the coasts and watching boats cruising by. I have a Sea Ray 260 Sundeck but not really suited for playing the guitar so it’s stereo music blasting guitar music.

 

[stickinthemud57]

I bought a ukulele that I hope to learn to play while sailing…i like the small size for carrying on the boat.

Greg

Perfect. You can use it for a paddle in an emergency too!

 

[LaDonaMina]

I bought a ukulele that I hope to learn to play while sailing…i like the small size for carrying on the boat.

Greg

Actually that’s a great idea. I never thought about playing the ukulele as it never sounded classical like a guitar to me but I heard there is a ukulele artist that made it sound phenomenal.

 

[jssailem]

Here are a couple links I find interesting. They come with playing instructions.

 

[justsomeguy]

My repertoire is mostly classical Spanish music

Dude, you're from Georgia. Dueling Banjos!

 

[LaDonaMina]

Dude, you're from Georgia. Dueling Banjos!

I was taking about this ukulele player… Jake Shimabukuro… Yep Savannah’s a pretty musical town.

 

[jssailem]

I am not sure
Paco de Lucía
or
Andrés Segovia

Would choose a ukulele but if they did I suspect it would amazing.

 

[LaDonaMina]

I am not sure
Paco de Lucía
or
Andrés Segovia

Would choose a ukulele but if they did I suspect it would amazing.

Yes either one would be awesome. Currently now that Julian Breem has passed away the leading guitarist is Pablo Sainz Villegas from Spain and he plays multiple string instruments and is phenomenal as well as an extremely likeable musician.

 

[justsomeguy]

I was taking about this ukulele player

Haven't listened to it yet, but I was only messin' with ya. Is Jake from Savannah?
Studied classical guitar myself (composition and performance), and keep an early 20th century Gibson uke on the boat. My grandfather wooed my grandmother with it in the 19 teens.
It much prefers the humidity here on the water than in the deep Sonoran desert.

 

[Will Gilmore]

It's not humidity that kills wood, it's the up and down, moving from wet to dry. That kills wooden boats too. Hauling a wooden boat and keeping it out of the water for too long can really cause problems.

My favorite musical instrument story while sailing is from when my wife and I were sailing to Burmuda with my parents and a doctor friend of theirs.

We were beating hard for four days out of Newport. The winds were in the 30s all the way. My wife and I were cuddled in the cockpit just before heading to our bunk and Dr. Skip Arbuckle was just starting his watch at around 22:00. The waves were large and rolling and the dodger kept Linda and me dry, but Skip was in full foulies, when he pulled out a harmonica and started playing. (I did not play the harmonica back then).

Skip was not good, and we, like typical twenty-two year olds, teased him about his playing. Linda worked as a nurse at the same hospital where Skip worked, as well as Linda's mother, so we knew Skip pretty well. However, we did not know about the harmonica, and Skip took our teasing with grace.

The good doctor explained that he'd always wanted to learn to play and had hoped that our ocean voyage, which was to take us across the Atlantic, would give him the opportunity to learn. He kept playing, and we finally settled down with our teasing about how bad he was. We were just about to head for our bunks when... WHAM! There immediately followed the frantic sounds of flapping while Skip lurched, spun completely around and gasped in surprise.

I pointed at him and said, "See? Even the fish want you to stop playing."

A flying fish hit Doctor Arbuckle right in the middle of his chest as he stood behind the wheel playing his harmonica.

Skip's girlfriend met him in Bermuda and he left us from there. The rest of the sail across was pretty uneventful, even a little boring.

-Will

 

[LaDonaMina]

Haven't listened to it yet, but I was only messin' with ya. Is Jake from Savannah?
Studied classical guitar myself (composition and performance), and keep an early 20th century Gibson uke on the boat.

Jake was born in Hawaii… Do you still play classical or like everyone occasionally play and find other music more playable on the boat? I play lots of Jimmy Buffet and some pop music to pass the time when I have guests onboard.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Boat friendly guitar

 

[LaDonaMina]

Boat friendly guitar
View attachment 222546

No… no… no…. Ouch seeing that gives me chills of previous guitar mishaps!

Great idea for storage or travel but can’t be good for the strings.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

No… no… no…. Ouch seeing that gives me chills of previous guitar mishaps!

Great idea for storage or travel but can’t be good for the strings.

It looks like the strings are placed inside the guitar to prevent kinking and tangling. I'm guessing it'd be wise to place a piece of cloth on the wood to prevent scratching

 

[justsomeguy]

find other music more playable on the boat

This. You probably wouldn't like the music I enjoy now.

 

[LaDonaMina]

This. You probably wouldn't like the music I enjoy now.

Come on… Can’t be as bad as that… grandkids have me playing Despacito, Dance Monkey, Jack Johnson , and other funky stuff but fun to see them enjoying the music… hilarious for a classical musician but makes the marina sound fun at times.

 

[higgs]

I have kept an Acoustic guitar on my boats for years with no problem. I have an Ibenez that , when I owned a boat until last fall, spent the entire sailing season aboard for many years. The guitar is still in great condition and has never even required a neck adjustment. My best guitars are in the 1k+ range and I have taken them on 2 or three week cruises with no problem, either. For a while I had a 3/4 size Gibson I used both camping and sailing.

 

[jibes138]

I met a guy carrying a guitar case through the marina parking lot. When he cruises he buys a 50$ acoustic at a pawn shop, plays it on the cruise then sells it back for 25$. I offered him 25$ for it, an Ibanez and played it for several years. Great 25$ guitar.

 

[justsomeguy]

Come on