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WATERSKI MagazineWhen's the last time you took a four-hour car trip without turning on the radio? Without loading a tape, turning up the volume when your favorite song came on or hitting the scan button during commercials? In confined environments, man and audio are linked. So why should your boat, where you spent a majority of your leisure and socializing activities during summer, be any different – or any less important?
It's not to Tim Coyle. A water rat with a penchant for the high profile, Coyle went, excuse the pun, overboard. His 1996 American Skier Volante and matching customized '56 Chevrolet truck are surefire attention-getters in their own right. But there's more to this pair than meets the eye. Added to the rig is the marine equivalent to a hi-fi home theater system: The Volante houses a 500-watt Jensen stereo system, replete with CD player, 10-inch subwoofers, two amplifiers and an auxiliary battery configuration. I joined Coyle at his home on a spring-fed lake in Eustis, Florida, for a firsthand look – and listen – at a marine stereo system taken to the max.
Like many of WaterSki's Rig of the Month winners, Coyle started with customizing his truck, including a conversion from two- to four-wheel drive. Next came the sound system. Coyle's experience in retail audio sales led him to choose Jensen and Advent components, and it wasn't long before Recoton (Jensen's parent company) had the idea to promote its products with Coyle's lime-green Chevy. Soon thereafter, when Coyle decided to custom-order an American Skier Volante to match the Chevy, Recoton proposed a total rig system consisting entirely of the products of its subsidiaries to showcase what could be done with truck and boat tandems. Coyle consulted with Recoton's Robb Groner on the project, and the two settled on a solid, high-power system that would offer peak performance and durability based on the stringent requirements placed on the boat's sound system.
Whereas the truck's stereo required extensive interior modifications, Groner was adamant about designing the boat's sound system around the existing features of the boat's interior.
“We wanted to center the entire installation around not modifying the boat in ways that really can't be done by the typical boat owner without spending a large amount of money and time,” Groner explains.
They started with power. Realizing the open-air acoustical nature of a boat has a much greater sound-pressure loss than a vehicle and the fact that a boat's sound system is quite often called upon to provide tunes for an extended period of time, Groner designed a dual battery system for the Volante. Using the existing space under the rear-facing observer's seat, he installed an Optima Deep Cycle 12-volt cell directly beside the primary battery, solely for the purpose of running the sound system without compromising the starting power of the primary cell. Using exclusively Sound Quest cabling and hardware, Groner also installed an isolator, which effectively allows the batteries to function independently, according to need. This isolator also allows the “stereo battery” to assist starting the boat should the primary battery fail. It will not, however, allow the primary battery to ever be used to run the stereo.
Sound complicated? According to Coyle, it really isn't.
“Because of the show-quality aspect of the boat's system, I felt it was appropriate to consult a professional,” says Coyle. “What we did [to the boat], however, could have been done hanging in a boathouse as opposed to an installation facility. It didn't have to go to a professional to get done.”
Coyle's components reproduce a variety of music types decidedly clear and virtually distortion-free, even at high volume, over wakes and at speeds up to 40 mph. The bass boost from the twin 10-inch subwoofers in the bow was easily distinguishable, even while I was at the end of the rope on a wakeboard run.
Can you rattle canyon walls and vibrate an eight-loop slalom line like Coyle? Of course, but there is a cost. Coyle's system cost him about a grand, which includes a long list of components. (See “Do It Yourself” below.) Professional installation usually ranges from $30-$60 per hour, with a typical install taking anywhere from four to six hours, depending on existing wiring.
“All the materials and components we obtained for the boat installation were basically off the shelf,” claims Groner. “Nothing was out of the ordinary. The uniqueness of this type of project really revolves around the technique that you apply to doing an install like that, making use of the space you have available and getting the most amount of sound with the least amount of money.”
Whether you're planning on installing a high-power custom unit like Coyle's (he has shown his rig at electronics shows all over the country) or a do-it-yourself weekend project, today's marine components offer a variety of ways to keep your favorite tunes nearby at prices that won't sink your wallet. But remember that it's all about personal preference, and no one knows what sound best to you better than you – even when you're on the handle end of the line. – Steve Nelson
Editor's Note: Since our interview with Tim Coyle, he has decided to sell the front half of the rig. For more information, call 407-628-5662, ext. 1301, and leave your name and phone number. Good luck finding a lime inboard to match.
