TOPIC: Boat radio in the 60's?

So I have a 1963 Glastron v142 (14ft) that I'm in the early stages of restoring, but it got me thinking about the state of radios for music in that era. From what I've been able to find from pictures and just searching around, there wasn't really a standard for onboard music at the time. Boats didn't have speakers built-in so, for the most part, they didn't have dash-mounted radios unless it was for communication/emergency. I assume that some people carried around portable radios for playing music when the boat was stationary, so I was thinking of trying to pry a cheap one off of eBay, gut the innards, and replace them with a Bluetooth speaker for the vintage look but modern convenience. I would love to hear what other users here have done for an audio solution, or if you know of what was done back in the '60s. Thanks!

Check classiccarstereos.com they make vintage looking radio but with new stereo inside.

Bob

My dad had a portable transistor AM radio that sounded like crap. That's what pretty much everyone had. Not sure you are thinking of installing a car type in-dash radio, but I advise against doing that. The dashboard needs to be as strong structurally as possible, and a big hole for a radio severely weakens the structure. The best bet is to use a portable stereo that uses Mp3 or Bluetooth capability. Most of these sound excellent, and they don't require modifications to the boat. Built - in sound systems don't age well in a boat, and to many collectors, they detract from the restoration. But ultimately, you do as you see fit - it's your boat.

Those classic stereos look great, but I do agree that removing that much of the dash+amp+speakers would be a pain and might harm the boat. Its good to know that the standard was those little portable radios. I'll be looking for a cheap and nice looking one on eBay to gut and fill in with a modern-day Bluetooth. Thanks!

OK here's my 2cents worth. Wayyyyy back when, the 60's I was in my 20's. It wasn't really the mid 60's that FM radio was moving in. FM was an option on car radios. If you had a rear seat speaker that was an option also, Stereo was about 7 years old. On boats you had either a small hand held transistor radio or a huge AM/FM. Transoceanic bemouth that carried 10# of batteries that lasted for about an hour. You could go to a boneyard and scavenge a car radio and speaker and find some way to mount it. I've rebuilt boats that had them drilled into the dash, hung under the dash, mounted under the seats, mounted in the glove box, not to mention 8 tracks during the 70's.
Go on eBay and you can pick up a cheapo with a CD and MP3 for peanuts and the darn things are light as a feather. Speakers can be mounted out of sight under the bow. An antenna need not be an ugly stick on the bow. You can get the same reception by mounting it horizontal under the bow also. Last radio I mounted in my Tomahawk had CD, MP3 with a remote. Got the thing on eBay for around $34.99
Copy and take the spaces out after .com
www.ebay.com /itm/BOSS-Audio-616UAB-Single-1-DIN-Car-Power-Stereo-Bluetooth-USB-AM-FM-Radio-Player/303176021086?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4696b2f45e:g:6VwAAOSw5eFc9NiL&enc=AQAEAAACYIQvEcHUrT7nmUC3yY5qbPyaBN1nJEDYW8MyypsJPgXKJXIsITcN%2FKrpKO55R9QEP03q1yMOohTq2xVoJT0ohu7iSOicDGk%2BA4YfBcK4KmeWuBXc4nUROiReEuM6cIRJrgHkdqoKckJtu%2Fu57Qb6%2FhZWxXdC1hj%2FWyu8n%2BynczZg%2B6aJqK2vvntB3E1T4XaUGUwGpG4CGRGvrhReAWqrCzY8mEa%2BVrqoIh6DWlUOKBER5wrHkMxK0%2BCZv2tL0LDhmmnG7tzEOS2Q2LeJCD7TaCqFQI3ZAVh3nlC67hBDnykcIbJQgKt%2BqBNrpPX3uizCfj3FKoalTw3FjA9LxGranlkKveJehxSEhdHfIFKgYp%2F6m3XMy33oTayV8zcyq3Oyh9RJDRH%2FUocdUIIY4RLkXLNJ5MHn5UlcXtgF70UfyncufZbAl4Gx7iCcviwACckyai8pYL4mQ44t89G1s0dYaVJtrLVchwyvQvMzzYSy9TIPuJe2hyjWDoHoNRw5NTmgvnig7uD0zFFy77pwJ6ftFwV6bwTFR6n4hiohGOEVFActNqkVKCgKWnY7sYhrNHN8ihDTVq09vLnkLB8U3TOBI0eBcSV48IlqIv2xSpa7YxUssIWoRWELEn798gUrMrGQgQf46X2xCSxb8ENLCnL5qq7w%2FCLbvMvIdcOYWYQ4Eee7zffzf0K9wV1Zbyh83SdQDyOG0tmNMe96AdbsIo%2FKVzQevj24MXrxvBHnMxfhgFTd2ZGe8S5pmmt%2FuBos7i156YsFnuWyeazpImLNKtJcyxHYNi8AwzHOVf1xjrnPGGaD&checksum=30317602108674ce313fe5c04ad38d70d558bea26143

I just assumed he was looking for something that could have been in there for the era. the site I posted is stuff sued by all the hotrod restorers. There are plenty of places to mount a radio that's out of site and like Cal said you can get them cheap on ebay. Maybe even find a marine version cheap. Dual makes a pretty inexpensive marine radio with MP# and blue tooth.

Bob