There are some people who climb on board their boat to get away from civilization for a day. This means leaving cell phones, computers, and televisions behind while they escape into the great outdoors. Other people, spend such a large part of their life on board that they want the modern conveniences, especially televisions and radios and their phone. There are ways to make both happen, but you may need a few things before bringing movies and electronics on board.
The Right Electronics
If you want your boat to have a television, you will need to first ensure that you have a screen that will work on your boat. For most boats, you will need to leave the big screen at home. A smaller sized television, monitor, or a laptop screen is often large enough for boating. Beyond that, you will also need to decide if a DVD player is good enough so that you can watch movies while on board, or if you prefer to stream movies from your boat. Either is possible, with the right equipment, but viewing live television is a little tricky on boats.
The Equipment
Keep in mind that wires cannot reach it from the mainland, unless you are docked, and satellites are often unreliable since your boat will move constantly on the water, even if you are docked. This means you kind of have to plan for putting a television on board. Chances are good, even your cell phone reception will not be great on the water. When taking a long trip, movies are your next best friend. A DVD player means that you do not need anything more than a television, the DVD player, and marine battery connectors that will not let you down in the middle of a rough night at sea. If you want live TV, things become harder to deal with. Instead of a satellite, you may want to get an automatic tracking antenna. They are able to pick up a signal regardless of where you are, and they can also work to ensure you have radio signal. If you are committed to the satellite, you have to pay a little more to get a multi-axis satellite that is enclosed in a dome.
Why Put a Television on Board?
There are a lot of reasons that people want televisions and radios on-board. There are some people who go out on the boat for weeks at a time, especially if they have a sailboat. Others may only go out for the weekend, but either way, storms tend to roll in quickly on the water and without warning, it can cause major issues on a boat. Live television and radios can prevent bad things from happening because you will have time to prepare. On shorter trips, this is not as big a deal, but when the sun goes down and you are not ready for sleep, televisions allow you to have entertainment. This can help during the heat of the day or at night when you are unable to sleep. You may also want to take movies on board if you have children who may get bored when on the boat. No matter what your reason for wanting access to televisions, putting one on a boat is doable, and at the right times, can be a great thing.