If you have a car stereo then you might be tempted to use that for a boat or you might be tempted to find a cheaper model and put that on your boat instead. The simple fact is though that you should only be putting marine grade equipment on your boat. Whether it is your new stereo, some new speakers or a GPS device you need to make sure that it’s suitable for the job at hand.
One of the biggest reason is simply due to waterproofing. Your car stereo isn’t going to need to be water resistant as it should never come in contact with the water. Your boat stereo though is more than likely to come into contact with the water by it from a wave, rainwater or something else. Having that level of protection is vital and if you don’t have it then you leave yourself vulnerable to your stereo breaking easily and having to replace it with a marine grade one anyway.
There are other features too such as UV protection as you stereo needs to be durable to withstand the harsher conditions of being on a boat. Sound quality can also make a difference as a marine stereo has to cope with being out in the open and susceptible to wind and other weather, marine grade stereos are experts in dealing with these conditions.
So you can use your car stereo on a boat but that fact is that it probably won’t last for a very long time if you do. If you’re installing a stereo on a boat then make sure that it’s made for being out there on the water. The only exception to this rule would be if you have a larger boar and looking to install a stereo below deck. This would give you more options as the stereo won’t get punished by the sea, wind, and rain.