A cockpit microphone cover is the solution for a common problem. Bright sunlight damages the LCD display on the mic. Eventually it becomes impossible to read–even the channel, let alone other info.
Effects of Sunlight
I’m not sure how old the Standard Horizon RAM mic was on our boat. But at the end, the display was almost totally blacked out.
We had mounted it in a very exposed location next to the helm, with the display pointed straight aft. With easterly trade winds common in south Florida and the Bahamas — where the boat has been for the past five years at least — the afternoon sun shone straight at the display most days.
We covers all our other instrument displays. But somehow — I guess because there wasn’t a cover for it — we never covered it up. Until over the last couple of months the display has slowly turned into a solid illegible blob.
We think that having a VHF mic at the helm is important for safety. But this one was almost useless. You could hear a call and transmit. But it was impossible to change channels as you couldn’t see the channel at all!
So, as part of a VHF upgrade to get an AIS receiver (more coming on this — we’re still installing it), we got a new remote mic.
Cockpit Microphone Cover – The Solution
We didn’t want to ruin the new one but the old mounting location really was the most convenient place for the person at the helm.
Okay, it needed a cover. There were two basic criteria:
- Couldn’t interfere with the hanger clip on the back; and
- Had to be able to quickly slip it off to use the radio.
Suddenly it dawned on me: Velcro. We have a number of leftover pieces from other projects, so I was able to cut a couple of long skinny “hook” pieces from sticky-back Industrial Strength Velcro, and then use a piece of wide Velcro strapping to cover the display.
I put the sticky-back pieces on the back of the microphone, on either side of the hanger. Then I cut a piece of the wide Velcro to wrap around the front of the mic and put it in place with the loop side in.
It’s easy to hang up and easy to remove. We do leave the cover off when we’re underway, and put it back on when we stop, just as we do with our other instrument covers.
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
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The Boat Galley says
We use ours quite a bit at anchor — we tend to live in the cockpit!
The Boat Galley says
We’ve used it on some other things and generally have to replace it about once a year. I think this won’t be bad as the sticky back part is on the back of the mic away from the sun.
John Herlig says
What can I say… the advantages of being misanthropic haha. 🙂
Carolyn Shearlock says
I bet that would work as long as it didn’t interfere with the knob for hanging the mic (location varies by manufacturer).