"Richard Malcolm" wrote in message
om...
I am crusing for 2 weeks late July on a 41 ft Sailboat and will stop
halfway thru my trip in Bar Harbor, Me. to play drums at the Bar
Harbor jazz festival. (great to combine work and vacation). I am
wodering if any one has any ideas how I can protect my wooden snare
drum from all the moisture. I was thinking of putting it in a plastic
bag with something that absorbs moisture such as rice (like we do for
salt shakers) Any ideas? I guess I could take my metal snare instead.
thanks

As a trombonist (not going on the boat) and a woodwinder (recorders - going
on the boat instead), I have some feel for your dilemma.

If you're concerned only about the time in transport (vs what happens when
you get there, which is another story entirely), a very tightly sealed
plastic bag, evacuated as much as possible (a vacuum cleaner, or, better, a
shop-vac stuck in the end until the plastic bag looks like the drum) should
work.

As insurance, were it me, I'd first put in as much desiccant as you can come
up with (like the packets that come in shipped electronics). That you
considered rice tells me you don't use commercial desiccants aboard, which
is another whole subject.

So...

You can buy desiccant in bulk. While we've not yet launched, we'll have the
equivalent of potpourri bags, but with desiccant in them, hung in the
closets over the rods. Not a bad idea for sailboats in all weather
conditions, that would allow you to use some of that for your bag.

Now, as to the type of snare - if you were really concerned about moisture,
I'd be more worried about the metal snare. Wood, absent dunking, allowed to
rest for a time, will return to ambient moisture levels, such as when you're
ashore for the gig. However, it won't rust or corrode. So, that's what I'd
take, were it I who was drumming.

Hope that helped...

L8R

Skip


--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin