I was listening to a playlist of old sea shanties from the 1600's and it occurred to me that they could not possibly sound like they do in modern reproductions. I can't imagine that ships would be able to keep stringed instruments around without serious damage. Drums wouldn't make much sense, either.
Does anyone know what kind of instruments would have been played as an accompaniment to these old tunes?
I recently answered a similar question on music onboard 16th century ships, and I highly recommend you to check it out. While it is possible some instruments have changed between 1500s and 1600s, overall the conclusion would be the same:
There were plenty of instruments on board ships, and (in 16th century Iberians) they were usually trumpets, drums, bagpipes, fifes and flutes.
Portuguese and spanish records don't mention much stringed instruments, that's true, but I would think it was more due to local preference and taste, rather than concern over damage in voyage