I really like the concept of this site so I figured I would post a few of my projects to help get the juices flowing.
The factory stereo in my boat was awful. Six 6” speakers driven by a bad deck and half of an oversize 4 channel amp driving the 10” woofer full range. I could not believe how bad the stereo was in such a nice boat. Thank goodness MB has Exile doing their stereos now. But I digress…
I wanted a large stereo that looked stock and didn’t take up usable space in the boat. No offence to some others, but I didn’t want a floating stereo. I wanted a stereo to compliment the good times at the lake and be trouble free while we ride.
I started by sealing up the factory sub location (not an easy task) and built a ¾” HDPE spacer beveled on one side matching the curve of the boat to allow a good seal for the new 12” Kicker sub.
I then built a ported enclosure under the helm for the new 15” Kicker sub. I added a 3/8” HDPE trim plate to the front that still needs to be upholstered. I always like the depth of a 15” sub with the punch of a 12”. It’s definitely not lacking bass! I went ahead and put the Optima blue top battery for the boat behind this enclosure.
In the observer compartment I installed two large group 31 Optima yellow tops for the stereo just under the front seat backs. With one forward and one sideways you barely see a third of the batteries under the front seats. I fabbed up HDPE brackets to keep the batteries in place without boxes. This allowed me to build my 1/2" HDPE amp rack/wall that holds all four Polk Audio amps and the Pro Mariner charger. I used stainless tee nuts to be able to bolt the equipment to the rack instead of screws. I don’t like to see wires so I hard wired the charger to a recessed plug just under the rear locker door so I don’t have to get in the boat to plug it in.
I replaced all six of the stock speakers with Polk Audio MM 6.5” and added two more on the dash. At the same time as the stereo install, I pulled the windshield to powder coat it gloss black and tint the glass. While it was out I was able to cut the holes for the dash speakers perfectly.
I installed the JL Audio Bluetooth receiver next to the throttle and slapper controls. This feeds my Wetsounds 420-SQ much like the exile set up in new MBs. Last but certainly not least I added a pair of Wetsounds Rev10 speakers on the tower. I tried to put them as far over and up to avoid bumping heads every trip.I also added dual USB ports in the glove box, at the helm, at both side speaker/drink holder areas and I put 12v outlets in the lockers to power ballast/air pumps.
It turned out exactly like I wanted. Once the panel over the 15” sub is upholstered to match the rest of the boat you won’t know there is anything extra in the boat… until I turn it up of course.
1000w Polk amp – 15” Kicker sub
800w Polk amp – 8 Polk boat speakers
800w Polk amp – 2 Wetsounds Rev10s
500w Polk amp – 12” Kicker sub
A few images of the powerdercoat and windshield tint.
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