subwoofer

I haven't done it yet, but a powered sub should work well on your boat. I have a few odds and ends around from the kid's cars over the past few years, and was going to add an amp and 2 8" subs under the control stand. We'll see how that works out. Along with that, i felt it would be a good idea to add that second battery, between the stereo and an added amp, I don't want to have to worry about a dead battery when it's time to call it a day. I'll post some pics when i get going on it.
 
Yea, your'e right, but i don't plan on having any water that high on my boat! You can pay extra for marine grade, but if you buy quality car audio, it works just fine. And you have a lot more choices. Take a look at your Sony head unit, that's car audio.
 
What about speakers, I have a second boat that I was thinking of putting a stereo in and was hoping to get by with some car speakers. If I get caught in the rain will it ruin them?
 
Hi Finchlake, while i'm not an audio expert, i have had car audio speakers in the last two ski boats that we have had. Todays speakers are made of better materials than those of the past, no more 'cardboard' cones and pleated paper surrounds. Most are made with either polypropylene or aluminun cones and rubberized surrounds, making them water resistent just because of the materials used. So look at what the speakers are made of when choosing, and ask your salesperson about that as well. You will also want to mount them so it would minimize their exposure to the elements. All this is just my opinion based on what i've done in the past, but it always worked with no problems.
 
I added a powered Bazooka subwoofer to my Mastercraft ski boat, I have had no problems with it being in a marine enviroment and it sounds great. I have it under the closed bow. On my pontoon I only upgraded the speakers to a kicker marine component unit. The reason is that on the pontoon people are farther apart and unless I keep the volume low I can't hear and be a part of the conversation. Just something to consider.
 
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I am thinking about adding the amplified marine bazooka as well. I like listing to music when on the water so this would be nice if this was a upgrade you could add at the purchase of your pontoon. Flynn
 
I was given a Bazooka EL6A-HP that I plan on installing in my 2575RFi, under the helm. The Bazooka manual says to connect the power feed directly to the battery to reduce noise. Connecting to the main battery would be tough to do since the boat is underskinned. I see some nice thick power lines under the helm. Would it mess up anything on the boat to tap in to a main power line under the helm? The Bazooka only uses 16g wire so I don't think it's pulling a lot of power(specs show 100 watts). If I can't tap in to power near the helm my next choice would be the battery in the galley.
 
Hi Chas, welcome to the forum! No need to run wiring to the battery, look to see if there is an extra spot on the fuse panel, if so you can use that. if not, go to the main power feed to the fuse panel, it should have a ring connector screwed to the fuse panel. put a fuse holder with another ring connector and power it up there. either way, be sure to have the circuit fused for safety! If by chance you get a humming noise that changes with engine speed, you will need a filter capacitor, any car audio shop can get you one. Good luck and let us know how it sounds!
 
Thanks G&B. It may be a while before I get the sub installed--have to work on it outside and spring refuses to arrive here.
 
I have to disagree with G&B. They recomend hooking the contstant power to the battery for a reason. If you hook it to the fuse panel the noise will be the worst when you run the trim pump motor. I would suggest that you temporarily hook the power up to the battery (like wire over the seats to the battery)and listen to it while running the trim, engine and other acc. Then try it hooked to the fuse panel. Some can't hear the difference, some can.
 
Yes, I agree that powering up at the battery is the best way to go. But i thought Chas was looking for an alternative route, given his toon is underskinned. Therefore, going to a fused power source under the helm would be a simpler approach. And if noise is present, then a readily available noise filter should resolve any noise complaint. :)
 
Finally got the subwoofer installed/wired (but not bolted down yet). To save some wiring hassles I bought the Bazooka FAST-9999 and FAST-BTAH universal wiring adapters. One of them connects to the wires between the stereo and the boat harness using Posi-lock connectors. Then the other plugs into that adapter with the other end a plug-n-play to the sub. Using these adapters <allegedly> eliminates the need to run a power line direct to the battery.

After posting questions on the Bazooka forum, I was informed to wire the adapter to the stereo differently than their instructions read. So the Bazooka red wire was then connected to the stereo's yellow/constant 12v, and the other Bazooka power wire connected to one of the stereo's switched 12v wires (amp remote on wire). Once I found a ground (more on that later) the stereo and sub worked, although the stereo would power off when the volume was turned up past 21. From reading online it sounds like there are a few potential causes for this, but I think in my case it is just an under power issue because it all works fine/normal when the boat is running.

Ground: I had a hard time getting a good ground under the helm. I'm definitely not an electrical guru, but sure thought I'd find a few easy spots to work with in there. I ended up grounding temporarily to the stereo (not a direct wire to it--there's a metal strap that holds the back of the stereo in place and is connected to the wall of the helm. The sub ground is connected to that support strap). Seems to be working good like this. Any problems grounding the sub this way?

Adding the subwoofer sure makes the stereo sound better!
 
Hi Chas, you really ought to find a better ground source. In the event of a short, using the stereo chassis as ground could damage your stereo. Look at the power wires coming out of the stereo, red, yellow, black. Follow the black wire, it should go to a common ground source, connect your sub ground there. Otherwise, enjoy your tunes on your toon!
 
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