Installing speakers in a 89 Ski Nautique

[marks]

Hi,

I am seeking advice on installing speakers in a 89 Ski Nautique.
Nothing fancy, just some 5.25" or 6.5" rounds. From other boats
that I have seen, it looks like they should be positioned in
the vinyl pads next to the driver and observer seats. Before
I pull out my saw and start hacking does anyone have any
advice? Can these vinyl pads be removed from the gunwales
to simplify the cutting process?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark

[mrese]

one speaker under the dash (mine has two screws that mount it to the fiberglass by the ground buss, no cutting involved.)

If you haven't removed the rear seat, install two in the storage compartments with the speakers below the cushion, one on each side of the boat. These require cutting holes in the base structure but not the vinyl. You can run the wires along side the steering cable under the starboard gunwale.

[marks]

Thanks for the advice.

What size speaker did you manage to get into the
storage compartment?

[mrese]

4" x 10" speakers in the rear storage compartments. I have attached some pictures, if they need to be modified to another format, I apologize and thank whoever corrects them.

[rbalan]

I made 2 panels and upholstered them to put 6 1/2 s and a small storage area behind the driver and aft of the observer seat. It may be more involved than what you are thinking but it wasn't that difficult and I am very pleased with the results, plus I now have a little bit of storage for smaller items (every bit counts in our 2001s). It also made the interior a little more modern looking. Sorry for not posting pics, I may try later.

[Hollywood]

.

[NautiqueJeff]

Yeah, I remember seeing the one above before. That turned out looking very good, IMO.

[rbalan]

Off the subject, where are your transducers mounted for your depth finder? Mine rarely has a good reading.

[marks]

Rbalan,
I don't have a depth finder. I saw you other post and was hoping someone would
answer as I would like to add one too.

On your speaker install, how did you attach the panels?

Hollywood,
Thanks for the pics. Your speaker boxes look sharp.
How did you attach them? BTW, your interior looks
great. Is it all original or have you had to redo it?

[Hollywood]

marks, that's not my boat, but it's a best picture of the speaker setup we have. I only made one pair of those brackets for the back. We have 2 6"x9" boxes with extra speaker wire we pull out of the bow and place wherever up front.

In terms of the install, I cut the bottom of the boards on a an angle, so they wedge themselves into the floor behind the rubber strip. I took the bottom teak wood trim piece off, and placed the board into position (as far back while still being able to pull the side seats out). With pressure holding it down, I drilled through the fiberglass just above the bottom edge while still being hid by the teak. To get the teak to mount flush again, I countersunk the fiberglass a little, and drilled a tiny bit into the teak to accomodate the head of the bolt. Throw a nut on the back end, and put the trim back on and you're all done. We have sides on our boards, so you'll have to do this with the speaker out and reach up through the hole to put the nut on.

I would recommend cutting 1 small triangle out of sheet metal and screwing it to the back so it slightly stabs into the ground and won't allow the bottom to slide out anywhere. One of the boards stayed in position fine, the other started pulling the rubber stip out a little, so we took it out at the end of last season.

[rbalan]

I'll get some pictures soon and they will show how they mount, which are located the exact same place as the front speakers in Hollywood's pictures. I drilled (2) 1/4 inch holes per panel and used stainless beauty washers. The panels are made of 3/4 inch PT plywood and don't touch the floor, which I feel will help them last longer.

[morfoot]

rbalan & marks,

I installed a hummingbird digital depth finder on my 88' 2001 (ebay is great ain't it) and I placed the transducer aft of the main drian hole and under the oil pan. Has worked great for me with no problems what-so-ever. Of course that is with a through the hull transducer. Just be sure to lightly sand the area where you place the unit so that the epoxy will adhere to inner surface of the hull.

[rbalan]

Thanks morfoot,

Mine's a hummingbird as well. Whats your main lake/river?, I'm usually at Lanier or Hartwell.

[morfoot]

rbalan, You could find me on Lake Jackson. I live on SS of ATL so I don't make it to Lanier. Haven't been there in years. Boardstock 96' was the last time I was there. I can be on the lake in 15 mins from the house so don't have alot of use for Lanier. get off work @ 1:45pm so I can be on the water ready to go by no later than 4:00. Boat traffic is light and smooth water most of the time.

[rbalan]

Yeah, Lanier has pretty rough water with lots of traffic, you're not missing anything. I've been to Jackson a time or 2, I wish I was closer to some less popular lakes. Getting off work that early has to help too. I am sending my depth finder back to hummindird, there's definitely a problem with it and they make it sound like they are going to take care of it.