Advice on a sub for the passenger compartment 08 SANTE

[swatguy]

So all my previous boats I was able to run a sub under the drivers helm and have been spoiled by the sound. Usually bridged a Syn 4 for my 12 inch Wetsounds XL. Putting that same setup in my passenger compartment has left me severely disappointed. Is a more high end/high powered sub/amp combo really the only solution?

Hit me up with some solutions.

[David Analog]

Unfortunately when going into the port side observers compartment, you really have to abandon sound quality and turn your objectives to the surviving output.
I think most everyone understands the basic principles of a bass-reflex enclosure. A box and a hole. A tuned resonator. A filter. Phase delay. Within the port compartment you have the enormous displacement of the locker and its adjoining gunnel cavities plus a relatively small (as a ratio) and resistive vent to pass the bass radiation out of the locker. So in a clumsy sense you have a woofer/box inside another box with an exterior opening. In this scenario you tend to get all the negatives but none of the positives. And in most boats the only convenient place to locate a vent of any surface area is in the pass-thru...a location that is outside the boundaries of the cockpit.
So to answer your question, the most effective way to get surviving output and not overdrive the woofer/amplifier components is with the leverage of a larger woofer, larger enclosure, and more amplifier power. The larger the vent surface area the better. It would help to place the vents within cockpit boundaries if possible. It helps to take more of an SPL approach than SQ approach in woofer selection, box tuning, etc. Not an approach of my personal liking but I understand the challenge, what will work best, and how to do it. You have to make peace with it.

[swatguy]

I was tossing around an idea to combat the situation. Considering two possible solution besides going not wattage and bigger sub.

A)Making a cutout in the walkthrough wall, mounting the sub to the walkthrough wall and piggy backing a box to the wall. Little more work involved may solve my rigidity issue described below.
B) making a cutout just big enough for the 12 to show through flush and keeping the already sealed box in order. I would just mount a nice grille to the walkthrough area to "finish the hole off".

Was thinking this would be more efficient and I would get a greater return than upping to a 15 and more wattage. What concerns me though is structurally in that area. The walkthrough wall usually takes the hardest hits and flexes the most. So cutting a 12 in hole right in the middle of the greatest flex point has kept me fro pulling out the dremel.

[David Analog]

Your first solution has the advantage of a direct-radiating woofer that is totally isolated from the compartment by sandwiching the wall with the woofer and enclosure. That's really positive. You also no longer have to worry about the sub modulating the midbass driver of every coaxial down the port side, which is a major SQ factor. The downside is you are still generating the bass energy outside the boundaries of the cockpit. Optimum would be at the lowest point inside a front corner of the cockpit. But you have to take what the boat gives you.
The second scenario could have the wall reinforced with a thick aluminum ring hidden and pre-mounted to inside, if there is a real structural issue.
And don't discount the use of two sealed 12"s (same box in opposing directions) with more power, taking the leverage approach. It's a bit tactile, ill-articulate and slow, but on the flipside, the more conservative the equipment operates the cleaner it operates.

[MLA]

I dont CC felt its an issue to cut a hole in the walk way wall. I remember they used to offer a coaming pad door kit that allowed easy access to the locker cooler. This required a large cut out.

[SuperSquirt]

I have an 08' 210 and my sub sounds crazy good. I did vent the passenger compartment by cutting six 4" holes (4 behind the net and 2 below the seat facing out). I've got a medium to large sized "sealed" box with a JL W6 13.5". I am running a Alpine PDX at only 600watts, but trust me, it is plenty. The low end bass sounds ridiculously good and the 420eq is only up about 30% on sub volume. I previously used a 15" Kicker solobaric in a smaller box, but the JL setup is champ by far.

I thought about doing your option B and cutting out a big sub hole, but I'm glad I didn't.

[Paxdad]

I have an 08' 210 and my sub sounds crazy good. I did vent the passenger compartment by cutting six 4" holes (4 behind the net and 2 below the seat facing out). I've got a medium to large sized "sealed" box with a JL W6 13.5". I am running a Alpine PDX at only 600watts, but trust me, it is plenty. The low end bass sounds ridiculously good and the 420eq is only up about 30% on sub volume. I previously used a 15" Kicker solobaric in a smaller box, but the JL setup is champ by far.

I thought about doing your option B and cutting out a big sub hole, but I'm glad I didn't.

Would you mind posting a few photos of your sub set up and the vents. I mounted mine in the walk thru and need to reinforce the wall as it is flexing somewhat.

[swatguy]

Def would like some pics.

[8urchvy]

Not sure if I am going to regret this down the road, but I cut out a similar hole that CC did with the TrashCan/Cooler access compartment. I had some decent gauge metal mesh mounted to the hole and covered by speaker cloth.

I have a JL Audio 12W7AE in a ported box, powered by an Wetsounds SD2. Port is firing up (not my first choice). It sounds very good with the seat closed and then kills it with the seat up when beached.