Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm looking to finally hook up some new stereo components on the boat we bought last year. I have three options and hope someone can provide some input.

Option 1 - Run power wires to under the helm and install the amplifier there. I want to run a larger wire for future expansion. My helm is mid ship since it's a center walk through so it's around a 30 foot round trip run so I would run 2 gauge wire which is pretty pricey but the subwoofer will be under the helm so all the hookups except the power are right there.

Option 2 is mount the amplifier at the half way point underneath my trash can compartment underneath the lounger behind the driver seat. The power wires wouldn't have to go underneath the boat because there is already a pass through available between the two compartments.

Option 3 is to mount it in the seat compartment with the batteries. The major upside is that I can mount them less than a foot away from my batteries, but I will have to run my remote turn on and rca wires from the helm and then the wire for the subwoofer back. I have enough wire to do that on hand.

My big question with the last option is has anyone mounted something like that to the seats? I don't want the screws/bolts to be visible from the outside of the seats and the wall they would be masked has the factory mounted battery switch so it's a no go. Can you epoxy some starboard or similar material to the seat and then screw to that?

I'd love to do option 1 but everywhere I've looked the marine wire I need will cost me around $120 which is a little steep.

Mount the amp near the battery and run the rca and speaker wire where you need to. I mounted my amps on a piece of plywood bolted to the inside rails in a compartment.

[quote="jrolin1"]Mount the amp near the battery and run the rca and speaker wire where you need to. I mounted my amps on a piece of plywood bolted to the inside rails in a compartment.[/quote]

The best place I have near the batteries and switches is the back corner seat. The link below is basically my layout and both batteries are in that rear corner seat on the driver side. My concern other than actually how to mount is that eventually I want to run all four factory speakers off of an amp which would mean running two more sets of rca wires because I want to keep my fade and balance, or going with a 5 channel amp and only one more set of rca cables. I don't mind doing that to save around $100 in power wire, but I need a way to mount the amp to what is essentially the front of the seat, so regular bolts won't work.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2015- ... -102408697

Come up with some brackets (aluminum maybe) that are "L" shaped. Bolt the bottom of the "L" to the bottom of the seat base and the amp to the upright portion of the "L". No bolts going through the seat wall.

[quote="Lt. Dan"]Come up with some brackets (aluminum maybe) that are "L" shaped. Bolt the bottom of the "L" to the bottom of the seat base and the amp to the upright portion of the "L". No bolts going through the seat wall.[/quote]

Not a bad thought at all. There are bolt holes that are unused for seat hinges on the top of the seat base and I could run from the top down and then screw through the bottom. I'd rather have the two points of contact on each bracket so the amp isn't moving around too much in rough seas. I'm also reconsidering and looking at going ahead and and upgrading to the 5 channel amp now, but I'm not sure. I've been running some calculations and I think I cold get away with running around an 6 or maybe a 4 gauge amp if I run all 5 channels through one amp. If I get it down this far in size I may go back to running it under the dash. I found some 2 gauge wire locally for only around 2 bucks a foot too so that may change it as well.

Under the seat may work but it's often a moist environment even for marine electronics. Have you considered moving the accessory battery forward to where you need the power? By doing so you could possibly get by utilizing a bit smaller and manageable wire for charging current only back to the battery switch. More or less how I did mine with a few additional details.

[quote="Bamby"]Under the seat may work but it's often a moist environment even for marine electronics. Have you considered moving the accessory battery forward to where you need the power? By doing so you could possibly get by utilizing a bit smaller and manageable wire for charging current only back to the battery switch. More or less how I did mine with a few additional details.[/quote]

Ours isn't rigged as an accessory and starting, just done as straight dual batteries so I think I would either have to switch off to start or run bigger wires since both batteries power the engine and the house items. My rear seats stay really dry but still think it would be drier underneath the console and I wouldn't have to worry about heat since there is a little more room underneath the console....for whatever reason I'm still leaning that way.

Maybe I'm wrong about needing the large gauge wires when relocating the battery and someone can explain why...not excited about moving it because I'll probably have the dealer to that to maintain warranty, but might be an option.