Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Good morning all!!

It's a lovely 48 degrees in beautiful Wisconsin this am............

I have a question concerning battery use/draw. We have a Misty Harbor toon with a 2013 115 Merc 4 stroke. Just wondering if we were to install a subwoofer or two would it be a good idea to install a separate battery as well. Our 15 year old is inundating us with Craigslist ads for 12-15 inch subs with 1200-1800 amps. I am fine with the factory stereo (Sony) and speakers currently in place but am always open to ideas. Would we require a separate battery just for our audio entertainment? We know there are variables, just looking for a general idea(s). Would a battery switch be necessary? We generally "float" for 1/2-1 hour and then due to my A.D.D. (my wife points out there are meds for that) we're off exploring again. Do you think 1/2 to 1 hour of battery draw/drain should cause me fear and trepidation? We have a Bose Soundlink that we utilize when tied-up because of our concern of a dead battery and even though we are blessed with 3 children (2 of them being teenagers) I wouldn't want to have to paddle a 25 foot toon more than a nautical 1/2 block lol.
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration!

Carlton

Why do you need to piss other people off on the water, I think the boat is a way to get away from that noise, but yes from what I understand of amps they draw the amps so another battery or a jump box is needed

Depending on how much it draws it would be a real good idea to add a second battery, at least a group 31 and a lot who do that keep it separate and charge it each trip, that way when it runs down the motor still starts.

Are you sure the subwoofer draw is 1200-1800 amps and not watts? I don't know of any marine or auto batteries that can support an amp draw of that magnitude.

In any case, adding an extra battery can't hurt.

I have a 600 Watt Clarion amp with 10" Sub and I added a 2nd battery and isolater switch. It is peace of mind thing for me. Between the switch and battery it ended up being a $120 investment and totally worth it. Just remember not to switch from 1 battery to the other while the motor is running.

be VERY careful of subwoofers on a boat, especially WI since us upper midwest folks like peace and quiet on the lake and BASS travels a LONG way on open water and since its in an open environment you need lots of power to make it sound right. A 12" sub with 1000w on a boat will have about as much "thump" as a 8" sub with 100w does in an enclosed car environment and the people fishing 2 miles away will probably hear it just as good as you do.

I seldom beach anymore. The wife and I get out early and beach until all the yahoos come out , then we find a spot and float on anchor away from the noise pollution. Everyone cranks their tunes and they all have different music playing. You cant hear any one of them clearly and it is ridiculous. 30 boats on the beach all parked rail to rail and 30 stereos seeing who can hear theirs over all the others . Country here, rap crap over there, hip hop on this one, punk rock on that one.

But yeah , add a battery.

Because a boat (or car) has a big subwoofer doesn't mean it's quality sound.

We once had a neighbor kid that had a friend often bringing him home after midnight. We could feel the barometric pressure pulsate to his subwoofer 2 minutes before we could even hear the music. Think how unhealthy being in that car must have been?

Our lake is heavily populated with "first homes" surrounding the lake. We consider people with subwoofers on the water public enemies. We feel the same way about a Donzi with twin engines with straight pipes. And we're not too thrilled with bass fishermen @ 4:30 a.m. blowing it out with their Mercury Racing motors screaming at 7500 rpm's.

Like was said earlier, noises are so easily heard on the water. We can hear someone talking in a normal voice @ 1/4 mile.
Whenever around the lake, please have some consideration when it comes to making noise.

Don`t do it....I agree think of it as you forcing me and every one else to listen to your fucking boom box.

I like good music as much as anyone, but also agree that the water is not the place to have/need a big,blasting system. As stated, sound travels VERY far on the water.
But, to answer your question, if I were to do any upgrades, adding a second battery would be the first !
Have fun, and be considerate of others.

I will attempt to make everyone happy here.

#1 - A second battery is fairly cheap insurance if you are running any stereo (even without a sub) or other accessories without your motor running.

#2 - As others have said, a big booming sub sucks on the water BUT I have added an amplified Bazooka Bass Tube to my previous boat and was very satisfied with the draw (or lack of draw) and the sound quality. It really adds a "rich", not "booming" bass to your system.

http://www.bazooka.com/products/marine/ ... Series-S86

With the Bazooka, you get enhanced bass, already has the amp built in (assuming you get the amplified version), easy to install under your console, minimum draw, farily inexpensive, etc.

I upgraded the speakers in our toon and added a sub. I only turn the sub on about 1/3 of the way. Its great filler bass. i have turned it all the way on and rattled the out of the boat. i also added another battery just so that i always knew that if the boat stops playing music i know that battery is low but the other is still charged and i can still crank the motor.

Thanks everyone for your responses.
First, Megawatt, you are correct I meant to say watts not amps.
Secondly, we not fans of loud on water either. We're only looking for some added low end bass. Not the type that causes one's license plate on their cars to rattle. The factory speakers just sound a little tinny.
The lake we are on is known as a "party" lake but we tend to stay away from "Party Island". Not much to see there for a family of 5 (well actually....). ,
Warrenm81 may be onto what we are looking for; small, "rich, not booming" bass.
And please remember I'm only 49, but I am "Maturing Nicely".

Thanks again everyone!!

Carlton