Garmin 3205 on a SunDeck 240

Morpheus

New Member
May 7, 2007
2,450
Odessa, FL
Boat Info
2006 SeaRay Sundeck 240
Engines
5.0MPI Mercruiser w/ Bravo III
I'm hoping you nice folks can give me some ideas on how to and what is the best way to install a Garmin 3205 (got it on ebay new for $400) on a Sundeck 240. Below are some of my questions.

1. Power/Ground: What's the best way. I was thinking I should run a power and ground from the battery or existing fuse block if there is an open available spot on it or add an additional fuse block and run that to the helm and if I do that do I leave the inline fuses or not?

2. Running the power/ground are there places exiting that I can do this? Will I need a fish tape of some sort to do it? What kind of wire should I use garmin recommends 12awg.

3. GPS Attenna, my boat already as a Sirius attenna on the starboard side in front of the windshield so I was thinking putting the GPS Attenna away from it as recommended flush mounted like the siruis one on the port side above the head, if I do this will there be a place to run wires? Drilling a whole (SCARED TO DEATH) is there any tips do I tape the area? To I drill from the underside or top?

4. I was thinking of ordering a mount from RAM mounts (ram-mounts.com) to better fit the unit on the helm under the winshield. Any recommendations on this?

Any other tips I need to know about for doing this myself trying to decide if I want to tackle or if I want to spend 200-500 at westmarine for 500+ at MM

What about sealing any wholes with marine sealent what do I need to get what about gromets?

Thanks for any help here.
 
Did not do it myself, but you can see where I've got mine mounted on our 240. Personal I had them wire it to the switch for the corsa exhaust since I did not have that installed on MS Judy. Hope this helps :smt001
 
chuck1 said:
Did not do it myself, but you can see where I've got mine mounted on our 240. Personal I had them wire it to the switch for the corsa exhaust since I did not have that installed on MS Judy. Hope this helps :smt001

See yours where :) I looked in the virtual marina.

Saw your pictures but nothing of the GPS.

Shore power hmm any particular reason for that maybe something I've not though of?

I like the dual charger though been thinkin about that.

Bildge heater? I'm assuming cause your up north I'm in florida don't think I'll need that or will I?

Thanks for your response.
 
See yours where :) I looked in the virtual marina.
Saw your pictures but nothing of the GPS.

Sorry I thought I had one in the VM. It is on my web site under links, boating adventures. :smt017 You can get to in by clicking on the WWW link at the boat of my post.



Shore power hmm any particular reason for that maybe something I've not though of?
Some said I was turning it into a cruiser :lol: Seriously use it as a camper some times on the TN river and other places nice to pull in and plug in for cooking, blender, etc. Plus some marina will not let you use any kind of power unless it is a marine AC system. Not sure if you noticed I've also got a inverter for running the coffee pot or blender when I'm out on an anchor or don't feel like taking the small generator with me.


I like the dual charger though been thinkin about that.
Works great.

Bildge heater? I'm assuming cause your up north I'm in florida don't think I'll need that or will I?
What part of FL are you in? Would not think you would need it. Are you wet slipping it? I've got to have it up here in the Mountains to be able to use it year round.


Thanks for your response.
Your welcome. Hope it helps. Were are you in FL. Are you going on/to the PCB CSR event in June?
 
Morpheus

Not being familiar with your boat, the following generalities apply to most boats.
1. From the engine to the dashboard, a steering cable, a shift cable, and a wiring harness are run along the starboard side, usually suspended along the top of the gunwale.
2. Seeing as the battery is usually within close proximity to the engine, you could supply your positive (fused) and negative directly from the battery to the GPS, and tie wrap your wires to the existing wiring harness. Don't tie-wrap to, or disturb the cables.

So far, no holes have to be drilled.
In reference to the antenna, that is a personal decision based upon appearance, but bear in mind that it must have a clear view of the sky. I don't understand why it cannot be next to the Sirius, as they are both receivers, but follow the manufacturers recommendations.
When you do drill a hole in fiberglass, you'll want to chamfer the hole area a little bigger than the diameter of your bit, before drilling the actual hole to prevent spauling.
After the hole is drilled, and the wire is run, seal it with 4200.
Don't use 5200, as 4200 can be removed at a later date.
 
Thanks chuck1 for the photos:

http://ssg-i.com/boattrips/p2210031.jpg

In this photo the first thing I noticed was your steering wheel appears to be coming apart ;)

I like the VHF radio install very nice. Mine didn't come with so I have a hand held for now.

As for the ram-mount did you just attach it to the face of the console? I was thinking of mounting mine up on top under the windshield if I can get it to fit.

Maybe you can answer a quesiton I keep forgetting to ast MM. What is the ACCY switch :huh:

I see you have the full enclosure too we only have the cover and Bimini but I can see how it can be used like a tent so I agree shore power is a nice thing to have.

I live in Odessa, FL it's in the north west part of Hillsborough County at the Top of Tampa Bay so we go in to the Bay alot. The boat is kept on a trailer in a storage area. Our HOA doesn't allow boats unless they are kept in the garage and there is no way it would fit our truck bairly fits.

As for Sea Ray 300 thanks for the tips, but sounds like I won't need to run the power/ground now from the back as chuck1 has pointed out the fuse block is right behind the console so that helps. Just a matter of figuring out where/how to run the external attenna.

Thanks for the replies guys.
 
You're welcome.

n this photo the first thing I noticed was your steering wheel appears to be coming apart ;)
Now that I look at it I see what you mean. Was taken before I took delivery of the boat and just had to take a picture of the helm while they were still working on it :lol:

I like the VHF radio install very nice. Mine didn't come with so I have a hand held for now.
A VHF is a must on the TN river for the locks, etc. Still have my hand held for backup plus when we do trips some of the boat will not have a VHF so I can lend it to them.

As for the ram-mount did you just attach it to the face of the console? I was thinking of mounting mine up on top under the windshield if I can get it to fit.
Yes it mounted to the metal dash. For my 276c works great, not in the way and it is protected from the elements. I thought about mounting it up top, but seemed to be in the way of my "View"


Maybe you can answer a quesiton I keep forgetting to ast MM. What is the ACCY switch
Do you have the docking lights?
Per Manual - DOCKING LIGHTS (OPTIONAL) The optional docking lights are protected by the 15A ACCESSORY fuse on the accessory fuse block (see Fig. 6.5.1). They are operated by pressing the ACCY switch on the STBD switch panel at the helm.



I see you have the full enclosure too we only have the cover and Bimini but I can see how it can be used like a tent so I agree shore power is a nice thing to have.
The full enclosure is great. Like I said I use it as a camper when its just me on a trip. Comes in handy if you get in rain, work great for winter boating. Been on the lake in 30' weather and got hot between the sun and the heater I've got on the boat. Even if you don't get the whole camper you may want to look into the front sections only.

[/quote]
 
chuck1 said:
Maybe you can answer a quesiton I keep forgetting to ast MM. What is the ACCY switch
Do you have the docking lights?
Per Manual - DOCKING LIGHTS (OPTIONAL) The optional docking lights are protected by the 15A ACCESSORY fuse on the accessory fuse block (see Fig. 6.5.1). They are operated by pressing the ACCY switch on the STBD switch panel at the helm.

Don't believe I do (don't remember them telling me about those.

I have nav lights (for when moving at night), cockpit lights (obviously all the lights inside the boat), and anchor lights which is for when your anchored at night but not moving.

I don't even know what dock lights would be for so I guess I have a ACCY Switch that goes to nothing :)

e-mount.com said they would let me order a RAM mount and if it don't work out I can exchange it in 30 days for a different one and only pay the difference so I think I'm almost there talking myself into doing it myself just a matter of figuring out how to run the attenna wire from the port to starboard side and the drilling a whole in my boat part.

I'd like to get it done before the end of the month as I'm going down to Punta Gorda into Charlotte Harbor and it will be uncharted territory for me and would make me feel better if I had a GPS to find my way back :)
 
Looks like I'm gonna try this myself.

After re-reading the garmin docs your right it only says keep it a way from sonar and vhf attennas not other satalite attennas like a sirius so I can put it next to the one that's there which will be easy no running wires a long way and the fuse box is suppose to be right inside the console so I'll be going for it next weekend once the bracket arrives wish me luck and I'll take pictures.
 
Sound good. Looking forward to the pictures. As to the Docking lights. You would know if you have them. Come in handy when you are docking at night in a dark area. Was surprised the 1st time I used them, how much light they gave off. :thumbsup:
 
Looking at the picture of your boat I assume that's what I'm seeing at the front of yours below the rub rail.

Sounds like something cool to have and not something I will attempt to install will have MM or someone do that.
 
Yep, that would be them. I agree not sure how hard it would be to install them after the fact. How much night boating are you doing? Come in handy from time to time for us.
 
None yet but I can forsee it in the future.

My wife's mom and stepdad own a house down in Punta Gorda, FL that is on the channels and I can see us taking the boat instead of the car to go t one of the many local resturants down there for dinner and having to come back at night.

So I can see how it would be very handy to have. I showed the wife your upgrades (shore power) but I don't think she will be spending the night on the 240SD any time soon it will require an upgrade with a bed before that happens haha.
 
Have an update:

Spoke to Garmin support. They have said the GPS Attenna can be right next to the Siruis Attenna without problems :smt038 actually said the guy next to him has done it on his boat. That makes the process SO much easier, have you ever climbed inside the area behind the console? WOW I could hide like 4 people in there so attenna installation should be a piece of cake.

Spoke to SeaRay support, had to actually talk to someone at the plant in Knoxville where the boat was made to get the answer. The fuse box for the boat is inside the console and can be accessed from the backside or by removing the front face of the console.

So that just leaves ordering the RAM mount and getting it here for the weekend install which will be perfect for next weekend of boating in Punta Gorda where I've never been.
 
So I can see how it would be very handy to have. I showed the wife your upgrades (shore power) but I don't think she will be spending the night on the 240SD any time soon it will require an upgrade with a bed before that happens haha.

I hear you :thumbsup: Have to stay in hotels, cabins or resorts when the wife goes on the trips. Only get to rough it when I'm by myself :lol:

Spoke to SeaRay support, had to actually talk to someone at the plant in Knoxville where the boat was made to get the answer. The fuse box for the boat is inside the console and can be accessed from the backside or by removing the front face of the console.

I've gone in both way. From the backside is easier in my opinion.
 
Ok here is an update for everyone. I'll post pictures later this week I'm not 100% complete and you will see why in a second.

First off I buy everything I think I'll need to get the job done, wire connectors, t-taps, screws washers bolts etc etc.

I get the boat home from the storage lot and get the cover off and the bimini up Florida gets way to hot.

So I dive in the first thing I do is take the back carpeting off inside the console area (where the cooler is). It's only on there with 3 screws stright into the fibreglass so no big deal getting it off. Actually I take two off and swing it out of the way to show what I consider the nicest wiring job I've every seen everything is labled and all nicly connected and wiretied up I was amazed.

First I locate the fuse box its on the port side of the console and although you can sort of reach it from the backside I ended up taking off the front face to get to it easier.

First thing I decided to do is make sure I knew what I was doing so I connected a mail slip on connector to the power and ground and the fuse box had 2 open spots and open grounding spots it was nice to just be able to plug it in.

Once I did this I powered up the Garmin 3205 and WOW I'm excited it's powering up looks great and there is a map cool. A few seconds later the screen is blank so I'm like that's weird I tried to turn it back on and nothing, I check all the fuses and connections and everything is good.

MY LUCK! A Faulty Unit, Garmin is closed on the weekend and I bought the unit on Ebay NEW from a dealer in miami for $400 (1100 unit keep in mind) so my so called great deal has just turned into a $400 loss. What would of been 1-2 hour job has now turned into I don't know if I can do it. Why drill holes in your boat if the unit is dead and there is a chance you might not get a replacment.

Well a couple hours go by and a couple of phone calls and I'll be keeping this part a secret lets just say a mirical happend and we got the unit replaced.

Now we are back in business but have spent the whole day on this.

I get the new unit back and plug it in and it works connect the attenna and it works too so now time to drill wholes.

The template for the flush mount attenna is completly off beware. I have serveral wholes in the boat now under the attenna but I've used 4200 to seal around the attena so that's all good.

With Attenna mounted on to the RAM mount for the unit itself now that I've gotta a good luck under the dash I can see that where I wanted to mount it is just not gonna be easy there is already a mounting board covering up everything with the radio, sirius unit, amp etc. So now to thing of something different.

Another users post showed is smaller unit attached to the windsheild support so this is my decision to do the same so I drill the 1.25" whole for the cable near the pole and get it all setup.

I completed the wireing and zip tied up everything neatly so lets say it's 99% complete just need to mount the unit to the support after I return the ram mount and get the proper one. But although it took all day it was fairly simple.

1. Things I learned. If you buy something off ebay make sure it works right away no mater what it takes. The unit was brand new and powered up once and I was told there is only a .1 percent chance that you get a bad unit and I did.

2. The flush mount template is wrong make your own save your self from puting extra wholes and the frustration of mounting the antenna. I was able to mount it a few inches from the sirius antenna and it was picking up 7 satalites from there in front of my house.

Other then that, as long as your not trying to fulsh mount the unit itself (would require a big place and lots of cutting) I would say this is a pretty novice job and anyone with a little bit of electrical knowlege and the ability to read and follow directions can do this.

The only thing that got me was the antenna connection to the unit red and black are power and ground on both but you would think all the other colors would match up well they don't so read the directions.

Anyone with questions just ask. Once I am 100% complete I'll post the few pictures I took.
 

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