running speaker wire in the bow

[beernutz]

I guess this post should have gone in the Electrical forum but I thought it would get more views here. I don't have installed front speakers so I bought these on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/America-Rtrv4...1_14?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285619108&sr=8-14

and placed them in the cubby areas on either side of the bow area (see points A and B in the picture). They were cheap (< $25 shipped) but sound about the same as the Polk DB651s I have in the mid section of the boat. They fit snugly enough in the cubbies that I don't have to secure them permanently which is nice.

I was able to run wires from the amp which is located behind the glove box on the port side to point A with no problem but I couldn't find a way to continue running a wire from point A around the front of the boat to point B. I tried using a straightened coat hanger to feed it though from one cubby to the other but apparently there is not an opening between them. I ended up running a wire under the left side seat, across the boat, and up out of the right side seat into the right cubby to connect to the speaker at point B. About 1 inch of speaker wire is visible on each side. It isn't that noticeable but I'd like to make it look a little cleaner.

Any suggestions on how to cleanly get a speaker wire from point A to point B are very welcome.

 

[SeaRay]

I have the 210 (see signature) so my boat might be slightly different. But, by the pictures it looks very similar.

On my boat, I have 3 options.

1) I can get around the bow (I have the anchor compartment in the front). There are some small holes in the corners that I can pull wires through. There were already some wires that were ran in there. Where does you front nav light wire come from?

2) In the ski locker (middle of boat) there is some plastic wire loom conduit that runs along the top of the compartment. You need to crawl into the compartment to see it. But it allowed me to pull wires through that to get from the port to the starboard side.

Once I got the wires through the conduit, I had to pull the cup holder out in the starboard bow and I could pull the wires by putting my hand in there.

Then it took a little creativity to get the wires behind the closet but was all pretty easy.

3) Run the wires clear around the back of the boat. One of my rear speakers was wired this way (no idea why??) I ended up re-wiring it so it could have a shorter wire.


Just another suggestion...

You could mount Db651 speakers in there ( I would think they would be WAYYY better speakers). All they need is a board with the correct sized holes cut in them. You could also even carpet the boards. I "stole" some carpet from way back in the same holes that you are talking about. It was glued to the fiberglass of the boat and I just pulled it out and used it to cover my sub box. I reinstalled a similar indoor/outdoor carpet in it's place (use the old piece for a template before cutting it up).

Now the sub box carpet which is very visible (under the drivers console) is a perfect match and the other carpet can't be seen anyway.

 

[beernutz]

I have the 210 (see signature) so my boat might be slightly different. But, by the pictures it looks very similar.

On my boat, I have 3 options.

1) I can get around the bow (I have the anchor compartment in the front). There are some small holes in the corners that I can pull wires through. There were already some wires that were ran in there. Where does you front nav light wire come from?

2) In the ski locker (middle of boat) there is some plastic wire loom conduit that runs along the top of the compartment. You need to crawl into the compartment to see it. But it allowed me to pull wires through that to get from the port to the starboard side.

Once I got the wires through the conduit, I had to pull the cup holder out in the starboard bow and I could pull the wires by putting my hand in there.

Then it took a little creativity to get the wires behind the closet but was all pretty easy.

3) Run the wires clear around the back of the boat. One of my rear speakers was wired this way (no idea why??) I ended up re-wiring it so it could have a shorter wire.


Just another suggestion...

You could mount Db651 speakers in there ( I would think they would be WAYYY better speakers). All they need is a board with the correct sized holes cut in them. You could also even carpet the boards. I "stole" some carpet from way back in the same holes that you are talking about. It was glued to the fiberglass of the boat and I just pulled it out and used it to cover my sub box. I reinstalled a similar indoor/outdoor carpet in it's place (use the old piece for a template before cutting it up).

Now the sub box carpet which is very visible (under the drivers console) is a perfect match and the other carpet can't be seen anyway.

Thanks very much for taking the time to write all that. I'll try your suggestion the next time I'm in the boat.
I did consider getting another pair of DB651s since I got the first pair in an Amazon deal-of-the-day for $29 shipped however they've since gone back up. At the time I was shopping for new speaker options I didn't think about trying your idea of using a board with holes cut in it or I might have bought more 651s. These BICs really do sound alright though and they play just as loud and the Polks without distorting.

 

[SeaRay]

No problem...

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

 

[beernutz]

No problem...

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

It turned out great for what its worth. Your suggestion worked perfectly and the system sounds a lot better than what I paid for it. It's definitely not JL Audio level sound but it also doesn't hurt anyone's ears to listen to. Thanks for the help.

 

[SeaRay]

Glad it worked out, which route did you go?

 

[beernutz]

Glad it worked out, which route did you go?

I did your suggestion Number 1. I found a passage between the cubbies on each side of the bow and the anchor locker at the very front of the bow and used a coat hanger to feed wire through them. It looks much better.