My Upgrades

[JohnY]

I recently completed a series of upgrades to my 309 that included all new gel batteries (group 27 for starting and 2 4D batteries for house use); a Xantrex Linklite battery monitoring gauge; a mast mounted, medium sized Tri-Lens radar reflector; a 19 inch Toshiba LCD TV with built in DVD player that I had hooked up to my boat stereo so that we could listen to movies using the Bose boat speakers. The TV is mounted on the head wall facing aft; a 1000 watt Xantrex inverter. My installer mounted a thick piece of painted wood over the top of the batteries making them safe and stable in rough conditions. I will take photos next time I get down to the boat. Although I had originally wanted one of the Shakespere omni directional TV antennas, my installer talked me out of it saying that he could get me some reception by tapping into the VHF antenna. I was hoping for at least one local channel for my daily fix of news. I get CH2 crystal clear---better than at home. Right now, I only get CH2 because it's digital and I am hoping to get more channels on June 12th when they flip the switch and make everything digital. If there's no change, we may go back to plan A and get a mast mounted TV antenna. I will submit photos after my next visit to the boat.

 

[jsalley]

I recently completed a series of upgrades to my 309 that included all new gel batteries (group 27 for starting and 2 4D batteries for house use); a Xantrex Linklite battery monitoring gauge; a mast mounted, medium sized Tri-Lens radar reflector; a 19 inch Toshiba LCD TV with built in DVD player that I had hooked up to my boat stereo so that we could listen to movies using the Bose boat speakers. The TV is mounted on the head wall facing aft; a 1000 watt Xantrex inverter. My installer mounted a thick piece of painted wood over the top of the batteries making them safe and stable in rough conditions. I will take photos next time I get down to the boat. Although I had originally wanted one of the Shakespere omni directional TV antennas, my installer talked me out of it saying that he could get me some reception by tapping into the VHF antenna. I was hoping for at least one local channel for my daily fix of news. I get CH2 crystal clear---better than at home. Right now, I only get CH2 because it's digital and I am hoping to get more channels on June 12th when they flip the switch and make everything digital. If there's no change, we may go back to plan A and get a mast mounted TV antenna. I will submit photos after my next visit to the boat.

Nice!! Where'd you mount your inverter? Look forward to the pictures.

 

[JohnY]

We put it under the nav table against the bulkhead. In order to give it sufficient breathing room all around it's a little closer to the seat cushion than we'd like. The corner of the inverter rubs against the cushion so we will have to come up with something to put around that corner to avoid chaffing a hole in the seat cushion. I'll come up with something. We'll (hopefully) be going down to the boat this weekend and if I do I plan on taking pictures of everything to share with anyone that's interested.

 

[JohnY]

Upgrade Photos

Some additional Information regarding my upgrades. My wife and I considered a TV mount that was fully articulating but feared that we'd have issues with it swinging out away from the wall in rough weather. We opted for a fixed mount that only allows for some up and down tilting. We had the wires run through the head and covered with a piece of square plastic that looks like wood. The only reason it is in two pieces instead of one is our guy cut the first one too short. This wire run works for us because we will never be using the shower. If one planned to use the shower in the head, you'd have to caulk and water proof the wire run. Our TV is 19" and has a built in DVD player. In retrospect, we think a 22" would better fit the space. My wife made the protective TV cover from a piece of fleece. She sewed an elastic band around the edges and it fits snuggly around the TV protecting it from dust and scratches, etc. Lastly, you can see that the inverter sits a bit closer to the seat cushion than we would have liked but it couldn't be helped as it needs a certain amount of space in the back and on both sides of the unit for breathing.