I am in the process of installing a car radio stereo and speakers to my O'Day 25. I'd like two of the speakers to be in the cabin and the other two in the cockpit. Any suggestions as far as the best locations for the speakers. Thanks.
Locating stereo speakers on my O'Day 25
- Thread starter titoana
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I would put them in the transom, if you can, since then they'll project the music forward over the boat...rather than blasting it out the back...
Also, if you are putting in regular speakers, and the compartment they are mounted in opens to the interior of the boat, I would highly recommend that you install them behind deckplates that can be closed off. If your boat gets pooped and there is nothing but a speaker cone in a 6" diameter hole between the water and the interior... you may find that your bilge pumps are going to be unable to keep up with the downflooding that occurs if the speaker cone blows out. Having the speakers behind deckplates means that you can safely seal them in the advent of heavy weather.
Also, if you are putting in regular speakers, and the compartment they are mounted in opens to the interior of the boat, I would highly recommend that you install them behind deckplates that can be closed off. If your boat gets pooped and there is nothing but a speaker cone in a 6" diameter hole between the water and the interior... you may find that your bilge pumps are going to be unable to keep up with the downflooding that occurs if the speaker cone blows out. Having the speakers behind deckplates means that you can safely seal them in the advent of heavy weather.
Interior speakers: so may people put them on the bulkheads. Then, when you're sitting below, you're either on one side or the other, so the balance gets goofed up. We put ours fore & aft on the shelf on one side of the boat so when we're sitting below the balance remains just fine.
I put in a stereo in my Catalina 22 last year. I made some round enclosures so as not to have any sharp edges and I put a nylon strap around them so I can suspend them inside the cabin anywhere I want or bring them out onto the desk or cockpit.
Not everyone has a lathe like I done, so making a round speaker housing my not be possible. But a small enclosures with automotive speakers work fine. Mariine speakers are built to be left outside in the elements. Auto speakers have to be protected, just like in a car. Home speakers won't last long is such in a boat. They aren't designed for the changed in temp and humidity like an auto experiences.
The above suggestion of capping any speakers in the cockpit is very good.
Also remember that any speakers will have a permanent magnet and will effect a compass and other eqiupment so location is an important consideration.
Not everyone has a lathe like I done, so making a round speaker housing my not be possible. But a small enclosures with automotive speakers work fine. Mariine speakers are built to be left outside in the elements. Auto speakers have to be protected, just like in a car. Home speakers won't last long is such in a boat. They aren't designed for the changed in temp and humidity like an auto experiences.
The above suggestion of capping any speakers in the cockpit is very good.
Also remember that any speakers will have a permanent magnet and will effect a compass and other eqiupment so location is an important consideration.
That's another reason for mounting them in the transom, where they are farther from the compass on most boats.
You can find speakers that are magnetically shielded, to minimize any compass deviation.... Kicker's marine speakers are shielded.
An option I am investigating for my cockpit is the use of tactile transducers.
Here are a few links to a few pages in the Parts Express Catalog:
The item here appears to use a rare-earth neodymium motor, and should therefore be inherently shielded magnetically:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-377
The item here is designed for extreme environments and is sealed for a IP67 for truly waterproof performance:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-376
For my C-22, I am investigating a few locations, specifically the inner transom skin, the vertical panels under the cockpit seats, and even the inner walls of the coaming storage pockets. Large thin flat areas of fiberglass that are not cored will give the best performance.
Using a tactile transducer on a thin non-structural panel could provide reasonable full range sound without cutting any holes. Attach the device and let it vibrate the fiberglass panels, as if they were loudspeaker cones. I have heard similar devices in other applications, and have been rather surprized. You won't get the highest or highs, or the lowest of lows; and there will be some amount of coloration of the sound. The coloration is dependant on the panel you end up attaching the transducer to for sure. It is not hi-fi, but still, it can be surprisingly good given the right application...
Here are a few links to a few pages in the Parts Express Catalog:
The item here appears to use a rare-earth neodymium motor, and should therefore be inherently shielded magnetically:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-377
The item here is designed for extreme environments and is sealed for a IP67 for truly waterproof performance:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-376
For my C-22, I am investigating a few locations, specifically the inner transom skin, the vertical panels under the cockpit seats, and even the inner walls of the coaming storage pockets. Large thin flat areas of fiberglass that are not cored will give the best performance.
Using a tactile transducer on a thin non-structural panel could provide reasonable full range sound without cutting any holes. Attach the device and let it vibrate the fiberglass panels, as if they were loudspeaker cones. I have heard similar devices in other applications, and have been rather surprized. You won't get the highest or highs, or the lowest of lows; and there will be some amount of coloration of the sound. The coloration is dependant on the panel you end up attaching the transducer to for sure. It is not hi-fi, but still, it can be surprisingly good given the right application...
Yup, Car speakeers will not last very long if installed outside and not covered from sun and rain. This site has some fine speakers.. West Marine has a bunch of shielded, waterproof speakers for outside mount, and they aren't overly expensive. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...=435&productId=52593&catalogId=10001&Ntx=mode matchallpartial&Ne=712&storeNum=434&Ntt=stereo speakers&keyword=stereo speakers&N=377+710+1435&langId=-1&PopularCat=No&storeId=10001&Ntk=Primary Search
The regular car speakers are probably fine for inside the cabin, if mounted a pretty good distance (5-6 feet) from the compass..
The regular car speakers are probably fine for inside the cabin, if mounted a pretty good distance (5-6 feet) from the compass..
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