Amp and sub install on AR240

[Murf'n'surf]

Where is that location? Looks like that's the engine hatch lock area?

 

[txav8r]

Is that under the port seat or bench? I can't imagine why they aluminum stiffener in there, except that it is needed to support the couch or seat. If so, you really need to span that hole with a very solid speaker ring on back. Not sure on this, need more info.

 

[Cowboy Casey]

interesting, wouldnt even thik there would be metal stiffeners in there.. makes sense about the seat needing it, I wonder how big it is...

 

[tdonoughue]

Yes, this is under the port bench/seat. That post in the pics is what the seat hooks into when you put it upright.

I used a stronger light looking underneath where I was drilling and found that the metal plate is approximately the size of that indentation (or, about the size I was going to cut out). I can barely see it, but I can see it, embedded in there through the fiberglass at the aft side.

So, between it taking 20 years to cut here and the ramifications if I remove something meant to provide this much strength (probably to that seat post so it doesn't flex and crack the fiberglass), I think I am searching for a new location.

 

[tdonoughue]

Ok, so current locales under consideration:

1) under the instrument panel at the helm. Below the steering wheel on the gray kick plate. Downside is install difficulty of all the wires in there and bumping it...
2) forward the opening to the helm compartment, way low. Downside here is opening the door hits the sub. Also not in the aft if the boat where I really wanted it (midway between the aft and stern, where everyone spends time). Upside is very close to amp and easy install.
3) behind the captain chair facing forward. Downside is making the custom ring required for the curve. Upside is in main deck and relatively protected.
4) behind the captain chair facing inward, and build something to protect if from getting bumped inside.

Thoughts?

 

[CDENsomnia]

I appreciate the detailed write up! I am going to tackle adding a sub soon and all the places you have looked at putting the sub is also what I was looking at. I have seen people put them under the rear bench where the batteries are located. Only problem with that is I don't have a lot of space with the batteries in there too.
Looking forward to see where you decide! The sealed option almost looks easier now since you just need a port.

 

[txav8r]

Tim, could you take a few pics of the starboard side forward wall of the seat compartment behind the captains chair? I know the discussion...to curved, in the way of the cooler, too close to the driver, etc. But I think the curve may be able to be compensated for, the cooler is useless anyway in that location, and low frequency is non directional, meaning it doesn't matter where it is, you can't actually tell where it comes from. Take a forward pic from under the captains seat post looking at it, a side shot, and a shot from above...all with the seat cushion removed.

 

[txav8r]

@Earmark Marine, Odin, do you guys have a ready made bezel to mount a JL M10iB5 on the wall described in the post directly above? The curvature of that wall is enough to keep the woofer from sitting flush, and I know you guys have done mounts there. Some of these guys would appreciate not having to mill their own bezel mount.

 

[tdonoughue]

Ok, I can do that. But first, need to take the kid to a string bass lesson. <sigh>

Not concerned about the direction as much as the location. Though unidirectional, the bass will still be loudest near the sub and will attenuate with distance.

More importantly, I hate the cooler in that location. Everyone needs to move to pull the seat to get to the cooler. I probably should start another thread, but are there other options on that? What do people do?

 

[jawsf16]

@tdonoughue Regarding the cooler, take it out, place it in the attic, and use that space as storage. By a soft sided AO (or similar) cooler and store in the locker. When you want a drink, you don't have to shuffle people around...

 

[txav8r]

Tim, you will discover in time that the cooler is useless. Why Yamaha supplies a hard side cooler like that is beyond me. It is cheap, small, and as you mention, hard to get to. Many Yamaha boaters adopt a soft sided cooler that can sit out on the seats, in the head storage, under the captains chair, in the bow floor, under the lounge seat, on the swimdeck, up to the beach, even in a raft. And the king of soft sides is the AO (American Outdoors) Cooler. I had one for my boat and I know guys with two of the 48 can coolers! Most guys buy a family pack of 3 sizes so they have the size they need that day...or all three for 3 different items. They are soft, won't scratch or sweat, don't leak, and will keep ice for 24 hours in 120F heat!
I have the 24 can in the silver carbon vinly and two black ones in a 12 and 9 can size.


Here you see where I put it most of the time. But when we first get out there, or in a cooler that won't be needed often (has the food in it), it is in the head compartment closet.

 

[txav8r]

You beat me to it Jaws...was putting in pics!

 

[tdonoughue]

Wow! Have I been missing. I have a small soft, but have never seen these giants. For real excursions I have been lugging the hard one. Geez.

Pardon me. I need to go to Amazon now...

 

[txav8r]

Just remember...all soft sides are NOT created equal. There is an inch of closed cell foam in the liner of the AO Cooler...it is thick and the liner is made of heavy commercial textured pool lining. And the exterior...well, very heavyduty. AO guarantees them not to leak or sweat...EVER! But they will require you to send in a cutout from the old one should it ever, rendering the old one useless. Great cooler!

 

[txav8r]

https://www.aocoolers.com/

 

[tdonoughue]

Yes, and I like the zipper top. Present cheap one tips and leaks. Maybe someday I put in some SS eyes or hook points so I can secure it there with a bungee or something.

Ok, with that new drink plan in place, I think the sub location issue is easily decided... I'll still do the curve pics later today, as well, just for the good of the order. But without the cooler there, we obviously will put it behind the captains chair facing center.

 

[txav8r]

I know your surface is curved but it is also sloped. That slope helps to isolate the back of the subwoofer and use space that is otherwise useless for storage. I know the 230 is just a little different than the 240, but the following pics show how much out of the way the speaker is in that location. Your not apt to store anything behind the speaker if it is mounted facing center. I'm not trying to change your mind, just trying to clarify my own decision I arrived at after seeing the same model boats in the stereo shop and that is the location they chose. Anyway, I wanted to be sure you saw the pics, all you need is a bezel that matches the curvature of the surface.

 

[David Analog]

^^^^ per Mel's photo, that location is not much acoustically different from a subwoofer mounted in the forward corner of the cockpit, like in the underdash kick panel for example, and aimed towards the back of the boat. Based on the lengths of waveforms the sub is reproducing, the sub's radiation reflects off the corner of the bathtub almost as if it is originating there. However, if the sub was moved farther back by even a foot more, the dynamics could totally change.
Btw, bass energy has a polar pattern and is somewhat directional in an open field, just much less than the higher frequencies. You will notice more of a difference on the leading edge bass impulses and midbass than on lower and more prolonged notes. Lower bass energy does become far less directional when close to, loaded off, or guided via boundaries.

 

[steined]

So I think I know what that metal stiffener might be for, if you note on some of the boats, like the SX240, there is a pedestal seat. This seat would require a lot of stiffening because of the various loads placed against the base from the pedestal. Since they use the same mold for the bench/pedestal seat, it makes sense that they put this in all the boats. Now the question remains, is it needed for the bench seat? I'd bet not, and I'd bet that a nice 1/4" aluminum ring would help restore rigidity to the hole.

Question is, how much of a PITA is it to continue to cut out?

 

[tdonoughue]

Answer: too much.

Today's update...

As requested, the photos of the curve:


Pardon the trash. It is a construction zone.

So, I examined the curve, remeasured the depth of the speaker, and looked at the wire path. I decided on here:


I found that the farther forward location has a metal bracket there. Not going through that again. Plus, this makes the most sense with the wire run. Stay tuned.

I redid my measurements:

Started with a hole on the side: Were I to do it again, I would put the starter hole on the dead bottom because while cutting, the cuttings fall down and cover the line you are trying to follow. By the way, drilling this is much easier than drilling aluminum encased in fiberglass.



I got about this far with the scroll saw before it started to slow a lot.



You can't see it very well, but the teeth are warn off the middle of it... So I switched to the tile cutting blade, which I was concerned would not cut the curve well enough.


Those concerns were unfounded. It went very slowly. Not as slowly as cutting through metal. But don't rush. Note I didn't take the fabric off the inside. I considered it, but tried without and it worked well. Cut right through.



A test fitting showed success.



With the speaker there, I drilled a little of the mounting screw holes. Then removed it, finished them, and countersunk the holes to prevent gel cracking.

To be continued where I can upload more photos...