Winter mods started

[RadioWaves]

I started a few mods to the new to me boat, new stereo head and remote unit, amplifier, cabin speakers , tower speakers.

Also added a house battery with switch and charge controller, 2 bank charger and the best mod yet, a sliding tray to get the batteries out of the way, it freed up a lot of space under the seat. Still need to find a way to arrange the wiring neater.

Added Jeremy0011's tow point light and also added an underwater led.

Still need to add the Thrust Vectors and I am going to make a panel to cover the opening to the left of the helm stereo head unit and add a depth gauge and switches for the led's. Also need to modify the bimini material to work with the speakers.

 

[FloJet]

Very nice. Congrats.

 

[fraserjr]

I started a few mods to the new to me boat, new stereo head and remote unit, amplifier, cabin speakers , tower speakers.

Also added a house battery with switch and charge controller, 2 bank charger and the best mod yet, a sliding tray to get the batteries out of the way, it freed up a lot of space under the seat. Still need to find a way to arrange the wiring neater.

Added Jeremy0011's tow point light and also added an underwater led.

Still need to add the Thrust Vectors and I am going to make a panel to cover the opening to the left of the helm stereo head unit and add a depth gauge and switches for the led's. Also need to modify the bimini material to work with the speakers.
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Where did you get the sliding tray? That is a great idea!

 

[RadioWaves]

Battery tray is from www.flemingsalesoem.com/battery-trays/ Fit perfect and handles the 2 batteries no problem.

 

[fraserjr]

I was able to run to Home Depot and make a battery sliding tray today. I think it worked pretty well, so thanks for the idea. I now actually have usable port side storage and it also keeps the batteries away from kids and unsuspecting passengers fingers. My one question, does anyone know what size gauge the factory battery cables are? I need to buy a couple so that the sliding tray can go all the way back and it's too dark now to head back out onto the boat before I buy something online tonight.

 

[RadioWaves]

I used #4 wire, should be the same as original cables

 

[FloJet]

Don't quote me but I believe those OEM wires are 4 gauge

 

[Jgorm]

I think their 6g, but I'd use 4 minimum, probably 2g but i overdo 12v wiring because of the voltage drop. I bought a hydraulic crimper that works awesome! I redid my rv in 0g for the main runs and 2 or 4 depending on the draw.

 

[FloJet]

I don't know why I said 4 last night. I was thinking more in the 8 gauge. But like Jgorm said it might be 6 but haven't seen 6 gauge much anywhere. Usually 4 or 8.

 

[fraserjr]

I don't know why I said 4 last night. I was thinking more in the 8 gauge. But like Jgorm said it might be 6 but haven't seen 6 gauge much anywhere. Usually 4 or 8.

Oh well, I went ahead and ordered 4 gauge last night off of Amazon. But either way, bigger should be a little better

 

[OperationROL]

I was able to run to Home Depot and make a battery sliding tray today. I think it worked pretty well, so thanks for the idea. I now actually have usable port side storage and it also keeps the batteries away from kids and unsuspecting passengers fingers. My one question, does anyone know what size gauge the factory battery cables are? I need to buy a couple so that the sliding tray can go all the way back and it's too dark now to head back out onto the boat before I buy something online tonight.

You can't tell us you made something cool and no post pictures. So let's see it already!

 

[fraserjr]

It was getting dark so my pictures didn't turn out great and of course I always forget to take pictures during the process.

The first shot is with the slider fully extended the second is looking back into the storage nook with the tray tucked away. It can still probably go back another 6-10" but I needed to order a couple longer battery cables to fully extend the travel. This was probably one of the easiest mods I have done. I just got a pvc board and some 24" heavy duty drawer sliders, cut the board to width, screwed in the sliders then, screwed in the battery trays and finally the charger, rewired everything and good to go. I also used some spray adhesive and attached one of those furniture sliding disks to the bottom front to alleviate any weight when the tray is extended. This should also prevent the sliders from snagging on the carpet. I still need to clean up the wires some but now I have the whole compartment to use and the batteries end up completely out of the way.

Once I get an amp, I am thinking about attaching a hinged board to the hull side of the existing pvc board. that would hold the amp and slide in and out with the batteries. It would just rest against the carpeted wall of the compartment.

 

[OperationROL]

It was getting dark so my pictures didn't turn out great and of course I always forget to take pictures during the process.

The first shot is with the slider fully extended the second is looking back into the storage nook with the tray tucked away. It can still probably go back another 6-10" but I needed to order a couple longer battery cables to fully extend the travel. This was probably one of the easiest mods I have done. I just got a pvc board and some 24" heavy duty drawer sliders, cut the board to width, screwed in the sliders then, screwed in the battery trays and finally the charger, rewired everything and good to go. I also used some spray adhesive and attached one of those furniture sliding disks to the bottom front to alleviate any weight when the tray is extended. This should also prevent the sliders from snagging on the carpet. I still need to clean up the wires some but now I have the whole compartment to use and the batteries end up completely out of the way.

Once I get an amp, I am thinking about attaching a hinged board to the hull side of the existing pvc board. that would hold the amp and slide in and out with the batteries. It would just rest against the carpeted wall of the compartment.

I cannot view the pics. Seems like the links are broken.

 

[fraserjr]

 

[Ronnie]

Nice work. If you want to free up a little more room in that compartment you may be able to mount the onboard charger/maintainer next to the battery switches . Also, now is a good time to add a positive and negative lead up to distribution blocks under the helm for potential future upgrades. I may add a furniture slider to the front of my tray like you did, thanks for the idea.

 

[RadioWaves]

Got the dash plate finished and added the quick disconnect for tower wiring, connected tower speakers (beside the boat) and figured out pretty quickly that I need a sub. If I get the bass good in the cabin the tower speakers have too much. My amp has a sub out with a remote mounted pot for level. With that setup I should be able to adjust bass on tower separate from the bass in the cabin.

 

[VONCE]

What kind of connector is that? That's exactly what I need. I like the sheathing around the wires.

 

[RadioWaves]

female end https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067JSFU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
male end https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BEVX5E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Wire is actually 6 conductor trailer cable http://www.ebay.com/itm/161437161351?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I used the same setup on my last boat and went 3 years with 0 problems.

 

[VONCE]

That's what I thought it was. I'm not familiar with those connectors, though. I haven't seen one up close to see how the wiring gets installed. Any idea if they make 7 or 8 conductor cable with sheathing that will work with those connectors? I need at least 7 wires in my install, possibly 8.

 

[RadioWaves]

I found this, but not sure how thick the outer jacket would be, it is 12 gauge 8 conductor but only 1/2" diameter
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AE1-12-Gaug...100-Feet-ft-Cable-FAST-SHIPPING-/161911152367