Starting Stereo/Electronics Upgrade Project

[jwill323]

Overall the work was mostly fun except for the fiberglass cuts and sore back but I did get the whole system fired up and it sounded unbelievable. I couldn't be happier with the results! Really happy with the fusion gear initially we'll see how it holds up. Still need to get the amp board final mounting done but it is all wired up and functional, the sub I build sounds awesome and looks great, sorry i can't post a pic of that yet since the photos i took aren't formatted correctly but ill get some up when I get finished up. Also digging around the boat so much I'm (mostly) continually impressed with the build quality of Cobalt. I'll keep this updated as I get more done but really happy so far. Final note on the work from the last 3 days is the Fusion speakers are bigger then the originals this is a PITA, Fusion head unit is awesome would highly recommend, Fusion amps sound great but they couldn't have designed it any more difficult to hook the wires up to and the mirror finish looks awesome until your in a dark hole with a flashlight trying to read black print written on mirror finish to see what wire goes where.

[jwill323]

couple more pics of the rear speakers. Also realized that for some reason the NMEA pics i posted are flipped upside down it is mounted correctly with the connectors down in real life.

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[jwill323]

I think i have the MFD mount figured out. The problem has been the width of the new MFD fitting into the current location because of the snap on back plate. I ended up cutting down the back plate and using a Ram, all marine aluminum, 1" ball single arm mount with SS screws. Should work allowing me to position the MFD right where i need it. Let me know what you guys think.

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[jhnmdahl]

I love the RAM mounts - see my Garmin mounting solution toward the end of this thread: viewtopic.php?t=176

[jwill323]

Looks awesome! Have you had any problems with it holding the unit up? They look really beefy to me so i wouldn't think so. I got all 3 arm sizes so i can see which one i need, didn't want to be on the boat and not have the right arm. I'll return what I don't need after I get it mounted. Hoping to have it in next week as well as the final amp mounting and tuning. Got all the nmea ran so probably beginning of May for the Fox gateway install and some lighting upgrades, still need to check some measurements and mounting locations out. Getting close now!

[jhnmdahl]

Jwill,

No, the Ram mount is plenty strong to lock a Garmin like yours or mine into position. I've been out in some pretty choppy weather, and the chartplotter hasn't moved. It's a great solution if there's not empty space on a dash panel to mount it. I used a metal backing plate behind the fiberglass (under the dash) to bolt the bottom mounting bracket in securely, and it's quite solid.

[jwill323]

Mine needs to go right in here where I'm taking out the old Garmin which is why the space is such a concern, it gets pretty narrow deeper into that pocket. I'll need to fab up a black starboard plate to cover the old hole and mount this in front of that plate. Not sure yet if i'll mount it on on the bottom of the pictured opening or just straight back on the cover plate i make up. If I mount it to the the bottom of the opening i was going to make a backing plate out of leftover starboard. I'll work that up on the fly. I was thinking about making a full cover panel over the opening and flush mounting it but too many curves for my skills!

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