Cobaltchat.com

Now that I know I’m not liable for a new motor (see my intro thread) I’m free to spend my money on more fun upgrades.

Here’s my list so far, not necessarily in order of priority.

1. New speakers. The current speakers are weak and the transom speakers are yellowed and ugly. (See picture)

2. Better ladder. The current ladder is held up with a bungie, not exactly elegant. Any recommendations? (Again see attached picture)

3. Repaint the drive. If anyone can recommend a source for decals I’d appreciate it.

4. Get some traction on the swim step. It’s slicker than snot when wet. I’m looking at ordering sea deck material and doing this myself.

5. Bimini from rnr marine, the boat came with a convertible top, but I prefer to stand while underway. Does anyone have experience with their products or another?

6. Upgrade lighting to LEDs. Docking lights and drain plugs lights seem like a big bang for your buck upgrade.

7. ????

Sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck.

I can certainly endorse JL Audio speakers for replacement of the stock ones. If I can spend some of your money I'd add a JL amplifier also. You won't believe the difference.
Sea Dek will definitely help on your swim platform. I haven't spent the money on that...yet. But my wife and I both like it so it's probably just a matter of time.
Your ladder does look a bit limiting, only 2 steps? Replacing it with something a bit bigger would really make a difference on your boat. My ladder only has two steps, but they're off the swim platform, which on my boat is right at the water level. Good luck on your search for that, hopefully someone will jump in with some good leads for that.
Nice looking boat!
Enjoy!

I’d like to go for JL but I have a sweet connection and can get a kenwood head unit, 4 speakers, and amp for about $250. Pretty hard to beat that.

Based on what I’ve read in previous threads, it’s advised to rewire everything. Is there an easy way to fish the wires under the floor, or will I need to run everything clear back to the engine bay and around?

I have that same step and it works quite well actually while in the water. I think the steering wheel upgrade mentioned all over this site was a kool add on for me.

Like this

It's easy to run wires through the gunwale.

skno wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 12:52 pm I have that same step and it works quite well actually while in the water. I think the steering wheel upgrade mentioned all over this site was a kool add on for me.

I’m thinking about going for that as well. I saw someone posted in here where he replaced his wood panels with a laser cut black panels. I really liked the look of that but haven’t been able to find it again. The wood on my dash and port side glovebox really dates the interior. But then I’d need to replace the switches too….

tomace13 wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 2:48 pm

skno wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 12:52 pm I have that same step and it works quite well actually while in the water. I think the steering wheel upgrade mentioned all over this site was a kool add on for me.

I’m thinking about going for that as well. I saw someone posted in here where he replaced his wood panels with a laser cut black panels. I really liked the look of that but haven’t been able to find it again. The wood on my dash and port side glovebox really dates the interior. But then I’d need to replace the switches too….

this one?
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5252

dustinm wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 3:03 pm

tomace13 wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 2:48 pm

skno wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 12:52 pm I have that same step and it works quite well actually while in the water. I think the steering wheel upgrade mentioned all over this site was a kool add on for me.

I’m thinking about going for that as well. I saw someone posted in here where he replaced his wood panels with a laser cut black panels. I really liked the look of that but haven’t been able to find it again. The wood on my dash and port side glovebox really dates the interior. But then I’d need to replace the switches too….

this one?
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5252

Yep, thats it! However, i also found another thread regarding Tecnografic's pricing ($200-$300 per panel)....maybe wrapping them in vinyl might be a better approach at this stage.

tomace13 wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 3:05 pm

dustinm wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 3:03 pm

tomace13 wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 2:48 pm

I’m thinking about going for that as well. I saw someone posted in here where he replaced his wood panels with a laser cut black panels. I really liked the look of that but haven’t been able to find it again. The wood on my dash and port side glovebox really dates the interior. But then I’d need to replace the switches too….

this one?
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5252

Yep, thats it! However, i also found another thread regarding Tecnografic's pricing ($200-$300 per panel)....maybe wrapping them in vinyl might be a better approach at this stage.

That would work or you can paint them with automotive grade paint.

The steering wheel makes a huge difference. Can be a bit of a “B” to get off, but aside from that’s it’s a definite worthwhile upgrade. There is an eBay seller that sells it with the cobalt logo. Here’s the item # 232854463970.
Regarding speakers, I went to the shop (Creative Audio)and listened to the JL’s as well as the Wet Sounds. Ended up with 3 pair of the Wet Sounds Revo 6. They sounded quite a bit crisper/cleaner than the JL. They were also around $100-$150/pair less. We kept our Kicker sub and the Alpine amps that were already installed. Amazing difference. Night and day, no kidding!

jmad78 wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 5:10 pm The steering wheel makes a huge difference. Can be a bit of a “B” to get off, but aside from that’s it’s a definite worthwhile upgrade. There is an eBay seller that sells it with the cobalt logo. Here’s the item # 232854463970.
Regarding speakers, I went to the shop (Creative Audio)and listened to the JL’s as well as the Wet Sounds. Ended up with 3 pair of the Wet Sounds Revo 6. They sounded quite a bit crisper/cleaner than the JL. They were also around $100-$150/pair less. We kept our Kicker sub and the Alpine amps that were already installed. Amazing difference. Night and day, no kidding!

That's cool. I love my revo 6 leds. It would be nice to hear them side by side though. I really like the sound though when you add the Rev 8 or 10s towers with them.

I’ve been pondering the best way to go about refreshing the Dash. Getting new laser cut pieces would be prohibitively expensive, but if I wrap them in vinyl or paint them black I lose my labels for each switch. I’m thinking I might try to replace the switches with these: https://newwiremarine.com/marine-grade- ... it-combos/ Each switch is individually labeled, not sure about mounting them though.

I’m also looking at adding a mount for my cellphone (maybe with wireless charging) so I can use the navtronics app for GPS. I have an old iPad I could repurpose for this, but I don’t really have enough space on the dash for that.

I can't tell you much about it, but I like the blue lights best.