New tower speaker/enclosure install complete....

[RobertT]

As promised, I have taken a few pictures.

First, my intent was to get the highest quality components for the least possible amount of money and install them myself. I also wanted to show that anyone with virtually ANY mechanical ability can do something special to their boats without a lot of tools, stress, or professional help.

I can say, without hesitation, that this was a success.

First, like many of us, I purchased tower speakers aftermarket and put them on my boat. I had two cans, each with a total of two Kicker K60's in them. Great speakers. They really sounded great, a huge addition to my boat.

Keep in mind that we seldom use the speakers while riding, we use them mainly for when we are in the boat or are swimming around it. Three or four days a week during the summer we anchor up with friends in a cove and have a few beers and listen to music. I wanted something that would throw absolutely crystal clear music out to us swimming behind the boat yet. The Kicker speakers that I had in cans did a decent job, but the front mounted speakers were a mistake. They threw a lot of sound out front, and tended to piss people off that were elsewhere. They just were not a good idea. Nobody tends to be in front anyway.

The next need was that I wanted something special. Something that you don't see on every boat. Something that would set my boat off from the rest.

In the end, I also wanted to spend less than $600.00 on every single component.

To that end, it was also a success.

I searched long and hard for what I wanted in a speaker enclosure, or cans. As soon as I saw a well made fiberglass enclosure, I fell in love. Its different, clean, sexy looking, and hides all the wiring allowing me to use the Polk MOMO speakers that I want (that have individual crossovers for each speaker).

I found a guy on WakeWorld that would make me one. Super cool guy, that has a lot of stoke for boat owners and water lovers. The builders name is Brian, his email address is wakesquid420@yahoo.com. I am sure he does not mind me putting it here, if you guys have any questions about a custom enclosure shoot him an email.

He agreed to make me a custom enclosure for less than $300.00. The pictures are below.

Then I decided on the Polk Momo speakers. Because we use the speakers for crisp sound at lower volumes than most (we don't crank it up very much for those riding 80' back, although these would certainly do the job), I wanted something with full range. Something adjustable, that would sound great at low volumes hanging out down low with my wife or cranked way up loud while screaming across the lake.

I think I made a good choice, considering that those needs are at the opposite of the music spectrum as far as equipment needs.

Here is the link to the speakers I chose.

http://www.polkaudio.com/caraudio/pr...s/oval/mmc690/

Lastly, a GREAT guy here on TT hooked my up with a few tower clamps.

All in all, I succeeded in sneaking out with less than $600.00 invested and less than three total hours of time put into the install.


Now onto the pictures.

[RobertT]

On these pictures, please keep in mind that these are taken in my shop. Dirty as heck, these do not do the enclosure justice. I will look totally different on the lake, but this will give you an idea of what it took.

First, the before...

[RobertT]

The enclosure that Squid made me came in a box, wrapped up with soft felt. It did not have a single blemish on it.

On average, I would guess that it was about 3/16th thick. Thicker than needed.

I had not done any fiberglass work before, so I decided to use this opportunity to glass in some supports. If you don't want to do this, I would simple take a little piece of wood and bondo it in. The fabricator told me that most people just use a little piece of plywood as a "washer" and nothing else. I agree, the unit is plenty strong. However, I like the idea of overdoing it and the glass work was very cheap and easy.

I just cut a few pieces of plywood, bought 10 bucks worth of fiberglass resin, hardener, and cloth (don't get the type shown, it sucks! Its stronger, but a mess. Get regular mat).

End result is a VERY strong bond. I have one piece under the wood, and two over. I used about a cup of resin for each.

[RobertT]

Next I started cutting holes. I used a dremel tool for every single hole. Masking tape was used to make it easy, and to keep the unit scratch free.

I used an 1/8" bit in my dremel, then widened it out for the 3/8" x 2" hardened bolt that I bought at Home Depot to mount the tower clamps. I also used a fender washer, then a regular sized washer, then I used a nylock nut (also from Home Depot) to keep everything nice and tight through the vibration.

On the last picture you will see that I had to make a template of the speakers I was using and cut the holes a little bigger. Of the entire installation, that was the biggest pain.

If I had to do it over again, I would have mailed Brian the template of my speakers and had him make the hole the perfect size...even if it cost a few extra dollars. That would have really saved time and mess.

Live and learn. I probably could have enlarged the holes with a grinder, but didn't want to take the chance of damage...so it was slow going with a dremel and a grinding wheel.

[RobertT]

With the holes cut, I mounted the crossovers which took all of five minutes. One of the great things about an enclosure like this is that you can hide all of the wires without a lot of problems. Just tuck it in and go. HUGE advantage in my opinion. If I ever want to change anything, its a matter of removing the left speaker and that's it. All of the connections were made in the left speaker location, the wires were plenty long. The last speaker went into place while up on the tower without any issue. I installed the other three on the bench.

[RobertT]

End result.

These pictures really do not do it justice. The enclosure looks massive up there. It really fills things out, and adds a structure to a metal tower. It just looks...well...meaty.

On the water I am sure it will really set the boat off, and take away from some of the height of the tower. I keep a bimini up 100% of the time on the water, so this sitting on top will really fill in the void and make things look right in my opinion.

Thats it! Done! Off to the next install....five more LED lights and my shower.