Thought I would share the install I did over the summer in our boat.

It started with wanting to add an amp, some tower speakers and replace my cabin speakers. It ended with 3 amps, a 12" sub, 4 tower pods and a lot more fab work than I planned on. I learned a lot as I went working with acryllic, but it was a pain. I'm not 100% satisfied with how it came out, but I am not redoing it.

I started by making a cardboard template for the amp rack and then cut it out of 1/2" starboard. It had to be in two pieces so I could get it in the space where it was going to go.

I started laying out components to see where I wante them to go. Originally, I was going to run a couple kicker amps, but then I decided I didn't have enough room.

This was my original wiring diagram to help me visualize all the connections. It went through several alterations after this.

Since space was an issue I ended up going with Class D amplifiers for the install.

This is the layout I ended up going with.

Once I got the layout finalized I had to spend quite a bit of time with a drill making all the holes for the wiring.

I used standoffs so I could mount a cover over the amps to protect them.

This is where it got real fun. All the wiring had to be organized and routed.

Looking a little better.

Wanted to make sure I knew where all the fuses went to.

A friend of mine made a new stereo mount panel for the head unit and all components. He also made custom grill fo the air inlets for the amp rack.

Added a little LED lighting for the bling factor.

Installed the components in the mounting plate. The upper left LED is to let me know the battery combiner is working. Each amp is on it's own switch so I can control each zone of the system: tower, cabin and sub. I also put a USB port for the stereo and a 3.5mm input.

I installed a cyberdyne temp gauge and a cyberdyne voltage gauge. The temp gauge is wired through a switch so I can select what I am monitoring the temp of.

Working on installing the amps in the boat.

Cover plate over the amps. I had a bad amp that toasted a brand new 12" sub so it was off being replaced when I took this pic.

Working on building the box for the single 12" sub.

The stereo panel mounted in the boat.

afdanw wrote: i like the dash pannel a lot.  It looks like you put in a good amount of work, and a lot of thought into this, which leads me to a question.  Why did you make the box out of Plywood?

The box was made out of marine grade plywood at the recommendation of the sub manufacturer. When I spoke with them they highly recommended it because of the moisture in the environment and even with epoxy sealed MDF, they would still degrade after a year.