Sound system upgrade rinker 260ec

Noemergnsea

Hey guys, my name is Kurtis and Im new to the forum and also looking forward to my first boating season this summer. I acquired a 2009 rinker 260ec at the end of the 2017 season, and I am looking at installing an after market sound system in the boat to pump out the tunes on the river this summer. 

Question:
I am looking at installing 2 x 6.5 Kicker speakers in the radar arch but the space seems a little thin. Are there any 260/280 owners who have undertaken this project? Any suggestion on spacers? 

The speakers are 2-7/8 top mount depth 
The spacers I was looking at online were 1"

That leaves me with 1-7/8 but Im thinking it would cut very close if it fit..

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
 

zaverin1

Look at the recomended mounting depth from
the manufacturer. Most speakers will have Id/ od and depth.
But your depth with spacer sounds about right to me. 

Cableguy Greg

Welcome aboard and congratulations on the new (to you) boat.

Where are you looking to put the speakers in the arch? I am sure it can probably be done, but I would worry about compromising the structural integrity of the arch. It is made out of aluminum.

Why not replace all 4 speakers in the cockpit and add a sub? You can find 5 channel amps to power all of it.

Noemergnsea

Right now, that is what im going with swapping out 4 x 6.5 and adding 2 x 10" subs. Just got my 800.5 amp delivered while writting this up But Id would like to swap the two rear 6.5s with the kicker 8" for more mid-low end power. I was looking to mount the 6.5s a little higher on the arch replacing them with the 8s.
See photo hah..
Im going with the LED speakers to go with a couple of ITC tri color LEDs for lighing aswell.

I though those arches were made of fiberglass.

Calling for 25-45cm of snow with 90km/h wind with a mix of freezing rain for the next 2 days here in New-Brunswick.. cant wait for summer! 

jme097

I wouldn't be cutting speakers into the arch. I added four 6.5 inch speakers to the top of the arch in a separate enclosure. Much cleaner and better off for resale value

zaverin1

Is the arch supporting any weight lol no
and it wouldn’t lower the value if done right.
just plan how to run wires prior to cutting.
those tower speakers always look cheesey to me besides wake boats. I know they sound goood and bla bla but most new and old
boats have arch mounted speakers.

Noemergnsea

Thats a good thought @jme097. Although I would have to remove them to get it in storage.. lol

jme097

Would definitely be looking for speakers that have a shallow mount option. 

@zaverin1 too each their own

Dream_Inn

Noemergnsea said:

Thats a good thought @jme097. Although I would have to remove them to get it in storage.. lol

You could hang them on the bottom side of the arch.  I've seen this done and also seen them hung on bottom aft side of hard tops.

jme097

Good point DI. Just depends how tall you are/how much clearance your arch has I guess. I couldn't do that on my 280 because mine is the miserable year where they ran the bimini top UNDER the radar arch rather than the usual connecting it to the arch. Its miserable lol

Remembrance

I also bought a used 260. The previous owner had installed Kickers but they were placed under the seat directly behind the Captain's chair.

JoeStang

@jme097 are those the enclosures off Amazon for like $100/pair? I plan on adding two more speakers up top just like you did, but I only have a bimini setup. Those look like they fit the Infinity's perfect.

F1100

I put in a new system this summer.. 2x 10" subs and 6x 5 1/4 mids, new head unit as well. All runing off a 6 channel amp and the head unit amp. Turned out very nice sounding and the free air subs are great. Added a inverter as well.Got everything off ebay

jme097

I put in 2 8 channel JL amps along with another 5 channel amp this past summer. 4 Jl 7.7's with another 10 6.5 inch JL's as well. Sounds great. 

Noemergnsea

@jme097 Awsome set up! love the 2 rear speakers. Might go for that rather than the 2 arch speakers. How do they make out weather wise, they are constantly exposed? Any particular reason for the square spacers on the other speakers? Are you covering larger holes or did this make installation easier. Thanks!

Noemergnsea

Just by looking at some pictures I don't think I would have the room to install them unfortunately..

jme097

@Noemergnsea constantly exposed and they do fine. I previously had Infinity 6x9's in the back of the cockpit. One blew out on me and come to find out they stopped making that model so I couldn't replace them with a like for like model so I went this way with Starboard. 

JonnyM

I have run into depth problems installing speakers in arches.  I have used spacers to get the depth needed like these.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_003SG600DX/American-International-SG600DX.html?tp=2824&awkw=75646551865&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=47715948865&awdv=c&awug=9005934