Inspection Plate Speaker Mount - The Hull Truth

rockfishon · 03-10-2006, 02:11 PM

I have two inspection plates on the inside of my boat. Has anyone mounted speakers in the same hole as the inspection hole? I was thinking I would have to make a mounting ring since the speaker is 6.5" and the hole is 8". Any ideas?

Cooper · 03-10-2006, 02:53 PM

Can you just get bigger speakers?

halfmoon · 03-10-2006, 03:44 PM

I cut the plate out. It did not leave much of the ring left, but it works. My plates are smaller and taking them off/on is no problem. Its a nice clean look without cutting new holes in your boat[img]../jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif[/img]

JALICHTY · 03-10-2006, 03:55 PM

So, if you need to look in the hole where the inspection plate formerly was, do you have to take out the speakers to do that? If so, is it really a big deal?

halfmoon · 03-10-2006, 04:02 PM

No JALICHTY,
The plate ring and speaker are screwed together as one. Now just twist the speaker like you would the plate before.
Works great!

rockfishon · 03-13-2006, 10:08 AM

Nice! Never thought of that.

solarfry · 03-13-2006, 12:10 PM

Quote:

rockfishon - 3/10/2006 1:11 PM

I have two inspection plates on the inside of my boat. Has anyone mounted speakers in the same hole as the inspection hole? I was thinking I would have to make a mounting ring since the speaker is 6.5" and the hole is 8". Any ideas?

I installed 7+" JL audio speakers in those access plate holes under front bench/fish box/coolers. Fit pretty good with minor mods. No need for a bigger hole.

Cutting speaker hole into plate is a nifty idea. That is really great!

chill_shark · 03-14-2006, 04:04 PM

Easier to steel if you leave the boat unattended. May or may not be a problem for you.

Flot · 03-14-2006, 08:22 PM

Quote:

chill_shark - 3/14/2006 3:04 PM

Easier to steel if you leave the boat unattended. May or may not be a problem for you.

Easier to steal but a lot less damage to your boat... Only takes 15 seconds for someone to steal a pair of speakers with a crowbar. (been there done that got the new dashboard)

Then again, I'd wager most theives wouldn't notice that they're removable though so the damage would be the same.

I've surived a few thousand dollar car audio installs (working on the boat one now) and I think this is a fantastic idea. Wish I had thought of it in my last boat.

My only concerns would be that the vibration might over time cause the speaker to wiggle loose, or that the plate threads wouldn't be able to take the weight of the woofer in rough seas.

dpdash · 03-14-2006, 09:39 PM

Had speakers cut in the middle of the inspection plates for 4 years w/o a problem.