Cutting holes for new speakers

[Augieol65]

Thanks. Do you have a sub? If so where do you put it?

On my 212 I put it on the port side behind passenger seat in the gunnel / white fiberglass below the black inserts / cup holders.

 

[flyingnugget]

Thanks. Do you have a sub? If so where do you put it?

I do, on my 242LS I'm putting it in under the port side storage area/folding seat. going to cut the hole for the vent tomorrow(6.5"). I have an extra speaker screen/grill from the new Polk 652's that I added so I'm going to use that grill as the vent cover so everything matches. I'm putting a 10" WS AS-10 powered sub.

 

[Coryd]

As was previously stated, best option is a Dremel with the circle jig and a tungsten carbide bit. I enlarged the four factory speaker holes for 7.7's (had to freehand those), cut three holes for subs, and two holes on the lower swim deck for 8.8's. The circle jig worked perfectly. I anticipated breaking a few bits but ended up only needing one. Be sure to put down painter's tape on the areas you'll be cutting.

 

[chester2008]

Just got JBL Stadium M6520 speakers to replace the stock 6.5" Polk speakers and the new JBL speakers are a little larger. @Coryd did you have any issues cutting the existing holes larger with a dremel? Just worried about the gel coat cracking.

 

[Coryd]

Just got JBL Stadium M6520 speakers to replace the stock 6.5" Polk speakers and the new JBL speakers are a little larger. @Coryd did you have any issues cutting the existing holes larger with a dremel? Just worried about the gel coat cracking.

No issues at all. Just be sure to use painter's tape in the areas you're cutting and have a steady hand. The tungsten carbide bit cuts through the fiberglass easily.

 

[Drift Away]

Painters tape over where your cutting, a stiff drink and a steady hand. And remember it's only fiberglass it can be repaired fairly easily.

 

[kgower]

In the middle of my upgrade now, going to have pause so that we can hit the lake tomorrow. I used a 5" hole saw for the 6.5's for additional helm speakers. For the 10" free air sub i drilled pilot wholes then used a jig saw.

 

[212s]

The advice given is sound...I bought a new 5" hole saw "Hole Dozer" and it cut clean and easy. Use painters tape to prevent chipping of the gel coat, and go in reverse to cut through the gel coat, then forward to cut through the fiberglass:



Instead of just drilling pilot holes for the screws, I went a little bigger and inserted cut down anchors for brick/concrete to secure the screws which bites into the fiberglass but also expands behind the fiberglass to keep them firmly in place. In the above pic you can see where I used the grill cover as a guide to mark where it would fit, and for the pilot holes. I eyed it up first and then used a level to ensure the boat was level on the trailer and to ensure the holes I marked were even and the grill would be straight when done.

It was stressful at first cutting into a shiny new boat, but easier than I thought. I've cut holes in floors, doors, walls, campers, etc. many times, but first time cutting fiberglass...no issue if you remember to reverse to start.



Finished product above looks perfect and sounds great...using the same stock speakers which sound good, it looks like a factory install as everything matches. And with the compact JL Audio amp to drive them, these speakers pump nicely and sound great. The cockpit is more than loud enough now while underway and fills out the sound field nicely.

 

[ilikejets]

The advice given is sound...I bought a new 5" hole saw "Hole Dozer" and it cut clean and easy. Use painters tape to prevent chipping of the gel coat, and go in reverse to cut through the gel coat, then forward to cut through the fiberglass:

View attachment 158512

Instead of just drilling pilot holes for the screws, I went a little bigger and inserted cut down anchors for brick/concrete to secure the screws which bites into the fiberglass but also expands behind the fiberglass to keep them firmly in place. In the above pic you can see where I used the grill cover as a guide to mark where it would fit, and for the pilot holes. I eyed it up first and then used a level to ensure the boat was level on the trailer and to ensure the holes I marked were even and the grill would be straight when done.

It was stressful at first cutting into a shiny new boat, but easier than I thought. I've cut holes in floors, doors, walls, campers, etc. many times, but first time cutting fiberglass...no issue if you remember to reverse to start.

View attachment 158511

Finished product above looks perfect and sounds great...using the same stock speakers which sound good, it looks like a factory install as everything matches. And with the compact JL Audio amp to drive them, these speakers pump nicely and sound great. The cockpit is more than loud enough now while underway and fills out the sound field nicely.

Where did you drill the hole for the starboard side? Do you have a photo to share? I just bought another pair of db652 and want to do the same.

 

[212s]

Where did you drill the hole for the starboard side? Do you have a photo to share? I just bought another pair of db652 and want to do the same.

Sorry I didn't take a shot of the other side. But unless your panels are different shape (they appear to have the same panels for 2022), you can put it above the drink holder and storage cubby tray area. The rear portion of the panel is the same shape on both sides. The side cleat should be forward of that area which gives you plenty of room behind the panel. Just watch out for the courtesy light cord when cutting the hole. A 5" hole saw is the best option to make a perfect hole to fit the speaker. The pilot holes for the speakers are typically 1/8" which is not documented on the paperwork so I improvised and used anchors instead.

Also note you will need to add an amplifier to drive the speaker system if you do this - the factory head unit will likely not be able to drive extra speakers. In fact, my Fusion stereo can only drive 4 channels and they put 6 speakers in the boat. They wired the cockpit and stern speakers in series to keep the impedance high to protect the stereo, but it effectively cuts the output volume in half. Doing something like that will make your new speakers way too low in output to hear while at planing speeds unless you re-wire with an amp.

 

[ilikejets]

Thanks for the reply! I went with a 4 channel kicker marine amp and I picked up some 12 awg ofc speaker wire to run new wires.

 

[1BadTundra]

I havent done the sub yet... But we used a 5" hole saw for our extra pair of 6.5 Kickers in our 212x

 

[marcham]

As mentioned, a jig saw can be hard on the gel coat. If that is your tool of choice, use a fine blade and make sure you tape the surface you are cutting so that the saw doesn't scratch the surface.