My Very Budget Friendly AR240 Stereo Upgrade

[JTC1016]

I finally got the boat out of storage and went to work on my modest stereo upgrade.
I had already replaced the stock speakers with db651's last year. This year I'm adding an NVX 900.5 class d amp and a Polk MM1040 sub in a sealed box by Sound Ordinance. I still have to mount the cutting board that I installed the amp on to the inside of the helm but otherwise the install is mostly done. I used knukonceptz 4 AWG OFC wire for power and ground and also got my fuses, connectors, shielded RCA cables and speaker wire from them. I went from the helm over the fuel tank to the batteries with the wire. Thanks to @Majorsmackdown for the tip on the wiring harness for the speakers. That was a huge time saver and worked great.
The amp really brought the 651's to life. I had read that on here with others installs but I was still surprised and the difference. I still need to break in the sub, so while it's a huge improvement over what I had before, I think it will get even better.
I have 3 young kids so I'm not looking to create a tsunami with my stereo but just wanted increased volume and quality. I definitely got that. I'll post some more pics when I tie up the loose ends but here are a couple of progress shots.

 

[giroux68]

you mount the amp to the cutting board then the board to the compartment behind the dash? why? I've seen a few other thing mounted to cutting boards first like bilge pumps as well. is it just easier to work with? where did you mount the sub?

 

[JTC1016]

I had seen this install done by others and liked it for several reasons. The location is easy because it is adjacent to the head unit for the stereo. This makes speaker wire and RCA runs short and allowed me to use the wiring harness without extending it. I also wanted my sub in the helm compartment so it made that connection short as well. Mounting the amp up by the head unit also gets it off the floor and out of the reach of water that might make its way into the boat.
As for why cutting board, the amp isn't wide enough to span the opening behind the helm, and the cutting board is water and heat resistant, inexpensive and easy to work with with drills, etc. Below are a couple more photos once I finished mounting the amp and covering the power and ground wires.

 

[Jaylex]

@JTC1016 where did you get that cutting board, what are the dimensions, I'm trying to tackle my sound system and want that same mounting setup

 

[JTC1016]

I got it on Amazon. I can post a link later but it was about $22 I think.
It was 18 x 24 and I cut it down to 13 x 24 so it would be easier to get the nuts on to mount it.

 

[Jaylex]

Ok yes please, I want to order it tonight if possible, thanks!

 

[JTC1016]

Sure, I'm not at my computer but if you search Winco cutting board 1/2" on Amazon you should see it.

 

[mattschepker]

I got it on Amazon. I can post a link later but it was about $22 I think.
It was 18 x 24 and I cut it down to 13 x 24 so it would be easier to get the nuts on to mount it.

You know how long the power and ground wires were when you ran them under the floor across the gas tank

 

[JTC1016]

I think I had 22' and there was a little left over. Didn't want to be short.

 

[mattschepker]

I think I had 22' and there was a little left over. Didn't want to be short.

For each line was 22' or total for 2 lines was 22'

 

[JTC1016]

I had that for each. You could get away with 20' each I think or maybe a little less but I wanted some slack to work with for fishing through.