Need help with mounting amps on side walls???

I am getting ready to install a couple amps in my boat and it looks like the best place to do it is on the side wall under the passenger side seat. I was wondering how I go about mounting the amp to the side wall?

I notice a lot of people mount them on a "mounting board" and then glue that board to the side wall. I think this is how I am going to do mine, but I need to know what materials you use to make the board and to mount it? Should I just use 3/4" treated plywood for the board and then cover it in carpet? Should I cover the whole board in carpet or just the top? What kind of glue should I use to attach the board? Thanks for any help you can provide!

I used 1"x.125 steel straps wrapped in carpet. I used a screw threw the hull at the top where the two sections are bonded together and a screw into the floor. The great thing is that I can take them out and you would never know I had amps all down the side of my hull.

Great idea jan

Made mine out of MDF, Drilled all the holes needed, and then had it coated with LINEX.

Total cost $25.00

Troy,

How did you attach the board to the wall? With glue, screws. . .?

I put mine the same place as Troy. Take out the upholstered panel in the walkthrough. drill & countersink holes there and bolt the amp mount under the flip seat. When you put the walkthrough panel back on you'll never know they are bolted through.

I have 4 amps mounted under my observer's seat. two on the gunwale, one on the inside walk through wall and one under the glove box.
On the gunwale amps, I cut the carpet in a vertical straight line in the middle of where the amp is going to be mounted and then used liquid nails and slipped the board back behind the carpet, I used Centra (?) board. Then I mounted my amps to the board making oh so sure that I wouldn't screw to the outside. Don't want to do that.

Chris
Get the Grip you Deserve
www.wakejunky.com

I looked at mounting them on the walk through wall, but the boat I'm putting them in ('97 Nautique Super Sport) has a very small walk through wall and an amp wouldn't fit there. I think I'll just go the liquid nails route and mount them to the gunwale side of the boat. Thanks for the help.

Well, I have another question. . .would it be safe to glue the back side of my amp board (made out of plywood) directly to the carpet on the gunwale? I am attaching a 5-channel amp first and it is kinda big. Would the amp board hold up alright being attached directly to the carpet or do I have to peel back the carpet and attach it directly to the fiberglass?

Had mine mounted on MDF and then used the same carpet as the interior to cover it.

The MDF is screwed down from the outside in from the outside of the boat, the rubrail was removed and the board was screwed down and the screws covered with epoxy, the rubrail was then put back on. You can't see where they were mounted from and the install is clean.

My sub box is also made from MDF and then glassed over with fiberglass and covered with carpet that matched the interior.

Can I ask what MDF is?

Medium Density Fiberboard. You can find it at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.

Why would you dust the box you made with fiberglass? and where do you buy the fiberglass?

You don't "dust" with fiberglass. It is a woven material embedded in an expoxy resin. In a marine environment MDF will soak up mosture like a sponge and ruin the wood. Short of using Marine Grade plywood (heavy and expensive) you could treat a box like Gramps did to keep it dry and watertight.

Eric

Thanks Eric. I did not know that. I am familiar with epoxy resin, can I use the stuff they sell at West Marine? What components are usually attached to this wood where you should fiberglass it? the wood the amps are attached to or just sub boxes?

Two quick comments. First MDF is not really wood, but it is very prone to moisture absorption. It is a product created by mixing byproduct sawdust generated in creating lumber with a resin (glue) and forming, under heat and pressure, the resultant sheet goods. The resin used in MDF has a heavy concentration of formaldehyde in it, so make sure you use a mask when cutting and/or routing it. Second, try having your finished sub enclosure shot with Line-X bedliner material. I had mine done for $40 at the local truck store earlier this year. The stuff is not only waterproof but incredibly abrasion resistant and will seal up all the seams in your box (just in case you maybe didn't get them totally tight).

-Mike-

Mike, cool idea using the line x (love that stuff). Did you line x the inside of the box as well?

Tom... Nope, I just did the outside of the box. With my sub mounted in the box it's air tight, so I think you could skip the interior of the box.

Ronia,

I would think that any "wood" you add to the boat should be treated with care to be sure it doesn't absorb water. I would say that applies to the amp board as well as the subwoofer enclosure. To illustrate, we put a new floor in a pontoon boat. We used Marine plywood for the floors and predrilled the holes used to secure the wood to the aluminum frame. We shot silicone into each hole before screwing them down. The floor should outlast the pontoons.

Eric

Ok the AMP Mounting King has arived. LOL LOL.

Jans idea is great, No wood to rot ect, Aki's Idea is also good. I have also seen some good work from other people here.

I like to use the glue the wood to the hull tequnique. And "No" you cant/shouldnt glue to boards to the carpet, You have to glue directly to bare fiberglass. I think anyone that stores there boat outside and there is lots of water present you might want to think about another wood becides MDF. Like marine grade plywood. I havent used it yest so I cant telll you how it works. I use MDF like crazy. I love and it has worked great no problems. But I dont use or keep my boat like lots of you, Its used and kept mor like a car. I.E. its usually never kept outside overnight and It stays very dry inside. So the wood getting moisture Is not realy a factor for me. If it is for you you can always coat the MDF with a fiberglass resin that will seal it up.

Go to my website and you can see some example of how I do it. If It it works for you then go for it. Other wise Jans ore gramps Idea is great.

Grant,

How do you mount one of those big amps on a curved surface? That's what I am having problems with right now. I have a big 5-channel amp that I can't figure out how to attach, because it won't sit flush to the hull.

Great topic. I will be redoing my stuff this winter and I need to do this. Grant I remember this coming up a while ago and you said that there are different types of Liquid Nails something like red label or blue label I can't remember but which one did you say was the best to use.

Justin :I feel you pain with the long amp's. What I do is cut the size of the board im going to use as a mounting board. Then I carpet it on one side. Then I take a table saw and cut strip's almost all the way threw the MDF so I can bend it what ever way I need to make it sit flush against the hull, Depending on where you mount sometimes you need to cut stips going up and down and back and forth because the hull is concave, The photo below show's a amp board cut so it will bend one way. As long as you have a board that sits flush your all good.

Lance yes the Liquid nails I use is call "Heavy Duty Construction" Its tan tube with blue lable. The reason I use this glue is because if you have to ever remove it its not a total pain in the A$$ its strong enough to hold anything but will not destroy your boat in the event your system changes ect.




This last photo is a example of what its like when you dont use the type of glue Im talking about. This was a Amp board in Harolds SAN, that some other installer installed and needed to come down. It was glued with some kind of crazy cement glue and he use some cheep partical board and it was a total pain in the A$$ to take down. I couldnt imagine if the amp board was mounted in a location where you couldnt swing a hammer or pry down you would be stuck.

People please dont "SNIFF GLUE"

Ok, what I didn't mention is that my hull for some odd reason is convex on the inside, not concave. . .make sense? So, the hull is hitting the amp right in the middle so all four feet won't touch at the same time. Do you think if I just put four blocks (one at each mounting point on the amp), it would be strong enough to hold a pretty big amp?

If you cut the MDF in a x pattern you will be able to get the amp board to sit flush. IMO the board has to sit completley 100% flush. The Amp boards are holding alot of weight and it bounces up and down when doing D up's Ect. The last thing you want is one falling down. Do it once do it right.

another option is to use the thick plastic stuff like malibu uses all over their boat. I took my old footrest, when replaced with a fiberglass sub box, and cut it and used it as my amp rack board. This way, no worries at all about it rotting or getting soft due to moisture