www.iFourWinns.com

So my winter project was to finally add some speakers and an amp to the boat...it took me 2 weekends but I finally finished. I went with 6 audioformz tower cans with polk speakers, replaced the 4 factory speakers with polks also, and amped it all to a 4 channel fosgate amp that is 1ohm stable. All I can say is wow. I started th engine with the captains call on and I could easily hear the music clear about 35 yards back. While I was at it I went ahead and added 12 led light pods. So what do you guys think??












I know not everyone is a fan of the loud system but being 26 years old made it seem like a necessity!

_________________
2007 Four Winns 220SS (Sold!!)
2006 Toyota Tacoma

Most decidedly awesome! The blue LED's will be terrific for night cruising.

To some of us, a well-done "loud" system can only only be improved upon when operated by someone who's sensitive to those around them and knows when to turn it down. That's class.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Looks awesome! Very nice install of the cans as well. Can you give some particulars on the light pods that you used, and how you installed? I was thinking of adding some similar lighting to my boat.

_________________
2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Not the ones lighting up the interior, you'll wreck your night vision.

_________________
-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Awesome! Nice Job, and Great Pic's!

_________________
'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

Freakin' SWEET. Can you give some details on the LED's? How you wired them? Did you put in another battery or just hook them into the system, etc.? I would LOVE to put some of those LED's in mine.

_________________
Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

I would've chosen red instead of blue for that very reason, and did change out the blue helm lights for red LED's partially for that reason. The blue does look very nice IMO, though.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

The install on the LED's were very simple. The best part about the LED's is they hardly pull any juice so you can just splice them into existing lighting. As far as the actual LED's go, I used single led lights prewired with a resistor. This way it was as simple as hooking up th pos. and neg. You can get them online, at auto parts stores, and especially Harley type motorcycle shops. In a nutshell this is what I did:
1. removed the existing courtesy light, removed the light bulb drilled three 1/4" holes into the side of the housing and put 1 LED into each hole. I than covered it with epoxy for a water tight finish. Now simply splice the leds into the existing wiring, put on a rubber wire cover and heat shrink it for a water tight connection.

2. Next figure out where on the boat you want the lights and figure out the easiest way to mount them . For mounting I main drilled holes and glued the light in the hole, or glued on a bracket and isntalled the light to the bracket. To wire them I spliced 2 wires into the courtesy light in the back of the boat and ran one wire all the way to the front LED on each side. This is going to be your "artery"...now any other lights can be spliced into these 2 wires and you want have to run any other wires. Running the wires was the hardest part but there is always a way, you may have to remove some paneling or some carpet but I guarantee you can get a wire from the back to the front on either side of the boat. Most important thing is make sure your splices are sealed really well, heat shrinking rubber sleeves works well as well as liquid tape.

3. To keep the wires in place I cut 1/2" thick pieces of wood into 1" by 1" squares, spray painted them white and screwed on a zip tie. Than I just found strategic high spots in the boat that were completely hidden that I could glue the wooden blocks to...pretty much exactly the same as how they mount the factory wires.

All in all it was pretty simple and cheap to do and the best is it works off the existing light switch, its not too bright but enough to illuminate the floor to make it safer at night. I left them all on for about 4 hours than checked tall the wiring and connections and everything was cool and fine, again these LED's dont pull much juice so all the splicing should be fine. Thanks for the compliments everyone and let me know if there are any other questions.

_________________
2007 Four Winns 220SS (Sold!!)
2006 Toyota Tacoma

Hey Paradise -- did you wire the stereo yourself, or did you have a shop do it?

I'm about to installa 6 channel amp in my H240 and had some questions about what 4 guage power to run and where you ran the power wires? Care to provide a quick description of how your amp wires were run?

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Yeah I installed everything myself...I dont know how different our 2 boats are, but I ran my power from the battery switch (dual batteries) down the drivers side of teh boat into the storage at the front of the helm, where I mounted the amp. I basically snaked a coat hanger down the preexisting wires and steering and throttle controls than pulled the power through. It wasnt too tough, but Im also a skinny guy so I could get my hands pretty deep down the side of the boat. The RCA's ground and remote were a mere 2 feet of cable from the amp to under the dash area. As far as the speakers, I amped the 6 tower speakers to 2 channels and amped the 4 deck speakers to the other 2 channels. This way I can turn the tower speakers off by fading the strereo. The amp is 1 ohm stable so there isnt an issue with the tower speakers wired 3 to 1 channel. Running the wires for those was pretty much the same also...just have to snake em through where ever you can, remove some panels if needed, drill a hole here or there. I guarantee, by the time you're finished you will know every square inch of the isnside of your boat. Let me know if I can help with anything.

_________________
2007 Four Winns 220SS (Sold!!)
2006 Toyota Tacoma

When you ran your power wires, did you run straight from a battery, or is the amp powered from the battery switch?

I've been getting conflicting info from various people - some say to wire the amp straight to a battery (which negates the value of a switch) -- and some say to wire it through the switch. The concern with the switch is that you are running a 4 guage cable off of a plastic battery switch which probably isn't rated to handle the additional current.

Was your battery switch wired with 2 guage from Four Winns?

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

I ran the power wire directly from the perko switch...and I too was wondering if it was safe. I put a fuse in between the amp and switch, so hopefully that will catch anything that may happen. I talked to the guys at http://www.earmarkmarine.com before I started the install and was told the switch will not be a problem, as you can tell by all the customer boats, they have done alot of amps to the perko switch.

I dont remember what guage it is from batteries to switch...I would think 2 or 4 guage though

_________________
2007 Four Winns 220SS (Sold!!)
2006 Toyota Tacoma

Well P.. .It looks great.... I especially like the fact it's Black!

As far as the Perko switch... they are rated to 250 amps continuous, and 360 amps instantaneous. I'm an electrician.... trust me, if you were drawing even close to that much, you'd know!

I like the details on the lighting. I may do similar myself. Still going with the lighted cupholders, but those compartments look great.

_________________
Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Niice job I thought I heard you test it out the other day.Just the thing you need to enjoy the serenity
Enjoy
Ardy
Adelaide South Australia

_________________
Ardy
Adelaide South Australia
Red H180 3.0 Merc

It looks like you had it professionally done...great job!

_________________
-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX