Cobaltchat.com

So I'm starting my stereo upgrade project on my 2007 323 and thought I would share some pics as I go along. I'll be upgrading the head unit, amps, speakers, GPS and some lighting. I'm also adding a NMEA 2000 backbone and possibly a smart craft to NMEA or Fox Marine system to integrate engine data into the new GPS unit (haven't decided yet on which system but leaning towards the Fox Marine for cost and ease of installation. Anyway, Im doing some removal of old gear now and building some sub-assemblies here at home to make the final installation easier on the boat. This is where I'm at so far:

I'll be removing the storage door below the steps in the cabin and fitting that area out with the new amplifiers and a second subwoofer as well as a large storage drawer that I'm working on.

That looks great!!! Can’t wait to see the finished product! I am very interested if you use the Fox Marine gateway and how it functions with whatever MFD you use. I am going to be adding Garmin GPSMAP 743 to my Cobalt A28 this spring and was wanting to add the volvo penta easy connect to get engine data to the MFD. The Fox marine gateway is cheaper and would go with that if it works well with the 8.1 Volvo engine. Nothing better than doing the work yourself and seeing it all come together.

I'm putting in an echomap UHD 73SV so we'll see how it goes. Im still working out how to build the mounting for this and I'm thinking of building out a flush mount system in the factory spot. I have the Merc engines and probably should use the smart craft but i honestly like the fox system better and i don't have to get a tech to rename the engines plus it's probably $1000 less when its all said and done. I have the 8.1 Mercs with the 555 PCM so that should all work. If i get all the other stuff in I'm shooting for early April to get the backbone fired up and the fox gateways running.

Got the amp rack together today. Cut the wood and got it measured and drilled for the amplifier mounting. Sealed the wood upholstered and mounted the amps.

Nicely Done!

This one is the last audio panel still have the drawer to build out before installation starts. I am removing the stock Klipsch speakers in the cabin and using this Fusion RV-FS402B speaker system. we'll see how it works out.

That is looking great. Whole lot of custom working going on. Will be awesome when all done

Managed to complete the large storage drawer i was working on. I used a large plastic container, basically like a large industrial milk crate. 48"L x 15"w x 11"h added the upholstered front and side finish panels, also small wheels on the back edge to be able to slide out the drawer. My plan is to remove the door to the lower cabin storage (pictured above) and have the drawer on the right hand side where it can be pulled out and accessed without lifting the stairs. Then down the left hand inside wall will be the new amp rack where the old amps were and the new subwoofer in the back left corner. we'll see how good my measurements were!

well done, good fab skills showing your hard work. my 343 had a similar source unit panel and the ancient DVD player. some things become obsolete.

Been on the road this week looking at colleges for my son, roadtripped through Oklahoma and Arkansas. Managed to make it by our place at LOZ and pulled the door off the lower storage compartment where most of this gear is going. Also managed to get a rough template made up for mounting the new MFD in the dash. I'll have to play around with that some to get a final design together. Hoping to get some work done onboard over Easter since were heading down with some family then.

just finished 3 straight days of wiring on the boat and it was a real adventure! Got about 85% done, got all the speakers in and of course all the 6.5" fusion speakers are just a bit larger then the original holes but i was able to grind them out and they turned out great.


wiring harness for the speakers had a somewhat strange configuration i guess based on the various options for the boat so ended up pulling new wire for most of it.

more pics.

Got new tv and Head unit mounted, really happy with this as well. When i pulled the old tv I encountered a strange install on it. The old tv was ran on AC from a small inverter mounted under the armrest on the starboard side bench in the cabin. So the original set up was 12V DC power to a small inverter to 120 AC to a transformer back to 16V DC to power the TV, really stupid. I pulled all that and just run the new TV on 12V DC.

Also got the NMEA 2000 backbone installed. Installed the backbone where i removed all the old XM tuner and unknown Sony equipment Put in the back bone and plugged in the stereo and will add the Garmin UHD to that then pulled backbone cable to the back the boat which was tricky to run. I'll be adding the Fox Marine gateways at the back of the boat and plugging into the backbone there. I'll add some more photos as i get finished up in the next few weeks.