Amps in the Eng Compartment
 

About to put a stereo in the boat that requires some amps for subs and other speakers. The easiest place to put the amps is on the fwd fire wall of the eng compartment. Wondered if anyone has done this?Kinda worried about the heat and the moisture. I could put them in the cabin but would like them out of the way. There are electrical components already mounted to the eng firewall but just wanted to see what you guys thought. Any ideas on what else I might need to look out for.

I tried that with a pair of Jenson 780's and they kept tripping on thermal...relocated them under the rear seat with a computer fan from Radio Shack...all is well :musik010:

thats not a bad idea will have to check for room but that sounds like a really good spot for them

x2, I have two amps mounted under my rear seat! Lost some room for life preservers but sometimes you have to make sacrifices! :evilb:

I have three amps and a large capacitor on the forward wall in my engine compartment. Short run of wire to fire them up.

My amps were in the engine bay when I first got boat, found that the local Coast Guard would have folks open hatches and do an inspect, so moved them under the seat as well, works well and as long as there is an air path to let the hot air out from under the seat, it is fine.

I'm a fan of mounting them on a bulkhead up front just forward of the cockpit. High and dry, takes a bit more time but done right they look factory and easy to get to. Use MDF board to build up around the amps and hide the wiriing and cover with what ever color vinyl.

mounted a single 1000 watt amp in the engine compartment to power a subwoofer. was super easy to wire, and is out of the way. i figured it took less of a beating in the engine compartment then anywhere else in the boat. havent had issues with it tripper or anything like that. after a long run with the music blasting ill open the engine compartment and let some fresh air in to cool it down. maybe not a bad idea to run a computer fan to it for this season!

the only huge problem with it in the engine compartment is that it is not USCG legal. Explosion hazard. not to mention it is usually above 100° in there.. But i'm not sure if you have the same laws in Canada

On my first boat, I had 4 amps and 2 10" subs mounted under my rear bench. It would really get hot under there if I had the music on for awhile, so I just cut 2 holes in the carpet of the rear bench (where ur heels would be if sitting down) and put two 6" speaker covers over the holes to allow some air flow under there!